Today, the House of Delegates adopted five resolutions and passed seven bills.

House Concurrent Resolution 12 names the bridge carrying CR 008 over Hustead Fork Stream in Taylor County as the “U.S. Marine Private First-Class Calvin Lee Loudin Memorial Bridge.” Loudin served in the Marines during WWII. He has been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon bar with a star, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Purple Heart. Loudin died in the battle of Sugar Loaf Hill on the Island of Okinawa on May 22, 1945.

House Concurrent Resolution 37 names the bridge carrying WV 152 over Twelvepole Creek in Wayne County as the “U.S. Army PFC Carl. J. Osburn Bridge.” Osburn served in the U.S. Army during WWII. During his service, he was placed in a POW camp in Germany. Despite injury, being held captive, and being starved, Osburn strived to return home and complete his service. Once his service was completed, Osburn returned home to Wayne County, WV.

Senate Bill 668 increases the amount of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine a person may purchase annually to 86.4 grams.

Discussion on House Bill 4299 was lengthy as the bill was advanced to third with amendments pending. House Bill 4299 allows teachers, administrators, and personnel to carry concealed firearms and other self-defense items in elementary and secondary schools, after completing training to be a School Protection Officer.

Two amendments were offered, but only one was adopted. The adopted amendment changes the word “may” to “shall” requiring schools to allow teachers, administrators, and support personnel to be SPOs as long as they meet all the requirements and are eligible. Effectively, this bill removes the requirement for a county board to make any policy regarding SPOs.

Proponents of this amendment stated that the amendment makes the bill work. It makes the bill more than “ink on paper.” They stated this is a way to give teachers control. Opponents of the amendment stated the amendment took local control away from counties and schools to determine if they needed SPOs.

Similar to the amendment, proponents of the bill feel this bill provides a means of protection for students and teachers. They stated this gives teachers a way of protecting children should an active shooter situation arise. Opponents stated many teachers do not want this and do not feel comfortable with guns in schools. The opponents mentioned the training and vetting not being enough for SPOs. The bill advances to the Senate.

House Bill 5065 increases the compensation for guardians ad litem from $60 to $105 for out-of-court work and from $80 to $120 for in-court work for abuse and neglect cases. The bill also requires continuing education must be completed to be a guardian ad litem.

House Bill 5361 requires hospitals to offer influenza immunizations to patients prior to discharge from October 1 to March 1 each year.

The House is adjourned until tomorrow, February 22, 2023, at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, today, Feb. 21
The Education Committee will meet at 2:45 p.m. in Room 434.
The Finance Committee will meet at 3:15 p.m. in Room 460. 
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 4 p.m. in Room 215E.

Committee Meetings, tomorrow, Feb. 22
The Finance Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 460. 
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. behind the House Chamber.
The Committee on Technology and Infrastructure will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Economic Development and Tourism will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E. 

Today, the House of Delegates adopted 39 House Concurrent Resolutions including:

House Concurrent Resolution 25 names the bridge that carries US 250 over Grave Creek in Cameron, WV, Marshall County as the “U. S. Navy Sonarman First Class William “Bill” C. Harris Memorial Bridge.” Harris served in the Navy during WWII. Harris served as a Rural Mail Carrier for the USPS after his service and was a Commander of the American Legion Post #18. He was an advocate for veterans’ issues and rights. Harris passed away on October 16, 2021. 

House Concurrent Resolution 30 names the bridge that carries US 250 over North Fork Grave Creek in Clouston, WV, Marshall County as the “Jack L. Hart Memorial Bridge”. Hart served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. Hart served as a Captain at the former WV State Penitentiary in Moundsville and as a Deputy with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department. Hart was also a member of the Cameron City Council for 12 years and a member of the American Legion Post #18. Hart passed away on August 27, 2023. 

House Concurrent Resolution 44 names the bridge that carries Harts Run Road (CR 60/14) over Howard Creek in White Sulphur Springs, WV, Greenbrier County as the “Frank Walker Mosley Memorial Bridge”. Mosley served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart after being shot above the eye. Mosely worked for the railroad for a short time after returning home. Eventually, he found himself working at the Greenbrier, where he spent nearly 65 years working in various capacities. He passed away on April 10, 2023. 

The House completed action on Senate Bill 507. The bill repeals the West Virginia EDGE program which is no longer necessary due to the passage of the dual enrollment pilot program last year. 

Twelve bills passed the House, including:

House Bill 5017 creates a statewide permit for mobile food service establishments. The permit will be issued from the vendor’s local or county health department. A vendor in compliance with the issuing health department is in compliance with all health departments. The permit shall be valid for up to a year. No additional fees can be charged for any in-state venter that has received the statewide permit. Each vendor is required to notify the local health department where they will be operating at least 72 hours before operation begins.

House Bill 5159 eliminates the work permit entirely, only requiring age certification. The issuance of age certifications is shifted to be the responsibility of the State Commissioner of Labor, as opposed to the State Superintendent of Schools. The Commissioner must review birth certificates before issuing age certificates. 

