Blog – Page 132

House of Delegates Advances Campus Carry Bill

House Floor Session

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February 26, 2019

The House of Delegates convened at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb 26 to continue considering the agenda from previously this morning. The chamber picked up on second reading, which included noteworthy bills such as the campus carry bill and the bill to increase medical cannabis industries within the state.

House Bill 2519, the Campus Self Defense Act, is a bill that has raised a lot of spirited debate among members and constituents. This bill was advanced to third reading with amendments pending to be considered tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 27.

House Bill 2079, a bill to remove certain limitations on how many medical cannabis growers, processors, and dispensers can operate in the state, was amended at length.

Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, led the charge on an amendment that would strike the 6-month waiting requirement for patients seeking to get medical marijuana in the state. A lengthy debate ensued, with Fluharty and others arguing that there was no wait period for opioid drugs that are needed, so there should not be one for those seeking cannabis.

The amendment was adopted in a 63-39 vote.

Delegate Andrew Byrd, D-Kanawha, also moved to amend the bill. The amendment would strike language in the bill that would require a physician or pharmacist to be present in a state dispensary. Byrd argued that the presence of these professionals in a dispensary would mean that they have no protections against medical malpractice claims. Delegate Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, the Chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee, argued in favor of the amendment and confirmed Byrd’s statements. Byrd’s amendment was adopted overwhelmingly.

Delegate Ellington also proposed an amendment that was adopted. The amendment would return the number of growers and processors to ten, and would allow for a single entity to own ten dispensaries or less.

With these amendments, House Bill 2079 was advanced.

House Bill 3127 was also amended thoroughly on this day. Delegate Danny Hamrick, R-Harrison, proposed an amendment that would mandate that homeschool students participating in extracurricular activities count as 1/10th of a full-time student, and also made other specific clarifications. Hamrick’s amendment was adopted after lengthy discussion.

Delegate Linda Longstreth, D-Marion and Delegate Mike Caputo, D-Marion, moved to amend the amendment. The amendment would have the students be counted as half of a full-time student, in order to ensure the schools are getting paid for the inclusion of these students. This amendment was also adopted.

House Bill 3142 was also amended on this day. Delegate John Shott R-Mercer and Delegate Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha proposed an amendment that would lessen the fiscal implications of the bill. Instead of establishing a 2 percent severance tax on steam coal at once, the amendment would lower the severance tax 1 percent the first year and then another 1 percent the next year. This amendment was passed unanimously.

House Bill 3144 also went under some technical changes on this day and was advanced.

House Bill 2595 was advanced to third reading with the right to amend and will continue to be under consideration tomorrow.

Bills that were advanced without amendment include House Bill 2729, House Bill 2843, House Bill 2882, House Bill 2932, House Bill 2941, House Bill 2951, House Bill 2966, House Bill 2967, House Bill 3148, and House Bill 3149.

All bills on first reading were advanced.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Committees Meeting Today After Floor Session:

-The House Committee on Fire and Emergency Medical Services will meet at 4:30 p.m. in 215-E.

-The House Committee on Pensions and Retirement will meet at 4:45 p.m. in 460-M.

-The House Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 5:00 p.m. in 215-E.

-The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources will meet at 7:30 in 215-E.

Committees Meeting Tomorrow Before Floor Session:

-The House Finance Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in 460-M.

-The House Committee on the Judiciary will meet at 9 a.m. in 418-M.

-The House Committee on Rules will meet at 10:45 a.m. behind the Hou se Chamber.

Legislation Concerning Recovery Residence Inspections Reported to Senate

Senate Floor Session

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February 26, 2019

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A bill which would allow for inspections of the state’s recovery residencies was reported to the full Senate during Tuesday’s Senate Health and Human Resources committee.

House Bill 2530, which was drafted through collaboration with the city of Huntington, would seek to address the state’s drug epidemic by allowing for the inspection of recovery residencies.

Huntington City Attorney, Scott Damron, came before members to further explain the intentions of the legislation which arose out of a need to address certain residencies inhabited by those actively recovering from substance dependency. According to Damron, the city of Huntington has around 30 recovery residencies which are typically overpopulated and unable to be inspected under current law.

