David Kelly,
WV House of Delegates,
District 6
The House passed 27 bills this week as we near the halfway mark of the session.
One of the bills was HB 5014 which gives the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute 2 million dollars for research.
“Nearly half a minute of applause filled the House Chamber Friday after members unanimously approved House Bill 5014. The measure would direct $2 million to the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute to expand groundbreaking research already being done in Morgantown to treat Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, drug addiction and other diseases with ultrasound.
“I want to tell you about a team of heroes we have here in West Virginia today and why this bill is important,” said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, speaking from his desk on the House floor to explain the bill before the vote.
Hanshaw said the team has FDA clearance to extend their clinical trial to treat PTSD, specifically targeted veteran populations, and obesity, two disorders that plague West Virginians in disproportionately high amounts. He said with a one-time allocation of $2 million, RNI would begin treating West Virginians in April.
Hanshaw told members the opportunity was too substantial to wait.
“I cannot think of a better way to spend this $2 million and spend it now, as opposed to putting it somewhere else, as opposed to doing it in our budget process; we need to do it,” he said. “We need to do it now, and that’s the reason I’ve left that podium to talk about this today.
“We have an opportunity to continue leading the world — not leading the nation, not leading the state, leading the world — in delivering a groundbreaking treatment, a groundbreaking therapeutic technology that was published two weeks ago in the New England Journal of Medicine, the world’s foremost journal for academic medicine, and deliver that technology to West Virginians who suffer from conditions that deserve our attention.”
House Bill 5014, which goes now to the Senate for consideration, would devote $2 million in surplus funds that had not yet been allocated from the 2024 budget.” Ann Ali, House Communications Director
On Thursday, February 1st, the Committee on Jails and Prisons passed out two bills relating to employees of DCR.
The first bill, HB 4297, deals with the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA). This bill would bring the state into compliance with the Federal Government regarding adequately trained Corrections Officers and their ability to conceal carry. The bill does not make the Corrections Officer a police officer.
HB 4734 was also passed out of the committee on Thursday morning. The bill provides for a 3% raise for all non uniformed employees of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. As you will recall, the Governor called a special session last summer to deal with many of the issues facing DCR. At that time, non uniformed employees did not receive a raise. Instead, they were awarded bonuses. These folks are unsung heroes.
We also heard from the Inspector General, Mike Honaker, who gave the committee an update on his inspections of the jails and prisons that was prompted by a letter I submitted to him in November 2023. His investigation is ongoing and is expected to be completed by June 2024.
Delegate David Kelly, Chairman of the House Jails and Prisons Committee said the update from Honaker was “enlightening.”
“He brought a lot for us to digest.” he said in an interview. “Our function here is to provide oversight and this is part of it.” Henry Culvyhouse, Mountain State Spotlight
To date, we have introduced 1,423 bills in the House. 50 of those bills have passed the House