Blog – Page 157

Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Discusses Driving Privileges

Senate Committee

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January 15, 2019

The Senate Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure convened on Tuesday to discuss Senate Bill 55, which refers to driving privileges for persons under the age of 18.

The bill would include drivers under the age of 18 and with a level three drivers’ license to be prohibited from using a wireless deceive, such as a cell phone, while driving.

As of now under the current code, only drivers with a level one or two license are prohibited from using a wireless device while driving.

The bill would qualify West Virginia for Federal grant of $2.4 million which would be used at the local level such as training for emergency personnel.

The Committee also discussed Resolution Ten which would impose a deadline for naming resolutions of infrastructures to be introduced to the Senate during regular session.

Senators discussed how this resolution would help the Committee and the Senate attend to more pressing matters in the last ten days of session. The deadline would be on the 50th day of the regular session.

The Committee voted unanimously to adopted the resolution, and to report it to the Senate to be referred to the Rules Committee.

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Committee for Industry and Labor Amends Contractor Bill

House Committee

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January 15, 2019

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The House Committee for Industry and Labor met Tuesday to discuss a bill relating to contractors.

The committee was unable to discuss both bills that were introduced due to conflicts of time but started discussions and amendments for House Bill 2049. This bill relates to a prime contractor’s responsibility for wages and benefits.

The committee had a lengthy discussion on the bill and voted on an amendment to the bill to help clarify the terminology and language used in the bill.

The committee plans to continue discussion in a meeting next week.

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House of Delegates Advances Two Bills for Passage

House Floor Session

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January 15, 2019

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The West Virginia House of Delegates met briefly Tuesday morning, advancing two bills to third reading.

One of these bills, House Bill 2164, clarifies that appeals to the Supreme Court are a matter of right. The second bill, House Bill 2351, relates to regulating prior authorizations.

These bills were in the amendment stage Tuesday and are up for passage Wednesday.

The House will reconvene 11 a.m. Wednesday.

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Senate Advances Eight Bills to Third Reading, Amends SB 190

Senate Floor Session

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January 15, 2019

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The Senate advanced eight bills to third reading including a bill regarding a Division of Highway hiring rule, in its Tuesday floor session.

Senate Bill 190, which is a Division of Highway rule change for hiring new employees, was unanimously amended by the Senate to include defining the term “premium” as overtime paid for as time and a half.

Seven other bills were advanced to third reading Tuesday.

The Committee on Judiciary reported Senate Bill 61 and 272 to the full Senate. Senate Bill 61 involves adding crimes that prosecutors may apply for a wiretap, and Senate Bill 272 relates to updating code on the Commission on Special Investigations.

The Senate introduced Bills 303 to 315, and were referred to committees.

A letter of resignation submitted by Sen. Richard Ojeda’s, D-Logan, was reported to the Senate.

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College Board Presents Information to Senate Military

Senate Committee

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January 15, 2019

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Senior Director for Strategic Military Initiatives with the College Board, Lt. Col. Bruce Shahbaz, updated the Senate Military Committee on CLEP tests.

“The College-Level Examination Program, also known as the CLEP, is a test administered through the College Board which allows for easy access to college credit,” Shahbaz said.

Like an Advanced Placement exam, Shahbaz explained that the program helps administer credit through 33 subject tests which Shahbaz said are aligned to most college introductory courses.

According to Shahbaz, the 90-minute online tests have raised degree completion and tests results have shown that those who take the CLEP score equal to or higher than those who take an AP test for a traditional class.

“The state is doing exceptionally well,” Shahbaz said. “West Virginia’s current pass rate for the CLEP is 70 percent while the national average stands at 50 percent.”

Shahbaz told the committee that the Department of Defense is currently paying for an initial CLEP exam for those who have an active status in the military. An individual may be reimbursed for the exam under the G.I. Bill as well.

The committee reported Senate Bills 121, 149, 256 and 297 to the full Senate following referral to the Finance Committee.