Damron stated that the city has experienced situations where individuals have bought tax properties to create a recovery residency in order to make large sums of money off of houses that aren’t up to housing standards. If passed, House Bill 2530 would allow for the inspections of these prosperities in order to gain certification.

Once certification is received through inspection, the properties would be eligible for funding from the state.

Following consideration of the bill, the committee members motioned to report the House Bill to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.

Also reported to the body were:

House Bill 2531 which would permit trained nurses to provide mental health services in a medication-assisted treatment program.
House Bill 2405 which would impose a healthcare related provider tax on certain health care organizations.
House Bill 2525 the Tobacco Cessation Therapy Access Act.

House Bills 2405 and 2525 were also amended by the committee prior to passage.

Senate Concurs with House and Passes SB 489, Sends 19 Bills to the House

Senate Floor Session

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February 26, 2019

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The Senate convened Tuesday morning for the 49th day of the legislative session, and quickly concurred with the House Amendments to Senate Bill 489.

Senate Bill 489 would provide for licensure of pharmacy benefit managers with the Insurance Commissioner, sets forth minimum reimbursement rates, and requires PBMs report data to PEIA. The House of Delegates passed a strike and insert amendment to page seven subsection k by stating that if information is not provided, then the Office of the Insurance Commission shall discipline the pharmacy benefit manager as provided.

The Senate passed the amended bill unanimously, and will be reported to Governor Justice to either sign into law or veto.

The Senate also discussed 22 bills that were on third reading and up for passage, including a campaign finance bill.

Senate Bill 622 would make numerous changes to the state’s regulation and oversight of campaign finance. Many changes relate to current federal regulation over federal elections. It raises independent expenditures from $1,000 to $5,000. The proposed legislation also raises the following:

The bill permits contributions to a candidate in a primary or general election campaign up to $2,800 per election. Current code permits contributions up to $1,000.
The bill permits contributions to a state party executive committee, or a local subsidiary thereof, or to a caucus campaign committee of up to $10,000 per calendar year. Current code permits contributions up to $1,000 in a calendar year.
The bill permits contributions to a PAC, of up to $5,000 per election. Current code permits contributions up to $1,000.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 19 – 15, and it will be reported to the House of Delegates.

The Senate also passed Senate Bill 520 which would permit the Office of Drug Control Policy to adopt a specific information technology reporting platform for overdose reporting. The committee substitute clarified that all mandatory reporters would be required to submit their report within 48 hours after the provider responds to the incident and via an appropriate technology platform.

Other bills that passed on third reading include:

SB 248: Creating Prosecuting Attorney’s Detectives Act
SB 249: Relating to administration of estates and trusts
SB 329: Relating to agricultural education in high schools
SB 472: Exempting retirement income of certain uniformed services members from state income tax
SB 537: Creating workgroup to review hospice need standards
SB 561: Permitting Alcohol Beverage Control Administration request assistance of local law enforcement
SB 566: Relating to compensation for State Athletic Commission members
SB 600: Relating to preservation of biological evidence obtained through criminal investigations and trials
SB 615: Providing ongoing mechanism for county commissioners to allow compensation increases for elected officials every two years
SB 640: Regulating sudden cardiac arrest prevention
SB 642: Providing options in living wills and combined medical powers of attorney and living wills
SB 651: Relating to DNR ability to enter into certain contracts
SB 653: Relating generally to practice of medical corporations
SB 655: Relating to conservation districts generally
SB 668: Relating to physician assistants collaborating with physicians in hospitals
SB 669: Allowing appointment of commissioners to acknowledge signatures
SB 670: Relating to WV College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program

Senate Bill 522 and House Bills 2740 and 2776 were laid over one day.

The Senate also advanced 28 bills on second reading, with six of those passing with amendments.

Senate Bill 348 would prohibit the sale or furnishing of smoking devices (pipes and cigarette papers), tobacco products and electronic smoking devices to persons under the age of 21. It would increase the fines for a person, firm or corporation that violates the proposed provision. The bill also would allow an employer to dismiss for cause, an employee who sold or furnished tobacco to a person under the age of 21. Senators Palumbo (D – Kanawha, 17) and Stollings (D – Boone, 7) proposed to an amendment to strike sections 12 and 13 from the legislation, which allowed exemptions to veterans’ organizations and facilities with a valid racetrack video lottery license from local board of health rules restricting smoking in indoor spaces. The amendment passed by a vote of 19 – 15.

