This morning, the Senate received an executive message, which extends the budget session an additional three days through Friday, March 18.
The conference committee on the budget bill, House Bill 2012, will meet today at 4:30 p.m. for an organizational meeting in the House Finance Committee Room, 460M.
The Senate will reconvene tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
At 12 a.m. Sunday morning the 80th Legislature’s 60-day session came to a close and today will mark the beginning of the extended budget session for House Bill 2012, which sets forth the legislative budget and supplementary appropriation bills–making allocations of public money out of the treasury.
Generally, as legislation moves through the committee and legislative process, the House and the Senate may find themselves unable to reach an agreement on every provision considered on a bill. When this occurs, and neither body will recede or retract its provisions to a bill, the legislation is referred to a conference committee. A conference committee is comprised of members from both bodies, with an equal number from each, and are formed to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. If a compromise is reached, each body will either pass or reject the conference committee bill.
For the budget bill, a conference committee was appointed on the final day of regular session. The conferees appointed from the House include Delegates White (D-Mingo), T. Campbell (D-Greenbrier), M. Poling (D-Barbour), Kominar (D-Mingo), Perdue (D-Wayne), Anderson (R-Wood), and Evans (R-Grant). Appointed Senate conferees include Senators Prezioso (D-Marion), D. Facemire (D-Braxton), Plymale (D-Wayne), McCabe (D-Kanawha), Unger (D-Berkeley), Stollings (D-Boone), and Hall (R-Putnam).
The House will convene today at 4 p.m. and the Senate will convene at 5 p.m.
Update
The House of Delegates and state Senate convened briefly for the extended budget session Monday afternoon and then adjourned.
The Senate will reconvene 11 a.m. tomorrow, March 15.
The House will reconvene 4 p.m. tomorrow, March 15.
This evening ends the first regular session of the 80th Legislature for the Senate and House of Delegates.
In the final chamber sessions, the Legislature completed 19 pieces of legislation. Among those bills sent to the governor was House Bill 2986, which will clarify those allowed and prohibited fires times and seasons. The bill will also establish an industrial permit and fee, as well as set forth fire control requirements and establish criminal and civil penalties.
Additionally completed was Senate Bill 192, which will permit suppliers of gasoline or other motor fuels to sell products to distributers at a price that does not exceed the average of the Oil Price Information Service’s average wholesale rack price.
A total of 190 bills completed legislation this session. Of those, 102 originated in the House and 88 originated in the Senate.
The House is adjourned until 4:00 p.m. on Monday and the Senate until 5:00 p.m. Monday evening.
This evening, the Senate met and completed seven pieces of legislation. Of those bills, one was the highly discussed autism bill.
After a long journey, House Bill 2693 was officially completed in the Senate tonight. This bill will provide for autism spectrum disorders to fall under insurance coverage. This bill was sent to the Governor and is awaiting his signature.
House Bill 2639 will authorize the Board of Physical Therapy to define a legislative rule relating to General Provisions for Athletic Trainers.
Additionally, Senate Bill 193 was completed as well. This bill will expand the responsibilities of the law-enforcement training sub-committee and rename it the law-enforcement professional standards sub-committee.
Senate Bill 488 will revise the West Virginia HIV testing statute to conform with the most recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention This bill was sent to the Governor for consideration.
The Senate also amended the House’s amendment to Senate Bill 616 and then sent it back to the House for it’s further consideration.
Additionally, the Senate refused to recede from it’s version of Senate Bill 614 and House Bill 2513 and sent requests to the House to ask it to recede instead.
The remaining pieces of legislation completed are available through the link below.
The Senate will stand in brief recess until 11 p.m.
The House reconvened this evening at 8:45 p.m. to meet for the fourth floor session of the day.
In the House, House Bill 2693, which will require insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorders, was passed to the sounds of rejoicing in the chamber gallery.
Additionally 25 other bills completed legislation during session, including House Bill 2888, which will strengthen the protections for whistleblowers of unsafe working conditions in mines.
Additionally, the House passed six bills and communicated them to the Senate for further consideration. Among bills passed was House Bill 2362, which would increase penalties for financial exploitation of an elderly person or incapacitated adult
The House will stand in recess until 11:00 p.m.
The House reconvened this evening to meet for the third floor session of the day.
Seven bills completed legislation during session, including Senate Bill 436, which will provide continuing of personal income tax adjustment to the gross income of certain retirees receiving pensions from defined pension plans that terminated and are being paid a reduced maximum benefit guarantee.
Additionally, the House passed 11 bills and communicated them to the Senate for further consideration. Among bills passed was Senate Bill 465, which would enact the Marcellus Gas and Manufacturing Development Act of 2011–encouraging and facilitating the development of oil and gas wells and the downstream uses of natural gas in this state and economic development in this state associated with production and various downstream uses.