House Bill 5175 abolishes the Center for Nursing and creates the Office of Nursing Education and Workforce Development within the Higher Education Policy Commission. The bill moves all the functions of the Center for Nursing to the Office of Nursing Education and Workforce Development. 

House Bill 5553 changes graduation requirements relating to personal finance, computer science, and technology. 

Six of the bills on Second Reading were amended, including:

House Bill 5065 increases the compensation of individuals serving as guardian ad litem. The bill also requires guardian ad litem to have completed all continuing education for serving as guardian ad litem for a child. The Finance Committee amendment makes the bill effective July 1, 2024. An additional amendment adds reporting requirements. 

House Bill 5635 allows for a condition or illness to be listed on the label of a prescription. The bill was amended to require prescribers to ask if the patient wants the condition or illness added to the label. 

Resolutions introduced today can be found here.

The House is adjourned until tomorrow, February 21, 2023, at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, today Feb. 20
The Committee on Economic Development and Tourism will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3:15 p.m. in Room 215E. 
The Committee on Technology and Infrastructure will meet at 3:45 p.m. in Room 434.
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 4:30 p.m. in Room 410. 

Committee Meetings, tomorrow, Feb. 21
The Committee on Fire Departments and EMS will meet at 9:15 a.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Artificial Intelligence will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 434.
The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. behind the House Chamber.
The Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 460. 
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
The Education Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 434.
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 2:30 p.m. in Room 410. 

Today, the House of Delegates adopted one resolution and passed eight bills. 

House Concurrent Resolution 6 names the bridge locally known as Southbound and Northbound East River Bridge in Mercer County as the “U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Ira “Junior” Spurrier Memorial Bridge.”

Senate Bill 790 changes the “Curator” of the Department of Arts, Culture, and History to the “Cabinet Secretary” of the Department of Arts, Culture, and History. 

House Bill 4850 removes the sunset date for the valuation of property producing oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The bill does not change the methodology. 

House Bill 4911 permits the sale of raw milk in the state, as long as it is clearly labeled as ungraded raw milk, with the date of production and name of the seller. 

Proponents saw this as a freedom bill that allows people to purchase and sell raw milk without being a part of a herd share. Opponents of this bill took issue with the last paragraph giving immunity to sellers of raw milk from personal injury or civil liability lawsuits, except that of intentional or willful and wanton misconduct. The bill passed 76 in favor and 19 opposed. 

House Bill 4978 clarifies the roles of the Secretary of the Department of Health, the Commissioner of Public Health, and the State Health Officer. 

House Bill 5528 increases the allowed megawatts of generated capacity by regulated utilities to 100 megawatts.  

Clarification on parliamentary procedure:
During Committee Reports, a motion was made to recommit House Bill 5039 to the Judiciary Committee. The motion was tabled, and the report was received. A point of order was made to determine if the motion to table was in order, as the maker of the motion had debated the bill. It was ruled in order as it was a new motion. If the individual had moved the previous question, then that motion would not have been in order. 

Bills introduced today can be found here.
Resolutions introduced today can be found here. 

The House is adjourned until tomorrow, February 20, 2023, at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, today Feb. 19
The Finance Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 460. 
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 2:30 p.m. in Room 410. 
The Education Committee will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.

Committee Meetings, tomorrow, Feb. 19
The Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security will meet at 9:15 a.m. in Room 215E.
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9:15 a.m. in Room 410. 
The Committee on Political Subdivisions will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 434.
The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. behind the House Chamber.
The Committee on Technology and Infrastructure will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Economic Development and Tourism will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E. 

Today, the House of Delegates passed eleven bills, including:

House Bill 4654 removes schools, libraries, and museums from the exemption of criminal liability for the distribution and display of obscene matter. Any individual would have to knowingly and intentionally provide minors with obscene matter.

Proponents of this bill said exemptions should have never existed. If providing obscene matter outside of these buildings is illegal, it should also be illegal inside these buildings. They stated the purpose of this bill is to protect children from seeing matter that is obscene, containing pornographic or sexually explicit material. 

Opponents stated they fear the passage of this bill could bring about costly litigation. They stated that people have varying opinions on what is obscene, which could result in a variety of books being challenged. They also fear this puts librarians and staff in danger of being arrested for having a book on a display.  

House Bill 4807 requires internet providers to credit customer’s accounts when the provider fails to provide service for five or more days. 

House Bill 4867 requires age verification for pornography sites to prevent minors from accessing the content. 

House Bill 5170 increases the matching grants for local economic developments to $50,000. 

This morning the House Rules Committee House Concurrent Resolution 6 to the House floor. The committee also moved House Bills 4809, 5137, 5345, 5354, 5022, 5441, and 5590 from the active Special Calendar to the inactive House Calendar.

The House is adjourned until Monday, February 19, 2023 at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, today Feb. 16
The Finance Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 460.

Committee Meetings, Monday, Feb. 19
The Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 460. 
The Judiciary Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 410. 
The Education Committee will meet at 2:30 p.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.