Blog – Page 129

Economic Development Amends Small Business Legislation

House Committee

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March 1, 2019

A bill intended to create a federal/state matching program for small businesses received an amendment in Friday’s Senate Economic Development committee.

If made into law, House Bill 2550 would create a two phase matching program for the Small Business Innovation and Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program throughout the state. In an explanation provided by counsel, members reacquainted themselves with the Senate’s version of this bill, Senate Bill 602, and reviewed differences between the two bills

According to counsel, the main difference between the two bills is found within language of the Senate version which requires that entities awarded with a grant receive 75 percent of their funding through the first phase of implementation and the remaining 25 percent in phase two. The House version would simply split funding 50/50 between the two phases.

Another noticeable difference is that the House version establishes that companies can only apply for grants every five years whereas the Senate version has no limitation on the application for grants.

Following counsel’s explanation, the WV Bioscience Association Executive Director, Bryan Brown, came before the committee to discuss specific details of the bill, particularly relating to the extensive application process which must be completed prior to any grant money being award.

According to Brown, surrounding states have created similar matching programs in order to help companies apply for grants, ultimately allowing for more federal money to come into the state. Although the application process can be seen as rigorous, companies are often times provided with incentivized to apply for grants through new technology projects. Brown stated that if passed, the bill could potentially aid in strengthening the state’s tech field.

After consideration from the committee, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, motioned to amend language within the House Bill concerning grant applications in order to match the Senate Bill’s rule which allows for unlimited requests.

Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, spoke against Tarr’s amendment and urged the Senator to recede his proposal to prevent the bill from being rejected. Despite Romano’s request, Tarr sustained his request and the amendment was adopted by the committee.

Following adoption of the amendment, members motioned to report the bill, in addition to House Bill 2420, to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.

Workforce Committee Passes Wage & Benefits Bill

Senate Committee

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March 1, 2019

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The Senate Committee on Workforce met for the first time this legislative session Friday afternoon, and immediately discussed a bill relating to prime contractor’s responsibility for wages and benefits.

House Bill 2049 would amend §21-5-7 of the State Code 7 to provide additional language regarding how an employee may seek wages and/or fringe benefits from a prime contractor in the event that a subcontractor does not pay those wages and benefits in a manner consistent with the Wage Payment and Collection Act.

The Committee adopted an amendment proposed by Senator Jefferies (D – Putnam, 8). The amendment states that “An employee must notify the prime contractor within 100 days of being notified by a statement or other means that wages or benefits were not paid.” Once the prime contractor is notified, the employee has 1 year to take action (civil suit), and must produce proof (pay stubs/bank statements) to show missing wages and benefits.

The Committee approved the bill, and will be reported to the Committee on the Judiciary.

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Library Commission Bill Passes Senate Education

Senate Committee

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March 1, 2019

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Two House Bills came before the Senate education committee, Friday,

Both bills on the committee’s agenda are intended to improve the state’s educational system and quickly received passage from members.

House Bill 2853, which establishes the West Virginia Program for Open Education Resources, in conjunction with the state’s Library Commission, also received a second committee reference to the finance committee.

Executive Secretary for the Library Commission, Karen Goff, briefly came before members of the committee to explain the history of the legislation which passed out of the House with a 99-0 vote.

According to Goff, the legislation originally arose out of the need to provide educational materials to college students and combat rising textbook costs. Goff explained that Delegate Joshua Higginbotham, R-Putnam, then amended the bill to include K-12 students prior to receiving passage from the House.

When reviewing House Bill 2363, members voted to adopt a title amendment to the bill prior to it’s passage.

Sen. Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, addressed the committee to thank his fellow Senators for supporting the bill which intends to aid his local school district.

Judiciary Committee Passes Military Service Members Court Bill

House Committee

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March 1, 2019

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The Judiciary Committee met Thursday and discussed Senate Bill 40, which establishes a Military Service Members Court program.

This bill seeks to reinvigorate the Military Service Members Court- a program which was once an operative wing of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

The court is similar to the Adult Drug Court and Addiction Treatment Pilot Program but focuses on military veterans and their particular issues. The program has proven its value to combat veterans suffering from a spectrum of battlefield issues like PTSD and traumatic brain injury which often lead to a mental health disorder, cognitive impairment and/or substance abuse.

Once under the auspices of the state Supreme Court, former Justice Allen Loughry eliminated the program for financial reasons. The bill seeks to reinstitute the Military Service Members Court by legislation, with an operative organizational structure.

Senate Bill 360 relates to third party litigation financing. The purpose of this bill is provide consumer protections with regard to third-party litigation financing transactions. Third-party litigation financing is currently unregulated in West Virginia.

With the passage of this bill, West Virginia would join a growing number of states that have seen fit to enact statutory consumer protection laws governing third-party litigation financing. Other states that have enacted such laws include Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, Vermont, Wisconsin and New York.

The bill was advanced out of committee and reported to the House.

The committee also took up Senate Bill 531, which relates generally to workers’ compensation claims. This bill seeks to exclude claims for hearing loss or hearing impairment form the requirement that workers’ compensation claimants must be represented by counsel to enter a settlement agreement. The committee advanced the bill, which will be reported to the House.

