Building a better future for the next generation of West Virginians will be a focal point in this year’s legislative session, several state representatives who spoke at the Legislative Lookahead said on Friday, Feb. 7, at the Culture Center in Charleston.
With a new governor and president in office, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, Sen. Amy Grady, the chair of education, and Delegate Clay Riley, the vice chair of finance, previewed how their agendas will reflect the state’s in the 87th regular session, which begins Wednesday, Feb. 12.
As for President Donald Trump’s preparation of an executive order to abolish the United States Department of Education, Grady, who also serves as a public school teacher, said she believes it could have a positive impact on our schools.
“We have federal funds that come to us with a lot of red tape – a lot of red tape. You can spend it on certain things, but you can’t spend it on other things,” she said. “If there are certain things I need in the classroom, that can’t be used for it, so, if we could get rid of that red tape, I’m all for it.”
Grady listed updating the public school support plan, implementing more telehealth and mental health services in the school system and designing safety maps for every school in the state as her top priorities in 2025.
While Grady focused primarily on the state’s public schools, Hanshaw expressed a need for improvement in the realm of higher education.
“We have much more work to do in terms of training a workforce, preparing young people to enter the careers of the 21st century economy because we know that’s where we’re headed,” he said.
Hanshaw said as early as next week, the legislature may start working on initiatives to restructure the Public Employees Insurance Agency to decrease healthcare cost escalation, offer more competitive wages for the state’s teachers and expand the state’s data economy.
“I think you can expect to see the House of Delegates and the Senate and the governor moving collectively in a direction to the 2025 regular session that will position us well to become a leader in the next wave of development of the data economy,” he said.
As for the House democrats – although only making up nine of the 100 seats, Hornbuckle said they hope to work in a more bipartisan manner this session to ensure positive changes are being made to benefit all of the state’s citizens.
“We’re living in an era of a zero-sum mentality, where there’s one point,” he said. “It’s, if it’s on your side or your side, who wins? And it’s dangerous for all of us.”
“I believe that we can work collaboratively for the betterment of all West Virginians,” Hornbuckle later said.
Hornbuckle said the democrats will prioritize offering affordable housing and healthcare, ensuring tax dollars stay in the state and creating more opportunities for our state citizens in 2025.
Baylee Parsons can be contacted at [email protected].
