Constitutional Carry Bill Passes Senate
This week in the Legislature, public safety bills picked up some steam.
A bill that would eliminate the need for a concealed carry permit in the state passed the House 68-31 on Feb. 8. House Bill 4145 – relating to the carry or use of a handgun or deadly weapon – was sent to the Senate Judiciary committee where it was amended and sent to the full Senate. The Senate laid the bill over on second reading on Friday, with a vote expected to come Monday, Feb. 22.
Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, said HB 4145 is a good piece of legislation and accomplished the goals it intended.
“I think it’s pretty good in that it does the two things (it) was designed to do,” Trump said. “That is give life to the constitutional right for people to bear arms as well as trying to take them out of the hands of the bad guys.”
The bill also enhances the penalty for use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Criminals who use a firearm during a felony would be subject to ten years of imprisonment in a state correctional facility to run consecutively with any other sentencing. Co-chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Delegate Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, said the constitutional carry bill is about just that.
“The bill is a balance between people being able to exercise their constitutional rights, but also maintaining prohibitions in place for persons not able to have concealed firearms,” Lane said.
A bill sponsored by Delegate Brian Kurcaba, R-Monongalia, would establish a felony offense of strangulation. The bill passed the House of Delegates almost unanimously 93-2 and goes to the Senate for consideration in the Judiciary committee.
House Bill 4362 would establish a felony offense of strangulation. The House Judiciary amended the measure to add “another person” and “without consent” to the original language of the bill. The legislation is in the Senate Judiciary committee.
Trump said a bill that would create a felony strangulation offense passed last session but was vetoed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.
“We’re going to have it on our agenda in committee,” Trump said. “It’s an important issue that had broad support in the Senate last year, we were all surprised when Gov. Tomblin vetoed it.”
Lane said he would hope the Senate passed the House version of the felony strangulation measure. He said the bill fills in the gap between simple battery and malicious wounding as it pertains to strangulation.
“This provides some middle level felony offense for strangling somebody which unfortunately have become prevalent around the country,” Lane said.
If passed, Senate Bill 13 would increase the penalties for overtaking and passing a stopped school bus passed the Senate with almost unanimous support.
If passed, the bill would increase penalties for violation of the code causing death and if found guilty of a felony would hold not less than a year or more than ten years in a state correctional facility as well as a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $3,000.
“It’s important we address that, it’s already a crime not to stop for a school bus but it seems to keep happening,” Trump said. “We end up with kids hurt, serious injuries, fatalities and I think all of us feel the urgency in doing everything we can to eliminate that.”
As for the issue of people illegally passing stopped school buses, Lane said the public issue is a matter of public education and he hopes passing the bill will do that.
A major issue in the county Lane serves, he said the bill also ramps up penalties for those who disregard the laws in place.
Other bills on the subject of public safety:
Senate Bill 445 – Requiring well operators and pipeline operators to report emergency incidents to Division of Homeland Security
House Bill 4197 – Allowing required HIV and hepatitis testing for the protection of law- enforcement officers who may have been exposed
House Bill 4219 – Relating to vehicle inspection stations
House Bill 4453 – Requiring the State Police to partner with the DNA and Digital Forensics sections of Marshall University Forensic Science Center