The committee also advanced to the House floor Senate Bill 101, which equalizes penalties for intimidating and retaliating against certain public officers and other persons. This bill establishes criminal penalties for “intimidation” and “retaliation” crimes.

The crime of intimidation with the intent to influence a judicial proceeding carries a misdemeanor penalty, while the crime of retaliation for the outcome of such a proceeding carries a felony.

The committee also considered Senate Bill 237, which would improve the ability of law enforcement to locate and return missing persons. The bill provides minimum steps for all law-enforcement agencies receiving and investigating missing person complaints. The bill requires a law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction to accept a missing person complaint and specifies the minimum information that law-enforcement agencies must attempt to collect from a complainant.

The bill also requires law-enforcement agencies receiving a missing person complaint to ensure that a report of the complaint and relevant information is entered into the state-level West Virginia Automated Police Network and when applicable, several other national databases, including those maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The bill will be reported to the House.

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12 House Bills Bypass Third Reading to Receive Passage from Senate

House Floor Session

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March 1, 2019

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Multiple House Bills on second reading were passed by the Senate following a suspension of Constitutional rules, Friday.

Of the 20 House Bills on second reading eight received amendments from the body. Following House Bill 2193’s adoption of an amendment, Majority Leader Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, motioned for the bill to be advanced to third reading, ultimately leading to the bill’s passage by the body.

House Bill 2204, 2510, 2608, 2737, 2743, 2829, 2848, 2854, 3007, 3093 and 3140 were also advanced to third reading where each received passage by the body.

House Bill 2204 would prohibit state licensing boards from hiring lobbyists
House Bill 2608 would repeal the requirement of printing the date a consumer deposit account was opened on paper checks
House Bill 2829 relating to the termination of severance taxes on limestone and sandstone
House Bill 3007 would authorize the Commissioner of Agriculture to require background checks

Of the House Bills amended were: 2193, 2359, 2476, 2531, 2547, 2691, 2813 and 3140. Health and Human Resources Committee Chair, Sen. Michael Maroney, R-Marshall, motioned to lay over House Bills 2525 and 2530.

A message concerning House Bill 2519, commonly known as the campus self defense act, was received by the Senate.

The highly debated bill which received a 59-41 vote from the House of Delegates will now be double referenced to the Senate’s judiciary and finance committees. If passed, the bill would allow for conceal carry on the state’s college campuses.

The body also took up Senate Bill 150 for immediate consideration following it’s passage in Thursday’s finance committee. For more information concerning the Senate’s fiscal year 2020 budget click here.

Additionally, the Senate passed two resolutions prior to second reading. Senate Resolution 65 designated the month of March as American Red Cross Month; Senate Bill 66 congratulating the Greenbrier West High School wrestling team for winning the 2019 Class A state Championship.

The Senate is currently adjourned until Saturday, March 2 at 9 a.m.

The following committees will be meeting today:

The Senate Education Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. in 451M.
The Senate Workforce Committee will meet 15 minutes following the Education meeting in 208W.
The Senate Economic Development Committee will meet 20 minutes following the Workforce meeting in 208W.

House of Delegates Passes HIV Testing Bill

House Floor Session

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March 1, 2019

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The House of Delegates convened today and passed Senate Bill 545, relating to HIV testing.

This bill removes unnecessary procedures and tests from the HIV testing protocol as well as updating the system.

The House passed these bills Friday:

· Senate Bill 295, relating to crimes against public justice

· Senate Bill 408, determining indigence for public defender services

· Senate Bill 518, restricting sale and trade of dextromethorphan

· Senate Bill 593, permitting critical access hospital become community outpatient medical center

There were two bills on second reading that were amended before being advanced. Senate Bill 60, licensing practice of athletic training and Senate Bill 641, relating got primary care support programs.

The House also advanced the budget bill, House Bill 2020. The budget bill was advanced to third reading with right to amend.

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Energy Committee Passes Bill Making Changes to Coal Mining Laws

House Committee

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March 1, 2019

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The Energy Committee met briefly yesterday to discuss House Bill 635. This bill relates generally to coal mining activities.

This bill is broken down into three essential parts: Economic Development, Environmental, Underground Coal Mining, and Crimes and Their Punishment. There was also a committee amendment made to the bill which makes certain technical changes to the provisions dealing with the Mine Trespass Act.

It specifically notes that these provisions also apply to inactive workings, as well as active or abandoned workings, it clarifies the language relating to subsequent convictions to note these must be for the same offense, and removes ambiguity in the section relating to underground mine trespass to note that only inactive or abandoned workings must be sealed or posted for a trespass conviction to occur.

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Senate Finance Rejects House Legislation

Senate Floor Session

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March 1, 2019

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A bill which passed the House with a 99-0 vote was rejected by the Senate finance committee Friday morning.

House Bill 2703, which relates to refunds of exercise taxes collected from petroleum dealers, came before the committee and received minimal recognition from members. In discussion from counsel, the committee learned the bill would have account for a fiscal loss of less than $50,000 annually following implementation in 2020.

