CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The West Virginia House of Delegates honored former Delegate and advanced several bills, including the following:
The House adopted House Resolution 20 to honor the life and service of former Delegate Larry D. Kump. Larry Kump served Berkeley County with distinction across three separate decades, representing the 52nd, 59th, and 94th Districts during 2010-2014, 2018-2020, and from 2022 until his passing in 2026.
House Bill 5381 would transfer the Office of Coalfield and Community Development as a program under the Office of Energy. In addition to this transfer, this bill would require the Office of Energy to develop an energy development policy plan, a comprehensive grid stabilization plan, and test the stability of West Virginia’s energy grid.
These plans would include all forms of energy and increase reliability for stable baseload generation, increase efficiency through innovation, and energy independence through increased production. Goals of the plans include, but are not limited to, prioritizing baseload generation, setting a goal to increase baseload generating capacity from 16 gigawatts to at least 50 gigawatts by 2050, and expanding the international market for West Virginia coal.
House Bill 5459 would make the taxes of certified HMO’s no longer be based on a tiered system and would impose a 2.5% tax on the organization’s gross premiums. This bill would bring the state into federal compliance, moving forward with Medicaid.
House Bill 5554 would allow state political parties to be able to accept donations of $50,000 annually for their headquarters. These funds would be able to be used for paying for furniture, utilities, equipment, or could be used for the costs of leasing an office building or constructing a political headquarters.
