Almost two months ago, members of the supermajority in the House of Delegates gathered to lay out priorities, especially in policies aimed at economic growth. Delegates called their flotilla of bills a “Jobs First Economic Opportunity Everywhere Agenda.”
Today, 28 days through the regular 60-day legislative session, delegates gathered again to describe their progress. A bunch of the bills have passed the House already, others are close and there’s still more time to focus on the remainder.
“We’re sending the bills out of here to grow the economy,” said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, who led today’s gathering.
Delegates say they are advancing bills to expand youth job training, help current workers improve skills and reshape incentives to attract new employers. They’re also pushing infrastructure, site-readiness and small-business capital measures they contend will support long-term growth.
“We’re excited about the bills that we’ve gotten across the line already and what we intend to be doing in the second half of our session,” Hanshaw said.
Among workforce policies, House Bill 4005, called “Skills to Work,” has passed the House and is now in the Senate to expand hands-on training for 16–18‑year‑olds.
House Bill 4004, the “Recharge West Virginia Act,” aims to help existing businesses and workers improve skills so employees can earn higher wages, and a related “laboratory” bill using higher education resources has also cleared the House.
Among policies aimed at job creation, House Bill 4011 would ease the way for advanced recycling and petrochemical projects that backers say could add manufacturing jobs.
“The thing that was most important to our members was continuing to put as many West Virginians as possible in the best paying jobs that we’re able to create,” Hanshaw said.
House Bill 4009, the “Portable Benefits Bill,” is moving through the House to let workers carry benefits between jobs. And House Bill 4013, the “Mountaineer Flex Bill,” is billed as a flexible incentive tool to recruit more tech and modern economy employers.
Among legislation aimed at infrastructure and long-term growth, House Bill 4007 targets industrial access roads, House Bill 4008 boosts site readiness, and House Bill 4028 would remove sales tax on school construction to stretch taxpayer dollars and support construction jobs.
The bills that are passing out of the House, of course, will still be assessed by the Senate. Hanshaw said delegates stand behind the jobs and workforce bills and expressed confidence that senators will see clear and helpful options for passage.
“We’re sending as many of those as possible to our friends and colleagues in the Senate. We do that not to put pressure on anybody, but to simply say these are things we believe will meaningfully move the needle on the economy — and we hope you’ll consider them.”