HartmanCosco Government Relations

APTA-West Virginia to present Distinguished Service Award to Senator Tarr

kathy@h2cstrategies.com September 19, 2024 Health Care, Legislature, Physical Therapy, State Government, State Legislatures, West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va., August 30, 2024 — The West Virginia Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA-West Virginia) will present state Senator Eric Tarr of Putnam County with the Nancy Tonkin Distinguished Service Award on Saturday, Sept. 7, during the ATPA-West Virginia’s 2024 conference at The Embassy Suites in Charleston. Senator Tarr, a physical therapist …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session — Elections

Brian Skinner April 22, 2022 Elections, Government & Policy, Legislation, Legislature

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. After the 2020 general election, many state legislatures have made election integrity a priority. Many states have enacted legislation that affects everything from voter registration timelines and absentee ballots to election crimes, ballot harvesting, and drop boxes. The West Virginia Legislature’s efforts during the second session of the 85th Legislature …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Alcoholic Liquor and Beer

Brian Skinner April 20, 2022 Alcohol, Legislation, Legislature Alcohol

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. Unlike recent legislative sessions, the 2nd session of the 85th West Virginia Legislature was not particularly interested in enacting legislation affecting nonintoxicating beer, wine, and liquor licenses. The Legislature appeared to be content to tweak legislation enacted in recent years. Only three bills received any consideration — Senate Bill 659, …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Behavioral Health

Brian Skinner Behavioral Health, Health Care, Legislation, Legislature, Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. Four bills related to behavioral health were passed during the second session of the 85th West Virginia Legislature. Most significantly, House Bill 4369 updated the telepsychology compact. It added two additional criteria for a psychologist who holds a graduate degree in psychology, which is necessary for him or her to …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Oil and Gas

Brian Skinner Energy, Gas and Oil, Legislation, Legislature

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. After eight years of efforts to enact legislation addressing unitization or forced pooling of natural gas, the Legislature finally succeeded. Sponsored by Senators Tarr and Nelson, Senate Bill 694 sets out the property rights of surface owners when it comes to the drilling for natural gas by the use of …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Seniors

Brian Skinner Legislation, Legislature, Seniors

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. Although more than 20 bills would have affected seniors in one way or another, only Senate Bill 570 (establishing training for law enforcement in handling individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementias) reached the Governor’s desk. The bill authorizes that an Alzheimer’s and dementia law-enforcement training course and guidelines be developed in …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Labor

Brian Skinner Labor, Legislation, Legislature

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. As with previous years with a Republican majority in both chambers, few bills could in any way be considered pro-labor. Unlike many previous years, however, there was no significant effort to negatively impact employee rights. Legislation affecting the employer-employee relationship includes Senate Bill 245, which amends the current provisions of …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Public Safety

Brian Skinner Courts, Law-enforcement, Legislation, Legislature

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. In terms of legislation affecting public safety, the West Virginia Legislature during its 2022 Regular Session made relatively few changes to the state’s criminal code, leaving a bill purporting to rewrite the criminal code (House Bill 2017) on the sidelines. The following is a summary of legislation passed this regular …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session — Health Care

Brian Skinner Health Care, Legislation, Legislature, Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders, Public Health

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. During its Second Session, the 85th West Virginia Legislature passed several bills related to health care. As always, because it is an election year, abortion was on the agenda. The Legislature passed a bill to prohibit abortion of a viable fetus because of the presence or presumption of a disability, …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session – Broadband

Brian Skinner Broadband, Legislature

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. In December 2020, Congress included about $45 billion for broadband development grants as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684). While the federal government’s efforts to fund the expansion of access to high-speed Internet is substantial, it is equally necessary for states to employ their own tools …Read More