The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, Feb. 27 at 11 a.m.

The following committees will meet today:

Health at 3:15 p.m. in 451M

Education will meet five minutes following Heath in 451M

Gov. Org. will meet five minutes following Health in 208W

Finance at 5 p.m. in 451M

Judiciary at 5 p.m. in 208W

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Committee on Political Subdivisions Passes Two Bills

House Committee

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February 26, 2019

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Senate Bill 24 provides funds to DHHR for local boards of health employee pay raises. The bill requires the Legislature to include funding in the DHHR appropriation to raise pay for employees of local boards of health when an across the board pay increase is provided for state employees. It also requires continued annual funding for the local BOH’s with annual appropriations in the base budget for local BOH to fund increased compensation-until pay is same as state employees. The bill will be reported to the House.

Senate Bill 241 permits county court clerks to scan certain documents in electronic form. This bill would allow a county commission to authorize the county clerk to record documents by scanning them in electronic format instead of placing them in books, and not prepare separate indices of those documents. the bill further allows the county commission to authorize the clerk to scan and replace existing books, but requires that the existing books be retained, either on or off site. There was an amendment made to the bill that would require county commission, in addition to scanning the documents, make them available online. The bill will now be reported to the House as amended.

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House of Delegates Convenes to Pass Bills on Third Reading

House Floor Session

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February 26, 2019

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The House of Delegates convened at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 26 to consider forty-four bills on third reading on the 49th day of the regular legislative session. Forty-four bills were passed on this day, in preparation for Wednesday being crossover day.

House Bill 2011 was passed by the House of Delegates after a lengthy discussion regarding the scope of privatization in the implications of the bill. This bill would create a program in the state known as the Road Maintenance Program that would allow for and encourage a program in every district of the state to contract out with private contractors in order to perform road maintenance within that district. The WV Division of Highways and Legislative Auditor would oversee the efficacy of this bill if it were to pass. The Road Maintenance Program would aim to solve for the abundance of road work projects, however, several members were concerned about the amount of contracting the Division of Highways would do out of the state of West Virginia. Despite this, the bill was passed overwhelmingly.

House Bill 2014 was also passed by the House of Delegates. This bill would create the WV Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets Act, which would strengthen protections for items created of commercial value. The bill would add a formula definition of intellectual property, adds provisions to protect employment nondisclosures, and provides criminal and civil penalties for violations.

House Bill 2049 would provide protections for prime contractors in regards to wages and benefits. If an employee believes that they haven’t been paid the proper amount of wages by the prime contractor, they would have to first notify the prime contractor of the discrepancy and then give them notice and provide them with verifiable proof, such as a check stub. They must also give the contractor time to remedy the lack of payment before taking court action. This bill passed unanimously in a 58-41 vote.

House Bill 2378 passed unanimously. This bill would allow the revocation of state teaching licenses from individuals who have been convicted of a crime requiring them to register as sex offenders, or individuals who have been convicted of a crime regarding the possession or transfer of a controlled substance.

House Bill 2396 was also passed unanimously on this day. This bill would create the WV Fresh Food Act. This bill would require all state funded institutions to purchase a minimum of 5% of fresh food from West Virginia. The intent of this bill is to stimulate economic growth for the state’s agricultural industry.

House Bill 2497 was passed unanimously by the House of Delegates. If passed, this bill would issue more protections for whistleblowers in the state of West Virginia. It codifies the protection of West Virginia whistleblowers, and mandates that they cannot be passed up for a raise or promotion because of their status as a whistleblower, and they cannot be prohibited from taking part in political or union activities.

House Bill 2617 would require the Insurance Commissioner to provide for the use of electronic means of delivery and electronic signing of the form for making an offer of optional uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage by insurers. After little debate concerning the rights of the uninsured and underinsured, this bill ultimately passed.

