Sen. Tom Takubo

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution (SR 29) designates March 14, 2025, as "West Virginia American Academy of Pediatrics Child Health Advocacy Day" at the legislature. It symbolically recognizes the WV AAP - a group of 267 pediatric providers since 1957 - for their advocacy on child health priorities like immunization, mental health, and injury prevention. The resolution has no policy impact; it is a ceremonial gesture honoring the organization’s work. The measure was adopted by the Senate via voice vote on March 14, 2025.

Maddy summarySB 740, the Stop Squatters Act, establishes a new process for property owners to quickly remove unauthorized occupants (squatters) from residential or commercial properties. It allows owners or their agents to request immediate police removal if conditions are met (e.g., occupant isn’t a tenant/family member, owner previously demanded they leave, and no court case is pending). The bill also creates criminal penalties: misdemeanors for damaging property under $1,000 during unlawful occupation, felonies for greater damage, and felonies for falsely listing property for sale/rent without legal title. Property owners must submit a verified complaint, and the law includes a civil remedy if removal is wrongful.

Maddy summarySB 117 would allow licensed physicians in West Virginia to operate Class A vehicles (such as large medical transport vehicles) with red flashing warning lights and be exempt from specific traffic laws, like speed limits and traffic signals, when responding to medical emergencies. Physicians must be designated by the West Virginia Board of Medicine or Board of Osteopathic Medicine to participate in a new "Physician’s Authorized Emergency Vehicle Program." The medical boards would propose detailed rules for the program, requiring legislative approval before implementation. This change would extend existing emergency vehicle privileges - currently limited to ambulances, fire trucks, and other designated emergency vehicles - to physicians during medical emergencies.

Maddy summarySB 29 allows physician assistants (PAs) in West Virginia to own medical practices and be shareholders in medical corporations, removing previous restrictions. The bill specifically prohibits PAs with ownership interests from making patient referrals to their own practice and classifies PA practice as a "professional service" under state LLC laws. This directly affects PAs seeking business ownership, medical corporations seeking PA shareholders, and healthcare entities structuring ownership. The law amends existing medical practice statutes to clarify these ownership rules without changing PAs' clinical scope of practice. It focuses on business structure, not clinical authority or patient care standards.

Maddy summarySB 654 creates West Virginia's ALS Care Services Act, providing state-funded support for residents diagnosed with ALS and their caregivers. The bill requires the Department of Human Services to fund three key services: care coordination and support, access to assistive technology and medical equipment (including a ramp loan program for home modifications), and access to multidisciplinary ALS clinics. It appropriates $250,000 from the General Revenue Fund for Fiscal Year 2026 to implement these programs, aiming to help ALS patients remain safely at home while reducing healthcare costs.

Maddy summarySB 653 extends retirement benefits under West Virginia's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Retirement System to include emergency vehicle operators (such as ambulance drivers) who were previously excluded. It modifies the definition of "final average salary" used to calculate retirement benefits and adjusts benefit percentages, increasing the maximum payout from 67% to 90% of that salary under certain funding conditions. The bill specifically affects current and future EMS personnel, including 911 operators with transferred assets, by clarifying how their service credit and benefit amounts are determined. These changes apply to all covered EMS employees under the existing retirement system framework.

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates February 26, 2025, as Corrections Day at the West Virginia Legislature to honor the work of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation staff. It recognizes their roles in public safety, offender rehabilitation, and facility operations, including recent achievements like 600 cadet graduates in 2024. As a commemorative resolution, it has no policy or funding changes - only symbolic recognition.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution (SR 13) memorializes Wanda Porterfield Casto, a 34-year part-time Senate Secretary/Administrative Assistant who served the West Virginia Senate and dedicated her life to public service. The resolution formally honors her legacy as a wife, mother, grandmother, and public servant, extending the Senate's deepest sympathies to her family following her passing on May 20, 2024. It directs the Senate Clerk to send a copy of the resolution to her family. As a commemorative resolution, it has no policy impact and serves solely to recognize her contributions.

Maddy summarySB 603 exempts retirement benefits received by retired West Virginia campus police officers from the state's personal income tax, effective July 1, 2025. This applies specifically to retirement income from any retirement system or qualified plan (including those sponsored by colleges/universities) that is taxable under federal law. The bill directly affects retired campus police officers employed at West Virginia institutions of higher education. The exemption is a standalone change to the state tax code, removing these retirement benefits from taxable income for qualifying individuals.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution (SR 3) creates a Select Committee on Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health for the Eighty-Seventh Legislature. The committee, appointed by the Senate Presiding Officer (up to 17 members), will gather information on prevention, treatment, research, policies, access to care, and funding related to substance use disorders and mental health. It may meet during legislative interims and has jurisdiction over related legislative proposals, operating under Senate committee rules. This is a procedural resolution establishing a committee, not a law changing policy.