The House will stand in recess until 8:45 p.m.
The third floor session of the evening yielded the completion of eight additional bills in the Senate.
Each bill was communicated from the House with amendment. Following the amendments, the Senate voted on and completed the eight bills.
A brief sampling of bills include, Senate Bill 35 which will raise the tax credit for non-family adoptions from $2,000 to $4,000. This bill was sent to the Governor’s office and is awaiting signature.
Senate Bill 330 will create “FACTS for Higher Education” by establishing fair, accountable, credible, transparent and systematic mechanisms to determine classification status and compensation for classified employees.This bill was completed in committee substitute form.
A bill that will authorize the Policy Commission and the Council to collect and disseminate information they consider necessary to aid consumers in assessing the performance of institutions of higher education in the state. Senate Bill 375 was also completed and sent to the Governor.
Additionally, the remaining five bills that completed legislation are available through the link below.
The Senate will stand in brief recess until 8 p.m.
In the first floor session of the day, eight bills completed the legislative process and the Senate received numerous messages from the House.
The Senate also stood in brief recess to recognize the legislative interns from this session. Of the bills completed, Senate Bill 563 will authorize municipalities to design and implement Deferred Retirement Option Plans for fund members.
Senate Bill 484 will designate the Higher Education Policy Commission as a state institution of higher education. This bill was sent to the Governor’s office and is awaiting approval.
Additonally, Senate Bill 253 will amend the insurance code to adopt recent changes to the model act adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners with respect to holding companies and systemic risks was completed.
Senate Bill 177 will authorize the State Tax Department to define a legislative rule relating to an exchange of information agreement between the State Tax Department and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The remaining bills that completed legislation are available through the link below.
The Senate will stand in brief recess until 1:30 p.m.
UPDATE
This afternoon, the Senate met and passed 16 bills, including House Bill 2562, which relates to the State Athletic Commission.
Three of the bills on third reading completed legislation. Those bills were House Bill 2959, House Bill 3045 and House Bill 3100.
The Senate also received conference committee reports regarding House Bill 2464 and House Bill 2879. Those bills now await the governor’s signature.
House Bill 2958 was read for a second time, advanced to third reading and passed. This bill also completed legislative action.
The Senate will stand in brief recess today until 5:30 p.m.
On this final, 60th day of the 80th Legislature, the House met in a brief morning session before standing in recess.
During session, the House passed eight bills–completing legislation on Senate Bill 366 and Senate Bill 376, which will allow unit owners’ associations to institute legal action against a unit owner for the purpose of collecting dues or assessments that are overdue or in debt to the association.
Additionally, the House received reports from conference committees on two House bills, including House Bill 2879, which would provide a one-time, non-base building, supplemental salary increase for state employees, teachers, service personnel, members of the West Virginia State Police and conservation officers. The House adopted the conference committee report and made it effective from passage.
The conference committee report on House Bill 2464 was also adopted and made it effective July 1, 2011. The bill would add additional requirements to the Ethics Act.
Also, the House adopted House House Resolution 43–commemorating the passing of Jackie Withrow, a woman, wife and states woman of enormous compassion and courage who dedicated her life in service to the most vulnerable of West Virginians.
The following committees will meet today:
Finance – 1 p.m. – 460M
The House will stand in recess until 2:30 p.m.
UPDATE
In the second floor session of the day, four bills passed with House amendments. These bills were sent back to the Senate for consideration.
Of these bills, Senate Bill 391 would authorize rotating community voting locations. Following amendments, the bill was sent back to the Senate to be reviewed.
Senate Bill 408 would provide for a health insurance exchange in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
A bill that would expire funds into the unappropriated surplus balance in the state and general revenue fund. House Bill 3272 was sent back to the Senate pending House amendments.
Additionally, Senate Bill 330 was passed by the House and sent back to the Senate.
The House also appointed conference committees regarding House Bill 2362, House Bill 2663, House Bill 2745 and House Bill 2757 to further discuss the bills.
The House will be in recess until 7 p.m.
This evening, the House of Delegates met, and two bills completed legislation after the House received the messages from the Senate and concurred with its amendments. Those bills were House Bill 2345, which changes the membership of the PEIA Financial Board , House Bill 2763, which prohibits the Executive Director of Workforce West Virginia from billing a reimbursable employer under the unemployment compensation law for overpaid amounts of benefits paid to a claimant, and House Bill 2864, which relates to the creation of a misdemeanor crime of unlawful restraint in the first and second degree.
The House also passed five bills. One of those bills was Senate Bill 614, which would permit specific law-enforcement officials access to certain confidential pharmaceutical information.
Additionally, the House read 26 bills for a second time and advanced them to third reading on tomorrow’s calendar.
The House will reconvene tomorrow at 11 a.m.