House Bill 2991 was also passed on this day, a bill to require the WV Office of Drug Control Policy within the DHHR to conduct an assessment of WV’s system of care for treatment and recovery services for substance use disorder. This assessment will be used to find gaps in the treatment and recovery services for substance use disorders. Money found in these assessments will be allocated to the Ryan Brown Fund.

House Bill 3020 would allow an institutional governing board, the Higher Education Policy Commission or the Community and Technical College Council to enter into a contract for materials, goods, equipment, services, printing, facilities, or financial services with an affiliated nonprofit corporation in the state. After lengthy discussion, this bill was also passed.

House Bill 3131 also generated lengthy discussion, but was ultimately passed. This bill would give the Department of Health and Human Resources the authority to use existing funds to make salary adjustments and increase the salary ranges for certain employees, such as CPS workers.

Action on House Bill 2931 and House Bill 2937 was postponed for one day.

All other 34 bills passed by the House of Delegates can be accessed on the Calendar.

The House of Delegates is in recess until 3:00 p.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 26 to continue consideration of the posted agenda.

Committees Meeting Today After Floor Session:

-The House Committee on Political Subdivisions will meet at 1 p.m. in 434-M.

-The House Committee on Pensions and Retirement will meet at 4 p.m. in 460-M.

-The House Committee on Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services will meet at 5 p.m. in 215-E.

-The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources will meet at 7 p.m. in 215-E.

Transportation Committee Amends House Bill

House Committee

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February 26, 2019

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House Bill 2539 was unanimously voted to be amended by the Senate committee for transportation and infrastructure, Tuesday morning.

If passed, the legislation, which relates to exemptions to the commercial driver’s license requirements, would align the Division of Motor Vehicle’s speciality farming license to federal code.

Dwayne O-Dell from the West Virginia Farming Bureau, explained that the license would only pertain to to a very small number of farmers in the state which would grant them permission to certain farm vehicles during particular periods of the year.

General Counsel for the DMV, Adam Holley, came before the committee to ask if members could also apply a $25 annual fee to the legislation. Currently, Holley predicts that due to the license only applying to small pool of citizens, employees of the DMV would be unable to attain familiarity with the extensive process of applying the license

Holley stated that a fee of any amount of would be able to assist in educating employees if the program were to increase following implementation.

Sen. Greg Boso, R-Nicholas, motioned to amend the legislation by applying a $10 fee to the bill. Boso explained that the lower amount would be more comparable to the current cost of a commercial license in the state.

Following consideration, the committee voted to amend the legislation and report the bill to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.

House of Delegates Rejects Motion to Reject Campus Carry Bill

House Floor Session

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February 25, 2019

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The House advanced the Campus Self Defense Act Monday evening following rejection of a motion to reject the bill on first reading.

The bill would amend the provisions of West Virginia Code relating to the authority of state boards to restrict the carrying of a concealed deadly weapon on the property of a state public institutions of higher education.

The bill amends provisions relating to the authority of the Higher Education Policy Commission, the institutional Boards of Governors and the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education by stating that the none of the statutory authority of the boards shall be construed to provide the authority to restrict or regulate the carrying of a concealed deadly weapon by a person who holds a current license to carry a concealed deadly weapon, except as authorized.

The bill is up for second reading on Tuesday.

The House passed the following bills:

· Senate Bill 26 – Permitting certain employees of educational service cooperatives participate in state’s teacher retirement systems

· Senate Bill 489 – Relating to Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act

· House Bill 2229 – Adding violations of law upon which a public servant’s retirement plan may be forfeited

· House Bill 2452 – Creating the West Virginia Cybersecurity Office

· House Bill 2550 – Creating a matching program for the Small Business Innovation and Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program

· House Bill 2598 – Relating to submitting a certifying statement attesting to status as a charitable or public service organization

· House Bill 2690 – Relating to guaranty associations

· House Bill 2694 – Relating to the state’s ability to regulate hemp

· House Bill 2718 – Requiring purchasers of roundwood to collect and maintain certain information

· House Bill 2770 – Fairness in Cost-Sharing Calculation Act

· House Bill 2816 – Removing the terms “hearing impaired,” “hearing impairment,” and “deaf mute” from the West Virginia Code and substituting terms

· House Bill 2827 – Removing the residency requirements for hiring deputy assessors

