Seen Topics

Seen Topics are local, distant and or foreign observations WVPP has made with no official stance.

Under utilities’ proposed changes, solar panels could become unaffordable for many West Virginians

Currently, the policy allows households and businesses to sell back their surplus solar energy to the electric grid at a fair market value — the same price the power companies charge other residential customers for that electricity. However, Mon Power and Potomac Edison want to change the policy so that solar customers are credited at a “wholesale rate” of $0.0663 per kilowatt hour — roughly half of the rate charged by the companies — rather than the market rate.

House Bill 3313

The purpose of this bill is to restrain county commissions from imposing rules and regulations on farmers beyond what is already prescribed through state statute.

Former West Virginia Del. Guy Ward sues Marion County Commission over alleged open meetings violation

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — Former Marion County commissioner and West Virginia House of Delegates member Guy Ward is suing the Marion County Commission over what he claims was a violation of the Open Governmental Meetings Act.

In a press release, Ward stated that the civil suit stems from the commission hiring Matthew Offutt for the new position of director of media and events during the group’s April 26 meeting.

During that meeting, Commissioner Linda Longstreth made a motion to delay the hiring and go into executive session to discuss personnel matters, noting at the time that while she didn’t have a problem with hiring Offutt — who Ward claims is a longtime friend of Commissioner Bobby DeVaul — she would like to discuss the hiring further to “relieve” some of her concerns.

Not only did Longstreth’s motion fail to receive a second, but later, when Longstreth attempted to abstain from voting on Offutt’s hiring, Marion County Commission President Ernie VanGilder told her she could not take that position, counting her vote instead as a “no.”

Ward’s lawsuit alleges that the way DeVaul and VanGilder handled the new hiring “leaves no doubt that it had to have been created outside of any public meeting,” which would be a violation of the Open Governmental Meetings Act.

Mineral County sheriff files complaint against commission alleging illegal meeting

PAYWALLED

KEYSER, W.Va. (WV News) — Mineral County Sheriff Forrest “Buddy” Ellifritz has filed a complaint in Circuit Court against the Mineral County Commission, saying the three officials have not been properly following state law in regard to holding meetings in public.

According to the complaint filed April 5 and served on the commissioners the following day, one case in particular involved a meeting on April 4 “to discuss and review an employee issue.”

Ellifritz says the meeting was illegal because there was no public notice given that the three elected officials would be meeting.

Crimes against Chasity, Morality and Decency Senate Bill 278

A BILL amend and reenact §61-8-9 and §61-8-27 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §61-8A-1 of said code; and to amend and reenact §61-9-1, §61-9-3, §61-9-4, §61-9-5, §61-9-6, §61-9-8, §61-9-9, and §61-9-10, all generally relating to protecting minors from exposure to indecent displays of a sexually explicit nature, including but not limited to, transvestite and/or transgender exposure in performances or displays to minors

https://twitter.com/AlliRaine22/status/1615890179486515201 (https://legiscan.com/WV/text/SB278/id/2647262 )