Senate Bill 149 which would exempt certain veterans from concealed weapons license fees. The bill was introduced last session where it died in the House.

House Judiciary Advances Three Bills

House Committee

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January 15, 2019

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After briefly meeting in the House for the floor session yesterday, the Judiciary Committee reconvened to discuss three bills on its agenda.

The committee took up House Bill 2190, which relates to the release of a criminal on a personal recognizance bond by a magistrate unless there is good cause shown that they should not be released. There was much discussion as to what constitutes “good cause” but after much debate and a failed amendment to the bill, the committee advanced the bill to the House floor.

Randall Reed Smith, Chair of the Capital Building Commission, also addressed the committee. He spoke about the commission’s responsibilities. He said their main purpose is to preserve the historical integrity and significance of the State Capital building. There was a discussion about an originating bill from the committee about the Capital Building Commission that was passed and sent to the House.

The next bill to be introduced was House Bill 2191, which is bill relating to limited video lottery. This bill would allow operators to be retailers at up to 10 licensed locations with certain exceptions; increasing the maximum wager permitted per limited video lottery game; removing five restrictions on bill denominations accepted by limited video lottery terminals; and fixing the six states share of gross terminal income at 50 percent on July 1, 2019. This bill was also passed and was to be reported to the House but will first go to the House Finance Committee.

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House Committee on Finance Hears Two Presentations on Higher Education Budgets

House Committee

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January 15, 2019

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The House Finance Committee heard two presentations regarding the financial standing of higher education institutions in its Monday meeting.

Carolyn Long, the Interim Chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC), presented an appropriation request for the fiscal year of 2020. The presentation, which asked for about $13.5 million for student-focused funding, aims to increase the competitive edge of West Virginia higher education institutions as well as alleviate the cost to students across the state.

“We are here today to advocate for reinvestment in our state’s college education programs,” Long said.

Long said the HEPC understands cuts made to higher education in the past years were warranted but now that the state is in an economic upswing, they want to address financial problems colleges are experiencing.

Long said although the Southern Regional Education Board sees their students pay around 58.7 percent of their educational costs, West Virginia students must bear 72.3 percent of their educational costs. Additionally, enrollment has decreased 0.2 percent since 2016. Under the West Virginia CLIMB program, the HEPC wants to equip 60 percent of West Virginians with a certificate or degree by the year 2030. Their budget request accounted for this proposal.

The HEPC provided three different funding models, per the Legislature’s request last year. Each funding model presented to the committee for consideration used a different metric to allot different rates of state appropriations to each state school. The budget also resided within Gov. Jim Justice’s budget recommendations.

The HEPC has concerns over a funding mechanism – or what Long said is a lack of one. Long said there are currently “no objective means” to dictate how much money goes to any particular higher education institution within the state.

Although the funding mechanisms presented by HEPC solved for the lack of a current, streamlined formula, some delegates questioned the repercussions of the quantitative nature of the models.

“I would hope that the formula we choose takes into consideration the socioeconomic factors of each school,” Delegate Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, said. “I think we all want to strive for equity when it comes to funding, but we have to be very careful to ensure no region of West Virginia gets left behind.”

Sarah Armstrong Tucker, chancellor of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education, also addressed the finance committee Monday. Tucker outlined the community college system, its functions and its budgetary recommendations for the 2020 fiscal year.

The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College requested $5 million for deferred maintenance, $7 million for student tuition for qualifying students, and $5 million to fund the Student Support and College Completion Initiative.

Tucker emphasized the return on investment that community and technical schools bring to the state. She said 92 percent of students attending a community of technical school are from West Virginia, and 71 percent of graduating students work in state after graduation.

Tucker said that community and technical schools, while integral to the state for preparing the workforce, have also been affected by education cuts. She said 127 programs have been cut since 2013, and a lot of schools have to share administrators in order to economize.

“A lot of our students are adults who attend college part time,” Tucker said. “This is what our students look like, and this is what our workforce looks like. We need to help to ensure their success.”

