Legislation targets workforce development and education reform in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Now that the West Virginia legislative session is over, there are several bills that could make an impact on the state within the next few months.

House Bill 2014 is the Power Generation and Consumption Act. It would allow companies seeking to build data centers to create their own, independent energy grids, or microgrids, to power them.

"This bill allows for outside investment to come into our state and perhaps bring billions into our state, which would translate to a lot of tax revenue for our counties, and to eventually reduce tax liability on everyday citizens,” State Senator Laura Wakim Chapman said.

Data centers are large facilities that house vast computer systems used for Cloud storage, AI computing and telecommunications.

Also, the West Virginia Guardian School Security Act passed, which could help counties deal with bullying, drugs or other incidents.

"Our kids deserve to go to school and get an education without having to worry about their security,” Chapman said. “And this would just allow counties to decide whether or not they want to hire trained security personnel, retired police officers, veterans, people like that who come and protect our children’s staff and teachers.

Chapman said to also keep an eye on Senate Bills 458 and 282. The first would help with job shortages, while the latter would allow retired teachers to become full-time subs without losing their retirement benefits.

Chapman said the goals moving forward are to further help with school security, employment shortages, and to expand into workforce opportunities for youth.

"Not everyone wants to go to college,” she said. “They can also pursue a trade, which we are in desperate need of. We do have to grow our own teachers’ programs, things like that, too, so I think if we focus on the skills and make it more fun and hands on, it would really help our education system and thrive when they do graduate.”