Blog – Page 149

Senate Health Reviews Tobacco Legislation

Senate Committee

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January 29, 2019

The Senate Health and Human Resources advanced a bill that would prohibit smoking in a vehicle when a minor is present.

The committee met Tuesday afternoon where it took up SenateBill 81. The bill, which prohibits smoking in a vehicle when a minor under 16 is present, was highly discussed.

Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, raised concern over whether vape pens or other electronic tobacco products would be included in the bill. The current version of the bill calls for a fine of $25 if an individual is found guilty of smoking a “lit” tobacco product while operating a vehicle where an individual under 16 is present.

Sen. Mike Azginer, R-Wood, also showed concern over the bill, citing that passage would result in too much government interference within the confines of a parent child relationship.

Dr. Cathy Slemp, interim state health officer and commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health, defended the bill and described the many effects that tobacco products can induce on children. Slemp cited statistics, saying children exposed to tobacco are more likely to contract ear infections and respiratory infections, and when tobacco products are used within a limited space, such as a car, the potential for negative side effects increase.

In response to Stollings’ concerns, Slemp stated that a rapid rise in electronic tobacco use has resulted in a 78 percent increase of teenage tobacco use in 2018— the highest increase since surveying began in 1975.

Following discussion, Stollings offered an amendment that would include electronic products in the current version of the bill. The senator also offered an amendment that would dedicate fines collected through this bill to the state’s tobacco education program.

Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, offered an amendment to alter the age of a minor from 16 to 17 and below for minors present in a vehicle.

Following a vote, the committee adopted all three amendments and voted to have a committee substitute of Senate Bill 81 be sent to the full Senate following reference to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Judiciary Committee Puts Limitations on Judge Per Diem

Senate Committee

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January 29, 2019

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The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday afternoon to discuss seven bills on the committee’s agenda.

Senate Bill 398 relates to per diem compensation for senior judges or justices. The bill would fix the rate of per diem compensation for senior judges or justices by statute and limit the combined annual total of per diem compensation and retirement benefits that may be paid to a senior judge or justice. Currently they are paid $435 per day. The bill would drop it to $430 per day.

Senate Bill 399 relates to senior magistrates, and is in essence similar to Senate Bill 398. The bill would provide magistrates $200 per day for per diem.

Both bills were passed by the committee, and were referred to the Committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 369 relates to generic prescription drugs. The bill would require that when a pharmacist substitutes a drug, the patient shall receive the savings which shall be equal to the difference in acquisition cost of the product prescribed.

Senate Bill 373 relates to the Division of Corrections (DOC) and court ordered mandated for inmates. The bill would allow the DOC to subtract the monies from civil judgments and settlements to be paid towards court ordered obligations of inmates.

Senate Bill 361 would authorize the Public Defenders Services to create a habeas division for persons involved in habeas corpus.

Senate Bill 377 would exclude seasonal amusement park workers from the definition of “employee” for the purposes of maximum hours’ standard.

House Bill 2462 would allow correctional employees to carry, use and handle a firearm in performance of duties, including travel to and from work, after completion of same firearm training as law enforcement. They would be required to re-certify on a yearly basis.

The committee advanced all five bills, which were reported to the full Senate.

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House Health and Human Resources Advances Four Bills

House Committee

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January 29, 2019

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The House Committee on Health and Human Resources met Tuesday to consider four bills.

The committee advanced four pieces of legislation regarding health care occupations, water protection, and incentivizing the increase of mental health professionals in the state of West Virginia.

House Bill 2612 would authorize the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to update rules regarding the source water protection plans throughout the state. Currently, public water utilities are mandated to report the status of their water and a water protection plan to the state commission every three years. This bill would allow the timeframe of this reporting to be more flexible in order to give these water utilities more time to review the status of their water protection.

House Bill 2612 was passed unanimously and advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it do pass.