Attorney General asks Senate Finance to Transfer Medicaid Fraud Unit

Senate Committee

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January 15, 2019

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West Virginia Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, asked the Senate Finance Committee to transfer the Medicaid Fraud Unit from the Department of Health and Human Resources to the Attorney General’s Office.

The Attorney General said that his office has been able to save $13 million in savings through Social Security Benefit Fraud Reduction since 2015 and would be able to have a positive impact on preventing fraud through Medicaid.

“Anywhere from .6 to.12 cents from every Medicaid dollar gets lost,” Morrisey said. “We think our expertise going after fraud would be beneficial in the Medicaid fraud arena.”

Currently 43 states in the nation have a Medicaid fraud unit as a part of their Attorney General’s Office while the DHHR office is currently in charge of leading enforcements in West Virginia. If transferred, Morrisey said that he would like for his office to start off by taking on civil enforcements related to Medicaid fraud.

“The state has never really been at the top of its game,” Morrisey said. “I think there’s more that we could do in terms of the types of work that would allow for Medicaid dollars to go back to the state.”

Morrisey said that in the past, the DHHR has been opposed to this transfer of power but his office would be more than happy to welcome DHHR employees if the transfer is made.

“We’ve always tried to take the approach of having the best and the brightest,” Morrisey said. “If (the DHHR) has people who are engaged and doing good work then certainly we want to do everything imaginable to keep those people in place.”

Committee Chair, Craig Blair, also motioned to send Senate Bills 184, 185, 187, 188 and 189 to the full Senate but first be under double committee reference and referred to the committee on the Judiciary.

Senate Bill 186, which relates to State Tax Department rules, adds a new rule that authorizes that the tax commissioner relate the exchange of information for facilitating premium tax collections or enforcing tax collections. The bill was sent to the full Senate but first must be under double committee reference and referred to the committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee Reports Two Bills to the Senate

Senate Committee

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January 14, 2019

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The Senate Judiciary Committee convened on Jan. 14. to discuss Senate Bills 61 and 272.

Senate Bill 61 adds certain crimes that a prosecutor may apply for a wiretap. The bill would add first and second degree murder, first degree robbery, treason and participation in an organized criminal enterprise.

Senate Bill 272 would update code relating to Commission on Special Investigations. The bill would include the following changes:

Require that the investigative staff is to consist of a director, a deputy director, senior investigators and investigators approved by the co-chairs.
Would do away with the requirement that Commission expenses must be approved by the Joint Committee as it is redundant given the makeup of the Commission.
Would allow the commission to request rather than subpoena records for state, county, and local government entities.

Two new sections would be added and include:

Making it a felony to impersonate a Commission member or staff. The penalty is the same as for Making a false statement, except for the fine which is up to $5,000.
Would allow the Commission to award duty weapons to certain retiring members and provides for the disposal for surplus weapons.

The Committee voted unanimously to approve both bills to be reported the full Senate.

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House Government Organization Advances Two Bills

House Committee

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January 14, 2019

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A bill preventing state licensing boards from hiring lobbyists and a bill creating a provisional license for practicing barbering and cosmetology advanced out of the House Government Organization Committee Monday.

The committee took up House Bill 2204 in Monday’s meeting. This bill would set forth that only the director and appointed board members may lobby for licensing boards. The committee passed the bill, which next heads to the House Judiciary Committee.

The committee also took up House Bill 2307, which creates a provisional license for practicing barbering and cosmetology. This bill removes the requirement to take an exam for license to practice if the person holds a valid license from another state. The bill creates a provisional license granted to those who have an expired license from another state if they meet certain qualifications.

Applicants must not have charges pending against the expired license or have had their licenses revoked.

Applicants can get their full licenses when they work for a year under the supervision of someone with a valid West Virginia license, do not have complaints filed against them in that year, pay all fees for the provisional license and state license, are 18-years-old and have a high school diploma, GED, or pass the “Ability to Benefit Test,” and fulfill any other board requirements.

The committee advanced House Bill 2307, which heads to the full House.