West Virginia Senate Military Committee advances five measures for Guard members, first responders and law enforcement

The West Virginia Senate Military Committee adopted committee substitutes for five bills and voted to report each to the full Senate with recommendations to pass and referral to the Finance Committee.

Counsel for the committee summarized each measure during the meeting. On Senate Bill 613, counsel said, “What the bill would do is set a 6% interest rate cap on certain debts that are incurred by guard members who are called to state or federal active duty for at least 30 days or debts incurred by member spouses,” and described provisions requiring written notice and active-duty orders and permitting creditors to petition magistrate court for relief only upon clear-and-convincing evidence that the service member can pay higher rates. The chair then put the committee substitute to a voice vote and it was adopted; the junior senator from the fifth moved to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass and be referred to the Finance Committee, and the motion carried.

Counsel described Senate Bill 738 as a proposal “to create the National Guard TRICARE Premium Reimbursement Program within the office of the Adjutant General.” Under the bill, subject to legislative appropriations, the Adjutant General would award reimbursement grants to Guard members for premiums for individual TRICARE Reserve Select or dental coverage; any premium portion paid by the federal government would be excluded. A committee substitute containing technical edits was adopted by voice vote, and the junior senator from the fifth moved to report the bill to the full Senate with a pass recommendation and referral to Finance.

Senate Bill 860 would amend two code sections to change the standard for Department of Homeland Security payments of up to $8,000 to cover reasonable funeral and burial expenses for certain law-enforcement or emergency workers who die as an approximate result of performing duties, allowing payments where an injury sustained while on duty leads to a later death. Counsel said the committee substitute made technical corrections; the committee adopted the substitute by voice vote and agreed to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.

On Senate Bill 944, counsel explained the measure would add military law-enforcement personnel and military criminal investigative organizations of any U.S. Armed Forces component, including the National Guard, to the list of federal officers authorized to enforce West Virginia law in limited circumstances—generally when requested by state or local agencies, in exigent circumstances, or when a felony is committed in the officer’s presence. The committee carried the motion to report the bill to the full Senate by voice vote.

Finally, Senate Bill 945 would amend the West Virginia Military Authority Act to clarify that, in the event of a federal government shutdown, the Adjutant General is authorized to pay employees who work during the shutdown upon receipt of federal funding after the shutdown. The committee adopted the committee substitute and voted to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation to pass.

All committee actions during the meeting were taken by voice vote after committee counsel’s presentations and brief procedural exchanges; no roll-call tallies or named recorded votes were provided in the transcript. The meeting adjourned following a motion by the junior senator from the fifth.

What happens next: each bill will be sent to the full Senate and, as noted by motions in committee, referred to the Finance Committee for further consideration.