House Bill 2651 is a bill that would require pharmacy benefit managers who contract within the state of West Virginia to inform covered customers if a cheaper drug is available to them. The bill would also require the pharmacy benefit manager to submit quarterly reports to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) when applicable.

Delegate Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, who is one of the lead sponsors of the bill, stated that the legislation was inspired by similar legislation in Virginia and Ohio.

House Bill 2651 passed unanimously, and was advanced to House Finance for a second reference.

House Bill 2607 would revise the reporting requirements for licensed nursing homes in the state. The strike-and-insert legislation cleans up some language in the previous code in order to better specify the Secretary of DHHR’s administrative responsibilities, as well as specify the requirements of licensed state nursing homes as far as reportage goes.

House Bill 2607 was advanced to the House Floor.

House Bill 2674 would create a loan repayment program for mental health professionals who have worked in the state of West Virginia within an underserved area for at least five years.

The loan repayment program, which would be budgeted legislatively within the Higher Education Policy Commission, would aim to incentivize mental health professionals to work within the state in order to get their student loans paid off.

West Virginia has shown a great need for mental health professionals, which inspired lead sponsor Delegate Martin Atkinson III, R-Roane, to create the legislation.

“We’re trying to get people to stay in the state of West Virginia with this bill,” Atkinson said. “We need these professionals in our rural areas, and in our school systems.”

House Bill 2674 passed the House Committee on Health and Human Resources unanimously and was advanced to House Finance Committee for second reference.

Political Subdivisions Committee Reviews Three Bills

House Committee

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January 29, 2019

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The House Political Subdivisions Committee reviewed three bills in its Tuesday meeting and advanced one measure related to mobile phone emergency lines.

House Bill 2542 relates to permitting directors of county emergency phone systems to obtain mobile phone emergency lines. This bill would simply allow emergency phone systems such as 911 to include calls to mobile phones as well as phones connected with land lines.

The committee adopted an amendment made to the bill which adds a specific date for when this procedure would be put into place. The committee advanced the bill, which next heads to the House Committee on Government Organization.

The committee also took up House Bill 2410, which requires county commissions to maintain websites with specific information that is available to the public at no charge. After the committee discussed the bill in depth and the possible positive and negative repercussions it would have, it was voted down.

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Transportation Committee Discusses Aggravated Driving Bill

Senate Committee

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January 29, 2019

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The Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met Tuesday morning to discuss one bill, and hear a presentation from the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH).

Senate Bill 105 relates to aggravated drivers. The bill would enhance the penalty if the conduct that led to the conviction of reckless driving created a severe and imminent danger to one or more minors outside the vehicle. That decision would be made by a judge.

The committee unanimously approved the bill, and it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Transportation Secretary Tom Smith updated the committee on the status of the division and its current needs. Smith talked about the deferred maintenance issue in the state.

In 2013, the Blue Ribbon Commission issued a report on West Virginia roads stating that to keep roads at current levels, $750 million would be need annually to keep the roads as is. In 2018, West Virginia needed $4.5 billion to cover the backlog of deferred maintenance since 2013.

The Roads to Prosperity has funded $2 billion to help the problem but that still leaves the state with $2.5 billion left to fund to continue deferred maintenance.

Smith also noted that West Virginia is sixth nationally for most roads in a state, and West Virginia own 94 percent of the roads in the state alone.

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Senate Sends Two Bills to the House

Senate Floor Session

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January 29, 2019

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The Senate met on Tuesday morning to discuss two bills on third reading.

Senate Bill 63 would allow partial filling of prescriptions. The bill would allow partial filling of controlled substances listed in Schedule II.

Senate Bill 236 provide notice of eligibility to persons to vote after completion of punishment or pardon. The bill would require an agency having custody or supervisory authority over a convicted person who is ineligible to register vote to give notice of the renewed right to register to vote and a voter registration form upon release or discharge from custody.