· House Bill 2828 – Relating to Qualified Opportunity Zones

· House Bill 2830 – Establishing Next Generation 911 services in this state

· House Bill 2837 – Relating to the licensing of advance deposit wagering

· House Bill 2926 – Requiring the Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to study the housing needs of veterans

· House Bill 3024 – West Virginia Business Ready Sites Program

· House Bill 3045 – Exempting certain complimentary hotel rooms from hotel occupancy tax

· House Bill 3132 – Relating to exempting providers that serve no more than 30 patients with office-based medication-assisted treatment

· House Bill 3133 – Relating to requiring a parolee or probationer found to have suffered with addiction to participate in a support service

· House Bill 3134 – Establishing criminal penalties for negligent homicide, and increasing criminal penalties for reckless driving

· House Bill 3135 – Expiring funds to the balance of the Department of Commerce, Development Office

Bills Amended on Second Reading:

· House Bill 2014 – West Virginia Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets Act

· House Bill 2049 – Relating to a prime contractor’s responsibility for wages and benefits

· House Bill 2378 – Relating generally to grounds for revocation of a teaching certificate

· House Bill 2662 – Relating to certificates or employment of school personnel

· House Bill 2802 – Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act

· House Bill 2991 – Relating to the Ryan Brown Addiction Prevention and Recovery Fund

· House Bill 3044 – requiring the Commissioner of Highways to develop a formula for allocation road funds

· House Bill 3136 – relating to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

· House Bill 3137 – relating to the personnel income tax fund

· House Bill 3139 – relating to the funding of the Public Employees Health Insurance Program

· House Bill 3140 – relating to the Division of Natural Resources Infrastructure

· House Bill 3145 – relating to student financial aid resources

All bills on first reading were advanced as well.

The House of Delegates will reconvene at 9 a.m. February 26, 2019.

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House Technology and Infrastructure Advances Six Senate Bills

House Committee

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February 25, 2019

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The House Committee on Technology and Infrastructure convened at 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25 to consider legislation on the 48th Day of the legislative session. On this day, the committee considered and advanced seven Senate Bills concerning state agency laws.

The Technology and Infrastructure committee had a consideration of Senate Bill 3, a piece of legislation similar to House Bill 2005. Upon receiving House Bill 2005, the Senate split the ideas into several individual bills. Senate Bill 3 is very similar to the small facilities deployment provisions included in the House bill.

Senate Bill 3 would establish the West Virginia Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act and provide for access to public rights-of-way for the collocation of small wireless facilities. Senate Bill 3 would also provide for the collection of fees and also sets the amount of fees. The bill also lays out requirements for how the state can regulate pole attachments. During the committee meeting, the bill went under some technical amendments.

Senate Bill 3, after a little discussion surrounding the differences between it and House Bill 2005, was unanimously voted upon to be advanced as amended to the House Floor with the recommendation that it pass, but it first goes to the House Judiciary Committee for a second reference.

The committee also had a consideration of Senate Bill 10, a bill that would mandate that court-ordered restitution to victims of a crime is not subject to the administrative cost off-set provision of the Second Chance Driver’s License Act.

The Second Chance Driver’s License Act is a state program that allows for the temporary reinstatement of an individual’s driver’s license that has been suspended or revoked due to failure to pay court restitution as a result of a motor vehicle violation or has failed to appear in court when charged with a criminal offense.

This bill, which would eliminate the administrative overhead cost associated with the program, was unanimously advanced by the committee and advanced to the House Finance Committee for a second consideration.

Senate Bill 55 was tabled on this day due to what was deemed to be vague language within the bill. This bill would prohibit holders of a Level 3 WV Driver’s License under the age of 18 from using a wireless communication device while driving. Concern was raised among the committee members regarding what constituted as a wireless communication device, especially considering the fact that most Bluetooth enabled devices can be accessed through the steering wheel. For these reasons, Senate Bill 55 was tabled.

The committee also had consideration of Senate Bill 153, a bill to provide greater flexibility for making infrastructure project grants. The bill would increase the maximum amount of grant funding from 20 percent to 25 percent. Additionally, the bill would increase the maximum amount of aggregate state funding from $100,000 to $500,000 annually. This money, which comes from the WV Lottery, would be intended to provide more flexibility and more time efficiency for state infrastructure projects.

