Committee raises employer cap and reports 'Recharge West Virginia' training reimbursement bill

The Senate Finance Committee on March 16 adopted an amendment to the committee substitute for House Bill 4004, the "Recharge West Virginia" Act, raising the per-employer annual cap on reimbursement awards and reporting the bill to the full Senate.

Counsel explained the program would reimburse qualifying employers for training current employees who obtain an upskill credential and then receive a qualifying wage increase of at least 25%; awards are limited to no more than $10,000 per trained employee and total awards to a qualifying employer were originally capped at $50,000 per fiscal year. Senator from Harrison offered an amendment to raise the employer cap to $100,000; counsel confirmed the amendment simply replaces the $50,000 cap with $100,000 and the committee approved that change. Counsel said total awards and per-employee limits remain in statute, awards require a grant agreement and records retention, and funds would be subject to appropriation.

The committee voted to report the committee substitute as amended to the full Senate. The transcript records voice votes; the record does not include a roll-call list of individual member votes.