11 bills were advanced to third reading including Senate Bill 258 which relates to piercing the limited liability company veil (LLC). The bill would provide immunity for LLCs from piercing the veil in a lawsuit.

Senate bills 452 to 467 were introduced which includes Senate Bill 454. The bill would provide exemptions from mandatory immunizations.

Exemptions include:

Physical Conditions
Religious Beliefs
Personnel Objection

The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

The following committees will meet today:

Health at 1:30 p.m. in 451M

Energy at 1:30 p.m. in 208W

Gov. Org. at 2:15 p.m. in 208W

Finance at 3 p.m. in 451M

Judiciary at 3:15 p.m. in 208W

Education is canceled

The following committees will meet tomorrow:

Committee on the Whole at 11 a.m. in the Senate Chamber

Agriculture at 2 p.m. in 208W

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Industry and Labor Committee Discusses Two Bills Regarding Employee Benefits

House Committee

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January 29, 2019

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The Committee for Labor and Industry met briefly to discuss two bills on their agenda.

House Bill 2356 relates to clarifying the definition of an employee for the purposes of unemployment compensation and workers compensation. The committee adopted a strike and insert amendment to the bill. The goal of the bill is to provide the commissioner with additional details to make that determination. This bill next heads to the House Judiciary Committee.

House Bill 2646 relates to providing a safe harbor for employers to correct underpayment or nonpayment of wages and benefits due to separated employees. This would add a new section of code to the wage collection act. This bill was laid over until Wednesday’s meeting where it will be further discussed.

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First Two Bills Complete Legislative Action

House Floor Session

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January 29, 2019

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The House of Delegates passed two Senate bills without amendment, making Senate Bill 17 and Senate Bill 119 the first two pieces of legislation to complete legislative action for the regular session of the 84th West Virginia Legislature.

The House of Delegates convened at 11 a.m. Tuesday to consider pieces of legislation, seven of which were on third reading.

Senate Bill 17, if approved by Gov. Jim Justice, would allow for the option of psychological examinations to be available to certain criminals seeking parole in West Virginia. Currently, according to statute, those seeking probation must go through a series of treatments and studies. This bill would add the option of a psychological exam with the proper documentation to that list.

Senate Bill 119 was also passed through the House of Delegates without amendment, making it the second bill that has been passed by both the House and the Senate this session.

This bill would specify that documents prepared by a licensed health care provider for the purpose of improving the quality, delivery, or efficiency of health care is confidential, and is not subject to discovery in a civil action or administrative proceeding. Assessments, tests, procedures, and quality controlled documents would also be privileged information.

Senate Bill 272 is a bill that would update the code for the Committee on Special Investigations. A similar bill was passed unanimously by both the House and the Senate last year but was ultimately vetoed by the governor because of a defective title.

This bill would clarify the procedures of interviews, presentation of evidence, and executive session for the Committee on Special Investigations. It also clarifies that the Senate President and Speaker of the House must be the chairs of these committees, and it establishes criminal offenses for obstructing the work of the commission. Senate Bill 272 passed with a title amendment.

House Bill 2083 also passed the House today and was advanced to the Senate for consideration. This bill would provide temporary state identification cards to recently released inmates that are West Virginia citizens. The state identification cards would be valid for 90 days, allowing recently released inmates to have time to go to their Department of Motor Vehicles and get a valid ID cards.

“Currently, these released inmates have trouble reintegrating into society and this is a large reason why,” said Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer. “This bill would allow them to open bank accounts, get jobs, things of that nature.”

House Bill 2191 would allow licensed West Virginia Lottery operators to be also be licensed as lottery retailers in ten state locations. The bill would also remove restrictions on bill denominations accepted by limited video lottery terminals, and also fix the video lottery revenues at 50 percent. This bill also passed, and was voted to be effective from passage.

House Bill 2514 would permit pawn brokers to voluntarily disclose if an item has been sold or pledged, as long as the pawn broker does not break confidentiality or give identifying information.

