Blog – Page 140

Agriculture Committee Approves New Grant Program, First of its Kind

Senate Committee

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February 13, 2019

The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development discussed Senate Bill 383 Wednesday afternoon, which would create a new and innovative concept program for farmers throughout West Virginia.

The proposed bill would create the West Virginia Healthy Food Crop Block Grant Program. The program would provide an incentive of up to $10,000 per year to eligible West Virginia farmers who commit to growing fruits and vegetables that serve community health initiatives. The Program is meant for small independent farms throughout the state. If the legislation becomes law, this would be the first of its kind in the country.

The Committee approved the bill, which will be referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

The Committee also discussed Senate Bill 344 which relates to the operation of state-owned farms. The bill would clarify language already in code that state-owned farms are managed by the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture.

The Committee approved the proposed bill, and will be reported to the full Senate to be voted upon.

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Senate Passes Military Court Legislation

Senate Floor Session

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February 13, 2019

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A bill which would establish a specialized military court was unanimously passed by the Senate during Wednesday’s floor session.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, rose to discuss Senate Bill 40, potentially legislation which would establish a Military Service Members Court program similar to a program which was disbanded in 2017. According to the Senator, the bill would right the wrongful closure of the previous program due to a false statement which described a lack of funding for the program.

The court would work similarly to the state’s court system while also providing specialized treatment programs to service members who have violated the law.

Weld stated that court would greatly impact the state’s veterans, many of who suffer with post traumatic stress disorder. National average shows that 20 service members take their life every day due to the effects of PTSD.

Following passage of the bill, the body reviewed Senate Bills 47, 153, 285, 291, 296, 345, 405, 461, 481 and House Bill 2446; all pieces of legislation were passed.

Senate Bill 153 would provide greater flexibility for making infrastructure project grants.
Senate Bill 296 would provide a 11-month window to permit members of PERS to purchase credited service.

The Senate took Senate Resolution 41, which recognizes the WV Kids Cancer Crusaders for their dedication and commitment to battling childhood cancer, under consideration. Senator Glen Jefferies, D-Putnam, rose in support of the resolution and urged passage by the body.

Prior to readings, three pieces of unfinished business were referred to committees following the introduction of Senate Bills 591 through 604.

Senate Bill 597 would conform state law to federal law for registration of appraisal management companies.
Senate Bill 600 relating to the preservation and disposal of biological evidence.

The following committees will meet today:

The Senate Committee for Agriculture Development will meet at 2 p.m. in 208W.
The Senate Committee for Pensions will meet at 2 p.m. in 451M.
The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 3 p.m. in 451M.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will met at 3 p.m. in 208W.

The following committees will meet tomorrow:

The Senate Committee Transportation and Infrastructure will meet at 9:30 a.m in 451M.
The Senate Committee for Health and Human Resources will meet at 1 p.m. in 451M.
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in 451M.

House Government Organization Committee Considers Bills Pertinent to EMS Day

House Committee

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February 13, 2019

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The House Committee on Government Organization had a consideration of five bills at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13 in 215-E. All five of the bills considered on this day pertained to improving or revising West Virginia’s first responder services.

House Bill 2542 would expand access to emergency phone services by permitting the director of a county or municipality emergency telephone system to negotiate contracts for emergency mobile-phones in the county in the event landlines are unavailable.

This bill was passed unanimously and advanced to the House floor with recommendation that it pass.

Another bill that was advanced to the House floor was House Bill 2439. This bill would simplify the way WV volunteer fire departments document their use of state funds. Current statute requires these volunteer fire departments to report on their use of state appropriations by providing a report by a CPA, or by filing a sworn statement of expenditures which must be signed by the chief or director of the volunteer fire department. House Bill 2439 changes this by allowing these fire departments to undergo the simpler process of filing bank statements and check images instead of sworn statements of expenditures. The bill also provides a mechanism to issue out penalties to volunteer fire departments who misuse or misappropriate state funds, by allowing the state to withhold money in future instances.

House Bill 2411 was on the agenda for the House Government Organization committee as well, but this bill was tabled because most of its provisions were very similar to House Bill 2439.

The committee also had a consideration of House Bill 2958, a bill to allow the West Virginia State Auditor to conduct regular, 5-year audits of WV Volunteer fire departments to ensure the proper use of state money. This bill was also approved unanimously and advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.

House Bill 2830 was also advanced to the House floor on this day. This bill would establish Next Generation 911 services in the state of West Virginia. West Virginia is one of four states in the country that have yet to start establishing Next Generation 911 services, which allow users to communicate with emergency communication services through the use of text and/or multimedia message. The bill would provide for legislative findings, require a legislative report, and sets the parameters for which a commission would be established.

Delegate Michael Angelucci, D-Marion, expressed gratitude to House Government Organization Committee Chairman Gary Howell, R-Mineral, for putting bills pertinent to WV first responders on the agenda.

