Today, the House of Delegates passed five bills, amended two, and postponed action on one.

House Bill 4017 makes changes to voter election laws. The bill states voter registration 21 days before the election at 11:59 p.m. online or at the close of business at the county clerk’s office if registering in person. The bill also states that any person who coerces or offers any type of payment in exchange for a person to register to vote is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined and/or confined to jail. The bill also prohibits a person from voting in person if they have already submitted an absentee ballot. Opponents of the bill took issue with the lack of a definition of “payment” for voter registration, as many colleges set up tables with water and snacks when registering students to vote. The Secretary of State also awards the Jennings Randolph Award to the high schools with the most registered seniors every year. The bill advances to the Senate.

House Bill 4350 removes the executive committee of parties to appoint candidates to the ballot up to three weeks after filing has closed. The bill would only allow appointments to the ballot if no candidate from any party has filed for election. Opponents felt this bill helped incumbents keep their seats and took choices away from voters. Proponents felt it was unfair for those who registered within the filing deadline to not know who their opponent would be or if they would have an opponent. The bill advances to the Senate.

House Bill 4434 prohibits state agencies and local governments from restricting the use or sale of motor vehicles based on the power source.

House Bill 4860 clarifies general education teachers shall not be responsible for daily accommodation logs. The bill only requires general education teachers to acknowledge accommodations at the end of each grading period as required by the IEP. All accommodations of the students are the responsibility of the special education instructor to monitor progress.

House Bill 4976 requires the General Inspector’s contact information on all state agencies and boards’ websites.

House Bills 4376 and 4776 were amended. House Bill 4855 was postponed one day.

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

The House is adjourned until tomorrow, January 31, 2023, at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, today Jan. 29

The Committee on Energy and Manufacturing will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 410.
 The Committee on Technology and Infrastructure will meet at 1:15 p.m. in Room 434.
 The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.
The Committee on Economic Development and Tourism will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.

Committee Meetings, tomorrow Jan. 30

 The Committee on the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 215E.
 The Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources will meet at 9:15 a.m. in Room 460.
The Committee on Artificial Intelligence will meet at 9:30 a.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Workforce Development will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 410.
 The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. behind the House Chamber.
 The Judiciary Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 410.
 The Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 460 for Budget. Jan. | Feb.
 The Education Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.

Today, the House of Delegates passed five bills, completed action on two, amended four bills, and postponed action on three.

The two bills completing legislative action were Senate Bill 462 and Senate Bill 483. These bills are routine tax modification bills, which are made each year.

House Bill 4697 adds protections for WV residents who temporarily reside out-of-state from non-renewal of licenses and registration.

House Bill 4764 requires the Commissioner of the DMV to allow the purchase of one-trip special permits to be made and paid online.

House Bill 4766 requires the Department of Highways to post signage for planned road closures 30 days before the closure if the closure will be longer than 30 days and the detour is longer than one mile.

House Bill 4783 allows optometrists to perform procedures taught or trained to them through an accredited school or college of optometry. Without this bill, licensed optometrists can only perform procedures authorized by the board before 2010. The bill also extends glasses prescriptions from one year to two years.

House Bill 4908 allows the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Facilities to enter into contracts with WVU, Marshall University, the School of Osteopathic Medicine, or the WV’s public health institute.

House Bills 4017, 4434, 4860, and 4976 were amended. House Bills 4855, 4957, and 4777 were postponed one day.

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

The House is adjourned until tomorrow, January 30, 2023, at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, today Jan. 29
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E
The Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 460 with Budget Hearings to follow the meeting. Jan. | Feb.
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.

Committee Meetings, tomorrow Jan. 30
The Committee on Banking and Insurance will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Pensions and Retirement will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 460.
The Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security will meet at 9:15 a.m. in Room
215E.
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 Energy and Manufacturing will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 410.
The Committee on Technology and Infrastructure will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 434.
The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.
The Committee on Economic Development and Tourism will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.

Today, the House passed four bills, amended two bills, and postponed action on two bills.

Senate Bill 269 removes all test strips from deadly drugs from the definition of drug paraphernalia.

House Bill 4205 gives the Legislature legal standing against election officials. It allows the Legislature to intervene in any lawsuit against state agencies, departments, and officials. The bill is effective January 1, 2025.

House Bill 4759 requires any employer with 15 employees or more to confirm employee can be legally employed in the U.S. status using e-verify. The process of e-verifying is entering information from the employee’s I-9 into the verification system. Required information is name, email, phone, and social security number. The employee must hire a third party to e-verify or train a designated employee. The designated employee must study the manual and take a mastery test to become certified to do the e-verifying. A third-party verifier costs about $100 annually plus $11.50 per employee verified. Results of employment status are instant once information is entered. The bill does preclude existing employees from being e-verified. All new hires must be e-verified. One can do a self-check on e-verify, but one cannot e-verify oneself unless certified to summit verifications.

Two competing amendments were offered to House Bill 4759. The first amendment would have removed the e-verify process completely. The intent of the amendment was to go after the businesses not abiding by immigration law. The amendment offered two penalties. Businesses that do not keep records and provide I-9 forms would suffer a 10-day business license unless it is rectified in those 10 days. This allows errors to be corrected and penalties to be lifted. The second penalty goes after those who are knowingly and willfully hiring illegal immigrants or fraudulently filling out documents to hire and employ illegal immigrants. The penalty for a first offense would have been a 180 suspension of business licenses. On the second offense, the penalty would be a permanent loss of licenses. This amendment failed.

The second amendment adds back a section that had been removed by the bill. The removed section requires all regardless of employment size to keep a record of I-9 forms. This amendment was adopted.

House Bill 4814 extends the reporting and sunset date for the State Advisory Council on Postsecondary Attainment Goals to December 31, 2027.

The amended House Bill 4783 updates the practice of optometry by allowing all licensees, who are trained and taught at an accredited school of optometry to perform any procedure taught to them. The bill also extends the prescription of glasses from 18 months to 24 months.

House Bill 4776 and House Bill 4777 had action postponed one day.

House Bill 4313 was recommitted to the Committee on Seniors, Children, and Family Issues.

Bills introduced today can be found here.

Resolutions introduced today can be found here.

The House is adjourned until Monday, January 29, 2023 at 11 a.m.

Committee Meetings, Monday, Jan. 29
The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 p.m. behind the House Chamber.
The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
The Committee on Finance will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 460. Budget hearings to follow the meeting. Jan. | Feb.
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.