On this West Virgnia Morning, lawmakers have introduced bills this session that they say protect single-sex spaces. Advocates with LGBTQ rights organizations, though, say the legislation follows a pattern of singling out transgender people for discrimination.

Curtis Tate spoke with Eli Baumwell, interim executive director of the ACLU-WV, and Isabella Cortez, gender policy manager for Fairness West Virginia, about those efforts.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our producer.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

On this West Virginia Morning, a bill to legalize drug test strips passed both chambers last week. Emily Rice has more.

Also, in this show, much of the state, especially in rural areas, is covered by volunteer firefighters. But those departments need money for equipment that can’t be raised with bake sales. Chris Hall, the executive director of the West Virginia EMS Coalition, and Del. Clay Riley, the vice chair of the House Fire and EMS Committee, spoke with Randy Yohe about funding issues.

Here’s an excerpt from that conversation, as heard on The Legislature Today.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our producer.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

On this West Virginia Morning, state lawmakers are mulling over countless tax proposals that would directly affect West Virginians and their wallets. On Friday’s episode of The Legislature Today, Randy Yohe spoke with House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and Kelly Allen, the executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, to discuss budgets and taxes.

Also, in this show, we have the latest story from The Allegheny Front – a public radio program that reports on environmental issues in the region. We listen to their story about replacing coal and natural gas jobs with clean energy jobs.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our producer.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning