It has been a week of snow, ice and power outages, but the work of the West Virginia Legislature continued at a brisk pace. This week on The Legislature Today, we speak with House and Senate leadership, and we have updates on numerous bills.

The West Virginia House of Delegates has made a major change to a bill that deems strikes by public employees illegal. Lawmakers in the lower chamber adopted an amendment that now would allow extracurricular activities on strike days.

The West Virginia House of Delegates unanimously agreed to advance a bill Wednesday to expand the state’s restorative justice program for juveniles.

A bill that passed the House of Delegates Wednesday creates new misdemeanor and felony charges for anyone who exposes a government employee to a harmful drug or chemical agent.

The West Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would create a new layer in the state court system for civil cases. As lawmakers noted, the push for an intermediate court of appeals has been a perennial issue at the statehouse for years.

The West Virginia Legislature is considering two bills that would curb the authority of local public health officials. Senate Bill 12 would give county commissioners the authority to strike down ordinances coming from local boards of health.

A bill that would expand West Virginia’s charter schools saw changes Tuesday evening. HB 2012, as it left the House of Delegates, allowed for up to 10 public charter schools to be established in the state over the next three years. But, on a narrow vote, Senate Education Committee members brought that number back down to three over the next three years. If successful, 10 charters would be allowed every three years after that.

After more than an hour of debate, the West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would provide immunity from civil liability for people, businesses and health care providers as it pertains to the coronavirus pandemic.

The House of Delegates is on track to consider a bill that would exempt oil and gas operators closest to intake sites for drinking water from the 2014 Aboveground Storage Tank Act.

The West Virginia House of Delegates will consider a bill reforming laws for shared child custody.

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill relaxing licensing requirements for plumbers and electricians.