“Today is Emergency Medical Services Day at the Capitol,” Angelucci said. “Thank you for honoring our state’s first responders by putting these bills on the agenda and allowing us to consider them.”

Howell also expressed gratitude to WV’s first responders, saying that the thanks really goes to them.

“The honor goes to those who go out in the face of danger when we need it most,” Howell said.

The House Committee on Government Organization concluded their meeting by applauding these state workers, expressing gratitude for their hard work.

House Health and Human Resources Committee Considers Originating Bill

House Committee

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February 12, 2019

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The House Committee on Health and Human Resources convened at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12 in 215-E to consider five bills, one of which being a bill that would permit the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to increase salary schedules for state DHHR employees.

The bill, an originating bill in the Health and Human Resources Committee, would permit the Secretary of DHHR to increase salary schedules in needed fields, such as Child Protective Services workers, nurses, dieticians, and other underserved fields. They would be permitted to increase the classification schedule to align with the market rate to better compete with the private sector.

“Bureaucracy is still slow,” said DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch. “We need to move quicker on these classifications.”

Crouch stated to the committee that upwards of $18 million has been paid to staffing agencies in order to find qualified DHHR employees, and that passage of the bill would alleviate some of that pressure. The Department of Health and Human Resources currently has 310 employees.

There was some concern in the committee regarding the amount of power the bill would give to the Secretary of the department if passed.

Delegate Andrew Robinson, D- Kanawha, spoke against the originating bill.

“This would give the department a sweeping grab of authority, and too much power,” said Robinson.

Delegate Matthew Rohrbach, R- Cabell, and Jordan Hill, R-Cabell proposed an amendment that passed. The amendment made some technical clean-up to the language that clarified the bill would apply to the entire Department.

After a lengthy discussion, the originating bill was voted to be advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.

The committee also had a consideration of House Bill 2849, a bill that clarified the process in which pharmacy technicians are registered in the state of West Virginia.

The bill specifically defines the scope in which a nuclear pharmacy technician can operate. It defines the nuclear pharmacy technician’s certificate and specifies the duties each category of pharmacy technician is permitted to perform under supervision of a licensed pharmacist.

House Bill 2849 was also advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.

Another bill that was advanced to the House floor was House Bill 2768, a bill that would make several clarifications to the Opioid Reduction Act that was passed by the WV Legislature last year.

The House Health and Human Resources also had a consideration of House Bill 2947. This bill would permit a physician practicing telemedicine to prescribe or order a Schedule II medication over a telemedicinal forum for immediate administration in the hospital.

This bill was approved by the committee, and now moves to the House Committee on the Judiciary for a second reference.

House Bill 2100, a bill that would establish a pilot program encourage WV schools to develop school-based mental health services in lieu of disciplinary, also passed through the committee on this day.

This bill uses existing mental and behavioral services in schools and encourages the utilization of these programs in a disciplinary fashion. House Bill 2100 would require the WV Department of Education to develop a pilot program to provide mental and behavioral health services as an alternative to suspending students for disruptive behaviors.

The bill passed through the committee unanimously, and was advanced to the House Education Committee for a second reference.

Energy Committee Passes Bills Relating to Natural Gas and Wells

House Committee

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February 12, 2019

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The Energy Committee met Tuesday to discuss two bills dealing with oil and gas leases and horizontal wells.

House Bill 2866 relates to the termination, expiration, or cancellation of oil or gas leases. The purpose of the bill is to require lessees to provide lessors with a recordable release for oil or natural gas leases, when the leases are expired, terminated, or cancelled under their terms.

The bill defines a procedure where lessors may attempt to document the invalidity of a lease in the public record, while also providing the operators an opportunity to dispute the invalidity before recordation.

There were several questions regarding to whom notice had to be provided and how the affidavit should be indexed in the county records. The committee amendment clarified that the lessor seeking the release should attempt notice on all of the lessees of record and any other lessees known to the lessor. The changes also require county clerks to record the affidavit under a larger group of names. The bill will be reported to the House after being referred to the Judiciary Committee.

House Bill 2834 updates and modernizes the minimum spacing provisions for the drilling of horizontal deep wells. In an effort to reduce the number of exceptions, this bill seeks to modify the powers and duties of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by imposing limitations under the commission’s duty to regulate horizontal deep wells. All other wells would be unaffected.

Under this bill, the commission may not impose spacing limitations of greater than 1,000 feet between horizontal deep wells operated by different operators or require a setback of more than 500 feet from a boundary that divides different operators.

Regarding spacing, a horizontal deep well is defined in the bill as only the estimated productive interval, being the perforated length of a horizontal section of the well bore in the target formation. The commission may not include the area of the well pad or vertical or angled portions of the well bore to calculate distances for horizontal deep wells, whether within or outside unit or lease boundaries.

