Senate Finance Committee advances package of bills, including dementia services director and judicial pay changes

The West Virginia Senate Finance Committee advanced multiple bills on a range of policy areas, including establishment of a full-time dementia services director in the Department of Human Services, pay increases and retirement adjustments for judges, a grant program for ibogaine drug trials, and changes to compensation for court-appointed attorneys.

Committee counsel summarized each bill for members and the panel voted to report the measures to the full Senate. Several items drew only brief committee discussion and were advanced by voice vote; House Bill 25-75, which would create a full-time dementia services director, drew public testimony and a longer discussion.

House Bill 25-75: dementia services director Committee counsel explained that House Bill 25-75 would establish a permanent, full-time dementia services director within the Department of Human Services to coordinate implementation of West Virginia’s Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia plan. Committee counsel said the coordinator’s duties would include evaluating and coordinating dementia services across state government, identifying duplicate programs and gaps, and compiling an annual report on the department’s website. The committee adopted a technical amendment from the House Health and Human Resources Committee before voting to report the bill as amended.

Sharon Covert, identified herself as a member of the task force and executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association West Virginia chapter, told members: “This is the first recommendation from the task force. The reason for this recommendation is the task force or the, plan that was put in place for the state, the dementia plan, in 2011 has not been acted on. It has sat for 14, 15 years because no 1 owns it at the state level.” Covert also summarized estimates discussed by the association about the number of West Virginians affected and the Medicaid spending tied to dementia.

House Bill 31-11: judicial pay and retirement changes The committee considered a strike-and-insert amendment to House Bill 31-11 that would raise judicial pay and modify the judicial retirement structure. Committee counsel summarized that Supreme Court justices and intermediate court of appeals judges would receive $5,000 increases in two steps, circuit judges would receive the same increases, and family court judges would receive $10,000 this year and $5,000 the next. The amendment also would collapse tier 2 into tier 1 of the judicial retirement system, increase surviving-spouse benefits from 40% to 50%, and repeal two code sections identified as inconsistent with the bill’s intent. Counsel provided estimated fiscal impacts and the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill as amended.

House Bill 33-44: ibogaine drug trial grant program Committee counsel explained House Bill 33-44 would require the secretary of the Department of Health to establish a grant program to fund public-private partnerships to participate in U.S. Food and Drug Administration drug development trials for ibogaine (transcript text contains the spelling as “Ibogon/Ibogaine”). The bill sets applicant requirements, mandates a selection committee, and requires applicants to contribute at least an equal amount to any grant they receive. Members adopted a technical amendment from Health and Human Resources and reported the bill as amended.

House Bill 23-49: contraception counseling at medication-assisted treatment programs Committee counsel told the panel House Bill 23-49 would require licensed programs under the Medication Assisted Treatment Program Licensing Act to offer noncoercive counseling on long-acting reversible contraception to patients receiving methadone and suboxone, and to offer counseling to both male and female patients (with contraceptives offered only to females). The bill requires programs without a qualified provider on staff to establish a referral system. The committee approved a title amendment and voted to report the measure.

House Bill 23-51: compensation for panel attorneys Committee counsel described House Bill 23-51 as raising hourly compensation for attorneys appointed in criminal, juvenile, abuse-and-neglect cases and for guardian ad litem work: in-court pay would rise from $80 to $90 per hour and out-of-court pay from $60 to $70 per hour. Counsel said the introduced version proposed higher rates and noted a fiscal note estimate that was reduced proportionally; the committee voted to report the substitute bill.

Other measures advanced The committee also advanced bills to create a State Advisory Council to study a possible four-year military college (House Bill 27-18), establish a wildlife rehabilitation permit program within the Division of Natural Resources (House Bill 28-36), remove a statutory requirement allowing short-term loans to recently released inmates (House Bill 34-24), and repeal the short-term loan language while leaving other reentry provisions in place. Each of those bills was reported to the full Senate by voice vote.

Votes at a glance House Bill 21-21 (deceased disabled veterans real property exemption for widowed spouses): committee substitute reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (motion by the senator from Harrison; voice vote; outcome adopted). House Bill 23-49 (long-acting reversible contraception counseling at medication-assisted treatment programs): committee substitute reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage; title amendment adopted (voice votes; outcome adopted). House Bill 23-51 (increase in panel-attorney hourly rates): committee substitute reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (motion by vice chair; voice vote; outcome adopted). House Bill 25-75 (dementia services director, Department of Human Services): as amended, reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage; technical amendment from Health and Human Resources adopted (public testimony given by Sharon Covert; outcome adopted). House Bill 27-18 (State Advisory Council to study a military college): committee substitute reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (voice vote; outcome adopted). House Bill 33-44 (grant program to support FDA ibogaine drug trials): as amended, reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (technical amendment adopted; outcome adopted). House Bill 28-36 (wild animal rehabilitation permits, DNR): committee substitute reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (voice vote; outcome adopted). House Bill 34-24 (removal of statutory short-term loans to recently released inmates): reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (voice vote; outcome adopted). House Bill 31-11 (judicial pay increases and retirement adjustments): committee substitute as amended reported to full Senate with recommendation of passage (strike-and-insert amendment adopted; outcome adopted).

What the committee did not do today Committee members noted the committee substitute for House Bill 3517 (and committee substitute for House Bill 3304) would not be taken up at this meeting. The chair opened and closed the meeting with standard procedural motions and the committee adopted minutes from an earlier April 8 meeting.

Next steps Each committee substitute and amended bill will be scheduled for consideration by the full West Virginia Senate. The meeting record shows the measures were reported out of committee and placed on the Senate calendar; no roll-call vote tallies were provided in the transcript.