Senate committee amendment clarifies grant program to fund paid summer jobs for West Virginia students

The Senate adopted a Workforce committee amendment that would create a West Virginia Youth Summer Employment and Career Readiness Program to provide grant funding to employers to hire West Virginia students for paid summer jobs aligned to high-demand industries.

Explaining the amendment, the Senator from Raleigh said the program "will provide grant funding to employers in the state to provide West Virginia students with paid summer employment that aligns with high demand in emerging industries in the state." He said the strike-and-insert amendment clarifies the Department of Commerce's responsibilities in carrying out the program and adds a new section providing civil, criminal and administrative immunity to participating employers who hire students 18 and older "accepting cases of actions taken with a malicious purpose." The amendment otherwise made technical corrections. The amendment was adopted and the bill advanced to third reading.

The transcript does not provide the size of the grant fund, the source of funds, or the department's administrative details beyond the responsibilities the amendment clarifies; those fiscal and implementation details will need confirmation from the bill text or fiscal note.