Senate Bill 153 was approved by the committee, and advanced to the House Finance Committee with the recommendation that it pass.

Senate Bill 190 was another bill advanced during today’s Technology and Infrastructure meeting. This bill would update the Division of Highways payment plan and amends their employment procedures pursuant to the new payment plan. This bill was advanced to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Senate Bill 297 would extend expiration of military members’ spouses’ driver’s licenses for six months after active military duty. Currently, military members are able to extend the expiration of their driver’s licenses for six extra months after they are finished with their active duty activities. This bill would extend that provision to their spouses, allowing them to do the same thing.

This bill was passed by the committee, as was an amendment proposed by Delegate Danny Hamrick, R-Harrison. The amendment would also add people working out of the United States on behalf of the state and federal government, allowing them to get similar expiration extensions. As amended, Senate Bill 297 was advanced to the House Finance committee.

Senate Bill 542 was also advanced to the House Finance committee on this day. This bill, which was passed by the committee with little discussion, would permit an applicant who qualifies for both a military-related exempt and non-exempt vehicle plate, to choose one non-exempt plate instead of one exempt plate without having to pay registration fees. This would allow qualifying individuals to choose to have a plate exemptible that is usually not exemptible.

Judiciary Committee Commits Sexual Assault Bill to Study Resolution

House Committee

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February 25, 2019

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The Judiciary Committee met Monday taking up several bills including, Senate Bill 563, which prohibits sexual assault victims from being subjected to certain physical examinations.

This bill adds new sections to code that prohibits a court to require an alleged victim in a prosecution for a sexual offense to endure a gynecological or physical examination of certain body parts. It also provides that a victim’s refusal to undergo a physical examination does not serve as a basis to exclude evidence from prior, relevant physical examinations, unless constitutionally required. Finally, it provides that for purposes of this new subsection, the term “sexual offense” means any offense in which sexual contact or intrusion is an element of the offense.

The committee discussed the bill and asked questions of counsel but decided it would be safer to study the bill more in a study resolution.

The committee also took up Senate Bill 453, which relates to background checks of certain financial institutions. This bill provides an alternate form of background checks for certain situations or instances. It provides that the Commissioner of the Division of Financial Institutions may determine alternate acceptable forms for background check information for direct and indirect principals of a licensee or applicant for a mortgage lender or broker license or a money transmission license who are not residents of the United States.

The committee advanced this bill and reported it to the House.

The committee also advanced Senate Bill 440, which relates to the Antihazing Law. Currently, the anti-hazing law only applies to organizations operation under the sanction of, or recognized as an organization by, an institution of higher education. Unsanctioned organizations are not covered by the anti-hazing law.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee advanced Senate Bill 510, which relates to medical professional liability. The purpose of this bill is to amend the prerequisites for filing a medical professional liability claim to clarify and provide additional expert witness qualifications.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee also advanced Senate Bill 295, which relates to crimes against public justice. The purpose of this bill is to include court security officers, the state fire marshal assistant, and deputy fire marshals in the definition of persons against whom obstructing an officer is a crime. The bill will be reported to the House.

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Banking and Insurance Sends Bills to Senate

Senate Committee

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February 25, 2019

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The Senate banking and insurance committee convened to report two House Bills to the Senate, Monday.

The brief meeting center around discussion of House Bills 2476 and 2609. Following the committee’s discussion and consideration of amendments, both bills were reported to the full Senate with the recommendation of the passage.

If passed, House Bill 2476 would amend a section of the state’s insurance code relating the evaluation of totaled automobiles. According to counsel, the language of the legislation was intended to clarify the the evaluations of insurance claims.

Counsel also provided the committee with a technical amendment drafted to strike language to further clarify the intentions of the bill.

Following discussion, the committee unanimously voted to adopt the amendment.

Members also reviewed House Bill 2609, relating to presumptions of abandonment and indication of ownership in property. Counsel addressed members to explain the purpose of the bill is to strike a section of code which was enacted in 1984 and is no longer needed.

According to counsel’s explanation, the proposed legislation received no objections from the Division of Financial Institutions.