House of Delegates

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates met and passed 16 bills during a Saturday session this week as legislative deadlines approach.

House Bill 3214, which would create the Road Optimization and Assessment Data (ROAD) Pilot Program, overwhelmingly passed the House in a bipartisan vote Feb. 25. It would utilize Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, along with GPS and Geotagged positioning, as well as a laser measuring system with video. Those tools all would facilitate data collection such as road geometry, curvature, cracks, potholes, painted lines, canopy brush and drainage issues, all to serve as a baseline for road conditions. The Department of Highways would implement the program on a combination of both urban and rural roads with Monongalia and Preston counties. Data collection would take place at regular intervals, at least twice during the pilot project, which would last five years, and the data would be used to compare changes in road conditions, as well as for regular reporting to the Legislature.

Members of the House unanimously passed House Bill 2538 this week, which would require the West Virginia Bureau of Social Services to implement a web-based communications system for foster care families. The portal would be required to facilitate communications such as foster parent requests and responses to requests of staff for the Bureau for Social Services, updates about foster child visitation, travel, scheduled court and multidisciplinary team hearings as well as other information.

“When you talk to any family within the foster care system, you find that the main complaint is a lack of communication throughout the entire process,” said Delegate Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, a sponsor of the bill. “This will help alleviate that issue with a technology-based portal where all the parties can openly communicate, thus providing the essential information to everyone involved and ultimately providing better care for the child.”

House Bill 3055, which would create a vocational math class for students interested in the trades, completed the legislative process this week after passing the full Legislature by unanimous vote. The bill would establish a technical, transition math class geared toward students interested in careers in the trades for all public-school curricula. The class would pertain to fractions, conversion from fractions to decimals, measurement, reading blueprints and other math skills necessary to be successful in the trades. Instructors would be required to meet the same qualifications necessary to teach current trade classes and specific content in public schools. Students would be eligible for the class upon entering high school, and it could be taken as a personalized math credit to meet graduation requirements. The measure is awaiting action from the governor.

“I was proud to work with my fellow Delegates on this bill to try to create a class for students interested in a career in the trades,” said Delegate Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, lead sponsor of the bill who currently is a student at West Liberty University. “This will give those students the opportunity to improve their math skills in a class specifically designed for them.”

A total of 35 bills have completed legislative action as of Feb. 25, and 21 of those have been House bills. The 60-day, regular legislative session ends at midnight March 11.

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