Delegate Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha, spoke in defense of House 2514, saying “Not passing this bill would defend pawn brokers as fences against stolen property.”

House Bill 2514 ultimately passed the House, despite questions regarding how it would make pawn brokers responsible for issues of personal conflict.

House Bill 2602 also was passed. This bill would clarify that possession of stolen items is larceny under state law. According to statute currently, larceny is only applicable in instances where stolen items are transferred.

Two bills on second reading, House Bill 2324 and House Bill 2407, were amended. The remainder of bills on second reading were advanced to their appropriate committees.

The House of Delegates is adjourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow, Jan. 30th.

Committees Meeting Today:

The House Committee on Political Subdivisions will meet at 1 p.m. today, Jan. 29, in 434-M.

The House Committee on Energy will meet at 2 p.m. today, Jan. 29, in 410-M.

The House Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 2 p.m. today, Jan. 29, in 215-E.

The House Committee on Pensions and Retirement will meet at 4 p.m. today, Jan. 29, in 410-M.

Committees Meeting Tomorrow Before Floor Session:

The House Committee on Finance will meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow in 460-M for two budget hearings.

The House Committee on Government Organization will meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow in 215-E.

The House Committee on the Judiciary will meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow in 410-M.

The House Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 tomorrow behind the House Chamber.

Senate Military Reviews Issues Surrounding Past Legislation

House Committee

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January 29, 2019

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Representatives from the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles came before the Senate Military Committee, 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29.

Adam Holley, general counsel of the division, addressed issues surround Senate Bill 336, a bill which provides certain DMV applicants the ability to contribute to the WV Department of Veterans Assistance.

Following it’s passage in March, the ability to donate was intended to become effective on June 1, 2018, but, according to Holley, wasn’t featured on physical license renewal forms until September. The ability to donate through online renewal applications or through select kiosks machine has yet to be effective.

On average, 11,000 people renew their licenses each month, according to Holley, with a vast majority of renewal applications being physical form.

Committee Chair, Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, showed concerned over the legislation’s inactive past, citing that these issues resulted in a missed opportunity for the VA to receive donations.

Holley explained that the DMV’s online site has a history of issues, mainly concerning credit card processing, and assured the committee that they would be notified when the issues have been resolved.

The bill has currently collected $23,000 for the VA.

The Senate also reviewed Senate Bill 450, a bill which would exempt recipients of the distinguished Purple Heart medal from payment of the vehicle registration fee for West Virginia residents.

Sen. Douglas Facemire, D-Braxton, motioned to amend the bill and allow for other military distinguished service plate holders to also benefit from the bill.

Committee members unanimously voted to report a committee substitute of the bill to the full Senate following a reference to the Finance Committee.

Senate Finance Discusses Bills, Reviews Budget Presentation

Senate Committee

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January 28, 2019

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The Senate Finance Committee reviewed three bills and two budget presentations, 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28.

Representatives from the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History came before committee members to present their budget proposals for fiscal year 2020.

Robert Roswell, commissioner for the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services, requested a total of $29,950,955 towards their general revenue for the upcoming fiscal year, the exact amount of their fiscal year 2019 budget.

Following the bureau’s presentation, Randal Reed Smith, commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, requested a total of $5.1 million prior to acknowledging the many successes of the department. According to Smith, the state’s museums were named among the top 25 in the nation despite receiving a cut to grant funding.

“As the economy of the state gets better, we hope to receive more money for appropriations to get grant funding where it once was,” Smith said.

The committee also reviewed Senate Bills 100, 103 and 264, and unanimously voted to send each of the bills to the full Senate with the recommendation that they each pass.

Senate Bill 100 would increase court fees to fund law enforcement standards training and expenses.
Senate Bill 103 relates generally to Public Defender Services.
Senate Bill 264 would require courts to order restitution to crime victims where economically practicable.