West Virginia Press Association Staff Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Senate Military Committee, on Tuesday, gathered for their first meeting of the 2024 Legislative Session. On the committee’s agenda were three bills, all aimed at reducing various financial constraints for West Virginia’s veterans.
The first bill discussed, committee substitute for SB 222, seeks to exempt veterans from certain fees and charges at state parks. It was explained by Committee Counsel Mindy Parsley.
“The committee substitute sets forth in more detail how the plan will be developed in consultation with the Department of Tourism and the Department of Veterans Assistance,” Parsley said, “And will require a report submitted to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance detailing the program’s development.”
With the committee’s adoption of their substitute for SB 222, it will now be advanced to the full Senate for further deliberation.
Next before the committee was discussion of SB 261. Introduced by Committee Chair Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, SB 261 seeks to establish a home mortgage loan fund for West Virginia veterans.
Parsley once again provided committee members with an overview of the bill, explaining that it too had been replaced by a committee substitute.
“The committee substitute creates the ‘West Virginia Veterans Home Loan Program,’ which establishes a fund known as the West Virginia veterans home loan mortgage fund, and declares the purpose of the fund,” Parsley said. “[It] authorizes the housing development fund to administer said fund, set forth the terms of the program, authorize the fund to make certain mortgage loans from the fund, and authorizes the unclaimed property and administrator to transfer a certain amount from the unclaimed property trust fund to the mortgage fund.”
Parsley noted that the committee substitute also makes several “technical corrections” to remain consistent with state accounting terminology, as well as other administrative adjustments.
At the conclusion of Parsley’s explanation, Weld confirmed that the most significant change between the introduced bill and the committee’s substitute pertained to the code referenced in the language. According to Parsley, the introduced version referenced the incorrect code.
Sarah Canterbury, general counsel for the W.Va. State Treasurer’s Office, then addressed committee members. Canterbury spoke in favor of the bill, saying, “The Treasurer’s Office is supportive of the bill. We looked at the language, and it looks good.”
As with the previous bill, the committee’s substitute for SB 261 was adopted, and will now be advanced to the full Senate for further deliberation.
The final bill on the agenda – SB 298 – was once more explained by Parsley, and was again replaced by a committee substitute.
“The committee substitute offers a one-time tax credit to veterans that have been honorably discharged from the military for the cost of obtaining their lifetime hunting, trapping, and fishing license,” Parsley said.
At the conclusion of Parsley’s explanation, Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio, expressed her appreciation to bill-sponsor Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, for introducing the proposal.
“I think any time you can get into nature and kinda clear your head is a good thing, and I think this will really help our veterans,” Chapman said.
In response to Chapman’s words of appreciation, Smith said he was unable to take the credit, as the idea for the bill came from a constituent.
Once more, the committee’s substitute for SB 298 was adopted, and will now be advanced to the full Senate for further deliberation.
The next meeting of the Senate Military Committee has not yet been scheduled.