After the bill was rejected, committee Chair, Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, stated that members would be more than welcome to revive the legislation if members of the House sought reconsideration.

Also reviewed by the committee was legislation intended to create a new category of the Innovation in Education grant program.

Associate Superintendent of Schools, Clayton Burch, came before the committee to answer questions concerning House Bill 2009 which showcases a fiscal impact of $125,000 for implementation. According to the Superintendent, the House Bill help to strengthen the state’s higher education system in conjunction with Senate Bill 1.

“If this (bill) is passed, mastery based education would become a situation where people can move faster in getting an education,” Burch explained. “We think this meshes well with Senate Bill 1 in order to benefit those who want to jump start their college education.”

Following consideration from the committee, members unanimously voted to adopt a strike and insert amendment after being amended by Sen. Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha. The bill has been reported to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.

House Bills 3021 and 3095 were also reported to the full body.

Judiciary Committee Passes Medical Cannabis Banking Bill

Senate Committee

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March 1, 2019

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The Senate Committee on the Judiciary met briefly Friday morning to discuss a bill relating to medical cannabis in West Virginia.

House Bill 2538 would add banking services for medical cannabis in the state. The proposed legislation would do the following:

Would provide that the Treasurer shall select by competitive bid one or more financial institutions to provide banking services for the fees, penalties, and taxes collected under the Medical Cannabis Act
Would authorize the Medical Cannabis Program Fund to receive civil penalties
Would permit money in the Medical Cannabis Program Fund to be invested and would provide that earnings shall accrue to the Medical Cannabis Program Fund
Would permit the Treasurer to charge fees for providing banking services

Senator Romano (D – Harrison, 12) said during the meeting said that the proposed legislation was the final piece needed to finish what the Legislature started in 2017; to provide West Virginians with access to medical cannabis if they need it.

The Committee also discussed House Bill 2600 which would provide for an alternative method to publish sample ballots for electronic voting machines. The Committee adopted a strike and insert amendment to the bill to add more clarification.

Both bills were approved by the Committee, and will be reported to the full Senate to be voted upon.

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House Committee on Government Organization Originates Three Study Resolutions

House Committee

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March 1, 2019

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The House Committee on Government Organization convened at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 1 in 215-E to consider several pieces of legislation. Three of the agenda items on this day were study resolutions that originated in the Government Organization Committee, all of which were adopted unanimously.

The first study resolution would require state agencies to issue a comparative study that would analyze interstate and intrastate hauling. The resolution aims to help Public Service Commission haulers, and was adopted and advanced to the House floor with little discussion.

Another resolution involved the study of municipalities and their economies to scale. If adopted, this study resolution would require the legislature to study municipalities to best tailor efficiency incentives in individual municipalities during interim sessions. This resolution was also advanced to the House floor with recommendation that it be adopted.

The final resolution originated and adopted during this meeting was a House Concurrent Resolution that would require the WV Legislature to study BRIM, or the WV Board of Risk and Insurance Management to evaluate their outcomes and efficiency during interims.

In addition to the adoption of the three originating resolutions, the committee also had a consideration of three Senate bills.

Senate Bill 330 was advanced to the House floor with little discussion. The passage of this bill would require state agencies to include their contact information on their directory and website, unless they get expressed consent from the Legislature.

Senate Bill 344 was also advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass. This bill would make clarifications regarding state-owned farms and clarify that they are owned by the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture. It would also make technical updates to the code and provide that state institutions may purchase items from vendors that state owned farms cannot directly produce.

Senate Bill 667 was advanced to the House floor after little debate regarding the effectiveness of the bill’s passage. Senate Bill 667 would establish the WV Motorsport Committee. The committee would consist of five people including the chairperson and have to report updates to the Legislature annually. The committee would be responsible for establishing racing events and promotion in order to spur industrial and economic growth in the state. The committee would be unpaid, but subject to have their transportation reimbursed.

Several delegates held some reservations about how much of a return on investment a motorsports industry would have in the state.

“We had one of these in the state before, and it honestly didn’t do too much,” Delegate Tony Paynter, R-Wyoming said. “I don’t think the involvement of the state government would help this industry much.”

Chairman Gary Howell, R-Mineral, spoke in favor of Senate Bill 667’s passage.

“When this committee existed in the state before, it began to attract investors before it was cut due to budget cuts,” Howell said. “This is an opportunity to bring investment to the state.”

Senate Bill 615 generated a lot of discussion. The passage of this bill would allow county commissioners an ongoing mechanism to consider compensation increases for elected county official every two years in an amount up to the increase in the annual Consumer Price Index published by the United States Department of Commerce over the prior two years, or three percent, whichever is greater.

Concern over Senate Bill 615 was brought up by several Delegates, who raised concern over the power that the bill would give County commissioners to give themselves pay raises. Delegates were also concerned over the fluctuating nature of the state economy, and how the implications of the bill could change given the year.

Because of these fiscal and accountability concerns, consideration on Senate Bill 615 was postponed until Monday.