HUNTINGTON,WV (LOOTPREES) – The West Virginia Legislature held their May 2023 interim committee meetings in Huntington, WV. While some topics (opioids, Huntington regional issues, broadband) took up most of the oxygen and/or attention, legislators still managed to hear from experts and influencers on numerous emerging and ongoing topics of concern.
Forensic Group Homes
The Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability (LOCHHRA) heard from the Department of Health & Human Resources (DHHR) Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, Christina Mullins. Mullins discussed the DHHR’s implementation of the 988 suicide prevention hotline. She also shared some of the struggles facing the agency regarding forensic group homes and other beds for patients in need of psychiatric treatment.
Coal Severance Up; Tobacco and Natural Gas Down
Secretary Dave Hardy from the Department of Revenue spoke to the Joint Standing Committee on Finance. Hardy was optimistic about the current windfall and the strength of severance tax revenue from coal. He noted that new and repurposed mines are generating taxes for counties and the state as a whole. Hardy did concede that natural gas revenues are down due to a drop in cost and that tobacco taxes are in an ongoing state of decline.
AI
The Joint Standing Committee on The Judiciary received a report on artificial intelligence (AI) from tech industry leaders. AI is optimized for tasks like facial recognition, school safety, and traffic flow management. The experts noted that, in education, there still needs to be care to make sure that the algorithms are not contaminated by extremist theories that are antithetical to educational norms.
Child Care
Abby Reale, a senior lobbyist for Mountain Health Network, discussed the childcare program at Cabell-Huntington Hospital, the organization’s flagship facility. She also suggested legislation that should be re-visted in 2024.
Interim committees will next meet in August in Charleston.