CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates Republican Caucus is reviewing draft legislation that would divide the state Department of Health and Human Resources into three separate state agencies with three cabinet secretaries.
New House Health Committee Chair Amy Summers, R-Taylor, is spearheading the efforts. She’s been meeting with state Senate leaders and top officials in the office of Gov. Jim Justice.
“We’re working with our Senate partners in coming up with a framework,” Summers said Friday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Summers said lawmakers valued the way Gov. Justice changed the Department of Commerce model a few years ago–creating separate departments for economic development and tourism and naming cabinet secretaries.
“We like that and those secretaries then directly report to the governor. We feel that foster children and health and these facilities we have all deserve to have a voice, a direct link to the governor so he is made aware of any issues going on,” Summers said.
Why did @AmyMSummers want to take on the role as the House Health Committee Chair? What does she want to accomplish while in this position? She joins @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/7AleYSGpoQ
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) December 30, 2022
Senate President Craig Blair first mentioned the dividing of DHHR was under discussion during a Thursday appearance on “Talkline.” He said former DHHR Deputy Secretary Jeremiah Samples, who now works for the legislature, was assisting in designing the plan.
“With his help we’re going to be drafting legislation that is probably going to be three phases and the first phase is you break it up into groups that are manageable,” Blair said.
Summers said as the talks continue with the Senate, the House GOP caucus is also working toward an agreement.
“Over the next week or two we’ll finalize it, we’ll get together and we’ll see what our caucus thinks,” Summers said. “We have it out for them to review.”
House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw is on board.
“I think we all agree House, Senate and the administration that there needs to be a significant refocusing of effort in the core mission of DHHR,” Hanshaw said Friday on “Talkline.” “Over the years both the executive and legislature have piled on more responsibilities at the cabinet secretary level that probably shouldn’t be there.”
Hanshaw described them as “bolt on” functions.
So part of the discussion is removing some duties of DHHR and shifting those duties to other state agencies. State Inter-Agency Task Director Jim Hoyer, who is now part of the new DHHR leadership team, confirmed those discussions are taking place.
“We are looking at if there are things that can be done, reorganization within the organization, and are there areas that could be moved to other areas that could better serve the citizens,” Hoyer said Thursday on “Talkline.”
.@SpeakerHanshaw joins @HoppyKercheval to discuss the leadership team announcements and the changes that were made, including Amy Summers becoming the new House Health Committee Chair. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/sk6Y31ffJe
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) December 30, 2022
Former DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch recently stepped down and Justice appointed WVU School of Public Health Dean as interim secretary. Hoyer and Dr. Clay Marsh, the executive dean for health sciences at WVU, are helping.
The legislature tried to split DHHR in half earlier this year but Justice vetoed that plan. He instead opted for an outside organization, the McChrystal Group, to do a full study of the agency. He came out with recommendations in November. He die not recommending chopping up the agency.
Summers said taking one large agency and making three agencies is not growing government. She said it’s making it more efficient and effective.
“If you have a pizza and its whole or you divide it in three I don’t really think that’s making government bigger. I think that is separating that into areas of specialty that we can shine a real focus and a real light on,” Summers said.
She said a perfect example is a recent letter that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Trump, R-Morgan, sent to Gov. Justice expressing concern about severe staffing issues in Child Protective Services in the Eastern Panhandle counties.
“That’s been an issue for quite a long time and for the governor to just be made aware of that–he was really taken aback by that, he couldn’t believe there were no child welfare workers in Morgan County for example, we need those issues to be directly reported then to the governor so it doesn’t come about in that fashion,” Summers said.
Summers said separate cabinet secretaries focusing on separate DHHR issues will be more accountable and more responsible to the legislature.
Hanshaw predicts some changes will be considered and ultimately approved but the final form and pace of those changes remains unanswered heading into the 60-day session.
“Really what’s left for us iron out is how fast we do the refocusing of effort and what it looks like on the other side of it,” he said. “I think we are a whole lot closer together than we are far apart.”
The 60-day session begins on Jan. 11.