This bill will also be reported to the House.

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Finance Sends Four Bills to Senate

Senate Committee

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February 12, 2019

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Four pieces of legislations were reported to the full Senate following review by the Senate Finance Committee, Tuesday.

Of the proposed bills, all were sent to the full body with the recommendation that they each should pass. Senate Bill 117, relating to incentives for consolidating local governments, received two conceptional amendments offered by Sen. Robert Plymale, D-Wayne and Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer.

Following consideration of the other legislation, committee chair, Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, motioned for 117 to be reintroduced to the committee for reconsideration. The legislation then received a committee substitute and was given a second report to the full Senate.

Other bills reviewed by the committee were:

Senate Bill 259 intending to expanding the Coyote Control Program.
Senate Bill 502 which would exempt sales of investment metal bullion and coins.
Senate Bill 550 which would declare certain claims to be moral obligations of the state.

Education Reports Bill to Full Senate

Senate Committee

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February 12, 2019

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The Senate Education Committee reported Senate Bill 553 to the full Senate, Tuesday, Feb, 12.

The legislation, relating to federal fund for land-grant institutions, is also required to be reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee prior to coming before the Senate.

President of West Virginia State University, Anthony Jenkins, came before members of the committee to outline the university’s funding and explain the impacts of land-grants on the institution.

According to Jenkins, funding created through land-grants, federal government funding and state funding have enabled the university to help 20,000 residents within the state. Through passage of the bill, the state would donate $1.4 million to the university in order to match the funding supplied by land-grants, extending the university’s help throughout the entire state.

Jenkins urged the committee to consider passage of the bill by stating that land-grant funding could potentially be jeopardized if the state doesn’t match the full amount accredited by the federal government.

“There have been many conversations concerning the seriousness of funding,” Jenkins said. “If the federal government doesn’t believe the state is being serious, funding could be taken away.”

Following the committee’s agreement on the committee substitute, members motioned to report the bill.

Judiciary Committee Passes Bill to Sell Liquor on Sundays

Senate Committee

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February 12, 2019

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The Senate Committee on the Judiciary met Tuesday afternoon for a brief meeting to discuss two bills on the agenda.

House Bill 2481 would allow the selling of liquor on Sundays from 1 p.m. to midnight unless on Christmas Day. The Committee approved a strike and insert amendment to also exclude Easter Sunday.

The Committee also discussed Senate Bill 295 which relates to crimes against public justice. The proposed bill would 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.

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

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Committee Reviews Tobacco Legislation

Senate Committee

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February 12, 2019

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Senate Bill 348, relating to tobacco usage restrictions, came before the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee during Monday’s meeting.

The proposed legislation, which would increase the buying age of tobacco products from 18 to 21, was highly advocated for by guests of the committee. Following explanation of the bill, three guests came before the committee in support of the bill which is intended to battle the state’s tobacco usage.

Doctor Catherine Slemp, the interim state health office at the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, addressed the committee to explain her reasons for supporting the legislation. Slemp stated that each year 4,300 lives are lost in the state due to tobacco which ultimately accounts for a billion dollars in health costs being spent by the state.

On average, 94 percent of the state’s smokers begin smoking before the age of 21; 75 percent begin at the age of 18.

Following a question from Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, Slemp explained that the bill was a result of the military seeking to improve the health based readiness of individuals who are attempting to enlist. According to the officer, many individuals who join the military at the age of 18 are already smoking or may begin to smoke following their arrival in the service. The long term goal of the military is to create a tobacco free environment.

Lauren Rowley of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association came before committee members concerning the committee substitute for Senate Bill 489, relating to the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act. Rowley stated that following review of the revised language, the association appreciated the work of the committee substitute but disagreed with updates applied to the registration process.

“We believe the registration that is currently in place is fine and shouldn’t be changed,” Rowley said. “We have not heard any of our clients complain about our current registration so I’m hoping you can remove this.”

When reviewing Senate Bill 545, relating to HIV testing, Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, raised concerns over the objective of the bill and asked if it was intended to make HIV testing more restrictive.

Council responded to the Senator by explaining that the bill isn’t intended to be restrictive, but to revamp the process by creating more flexibility with testing.

Senate Bill 546, relating to health care provider taxes, was briefly reviewed by the committee as well.

Each of the four bills were reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that each pass.

Industry and Labor Committee Passes Bill Relating to Contractors Wages for Employees

House Committee

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February 12, 2019

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The committee for Industry and Labor met today to discuss House Bill 2049, relating to a prime contractors responsibility for wages and benefits of employees.

The purpose of this bill is to repeal a section of the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act requiring a prime contractor to be responsible for the wages and benefits of a subcontractors employees in certain instances. The committee amendment made by the Subcommittee amends the language 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 bill will be reported to the House after first being reviewed by the Judiciary committee.

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