The House session started with a somber tone today. Members adopted House Resolution 46 which commemorated the life of the Honorable William D. “Bill” Proudfoot. He represented the 37th District for 18 years, until his passing on December 23, 2008. Members of Proudfoot’s family (Lynn Currence Proudfoot pictured) were presented with a copy of the resolution and the House extended its sympathy at the passing of one of their beloved colleagues.

Eighteen bills were presented on third reading today and all of them passed to the Senate for its consideration. Twelve of those passed unanimously.

House Bill 2133 would increases the penalties for littering. The minimum fine for depositing less than 100 pounds of litter would increase from $50 to $100. The Supreme Court would be required to increase the mandatory community service sentence from eight to 16 hours. If the offender deposits over 100 pounds of litter, the Supreme Court would be mandated to sentence the person to 24 to 40 hours of community service.

House Bill 2415 would identify salvia divinorum as a hallucinogen and add it to the list of controlled substances. Any person who possess a material, compound, mixture or preparation intended for human consumption which contains salvia divinorum would be guilty of a misdemeanor and jailed up to six months and/or fined $1,000.

House Bill 2538 would provide a framework for distributing legislative funds to supplement alternative language education programs for limited English proficient students.

After discussion from several members, House Bill 2747 passed 72-28. The bill would create a temporary reinvestment fee for health insurers, third party administrators and others to assist in funding health information technology in the state. The bill specifies the various fee options and clarifies that all health insurers contribute equally to the West Virginia Health Information Network Account (WVHIN).

The following committees will meet today:

Government Organization- 1:15 p.m.- 215E

The following committees will meet tomorrow:

Banking and Insurance- 10 a.m.- 215E

Health and Human Resources- 4 p.m.- 215E

The House is in recess until 2:30 p.m. when they will finish voting on the nine bills that remain on third reading.

Seven bills were presented on third reading today and all passed on to the Senate for its consideration. This makes the total number of bills passed in the House to date at 109. Some of the bills passed today include: House Bill 2753 would continue the Design-Build Pilot Program of the Division of Highways until June, 2011. The bill would amend the pilot program to allow ten additional special projects. It specifies that an aggregate total of $150 million would be expended by the Division of Highways for the projects.

House Bill 2957 would develop a program to collect the name, longitudinal and latitudinal data of all cemeteries within West Virginia through the WVU county cooperative extension services. Once implemented, extension workers, along with members of local 4-H organizations, would collect the data with GPS devices. They would provide the data to the Historic Preservation Section of the Division of Culture and History, which would serve as a repository for the information.

House Bill 2967 would encourage teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certificate to renew their certifications when they expire after 10 years. The bill clarifies that the $3,500 bonus would be paid to teachers with a renewed certificate in each year it is valid. It also authorizes a reimbursement of the renewal certification fee (currently $1,150) for teachers who complete renewal.

Twenty-six bills were on second reading today, and 41 were on first reading. House action is picking up as legislative deadlines have passed and are approaching. The 47th Day deadline passed yesterday and bills were due out of committees in their house of origin. This ensures three full days of reading before the April 1 cross-over deadline.

The following committees will meet today:

Judiciary- 1:15 p.m.- 410M

Health and Human Resources- 4 p.m.- 215E

The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

The House reconvened at 5 p.m. to vote on legislation, advance the reading of bills and receive reports from committees. House Bill 3192 would require reports to the Governor from state agencies to be made available electronically. House Bill 3196 would declare certain claims against the state and its agencies to be moral obligations of the state. House Bill 3208 would include the hours of training county board members have acquired on the county report card. All of these bills passed unanimously.

House Bill 3340 would require the Higher Education Policy Commission, WV Council for Community and Technical College Education and State Board of Education to establish and maintain a longitudinal student data system and share education data. Federal Stimulus funds are available for states that use data to improve student achievement. Educators and Policymakers can use the system to analyze and assess student progress from early leaning programs, through post-secondary education and into the workforce.

The Finance and Judiciary committees reported dozens of bills to the floor this evening. Government Organization reported one bill, House Bill 2388. It would redefine the authority of the Racing Commission. The bill would increase members from 3 to 5, and change the qualifications for members. It would also create the position of Director of Racing.

Eight bills were presented on second reading such as: House Bill 2767 which would change the membership of the PEIA Financial Board; House Bill 2747 would create a temporary reinvestment fee for health insurers, third party administrators and others; and House Bill 2753 relates to the continuation of the Design-Build Program.

The House will adjourn until 11 a.m. on Monday.

The House will have another split session today and the Judiciary, Finance, Government Organization and Health and Human Resources committees will meet before they reconvene at 5 p.m. Time is running out to report bills from House committees to the floor, as the March 29 deadline is approaching.

The House passed 13 bills today and they will now move to the Senate for its consideration.
House Bill 2464 would authorize county commission to designate location for early voting other than the county coutrhouse or annex. Upon discussion, the Judiciary chair informed members that the county clerks were in support of the bill. The bill passed 72-25.

House Bill 2621 would prohibit the use of cell phone and text messaging devices while operating a motor vehicle except when using a hands-free device or in the case of emergency. The House passed the bill 80-18. The first law banning the use of hand-held cell phones was driving was passed in New York in 2001.

House Bill 2885 would streamline the credentialing process for health care providers by establishing a uniform credentialing application, and creating a single Credentialing Verification Organization (CVO). Eight members voted against this bill.

The WVU Rifle Team (picured) was also recognized for winning the 2009 NCAA Championship earlier this month. They are the only team at WVU to have won a NCAA Championship, having won 14.

The following committees will meet today:
Judiciary- 12:30 p.m.- 410M

Finance- 12:30 p.m.- 460M

Government Organization- 3 p.m.- 215E

Health and Human Resources- 4 p.m.- 215E

The House will be in recess until 5 p.m.

The House reconvened at 5 p.m. to receive several committee reports. By receiving these reports in the evening, the House is able to place recommended bills on the next days calendar. This speeds up the process during these final days of the Legislature. The House can also take up these reports and request the bills to be read for a first time during the session.

The Government Organization committee recommended a committee substitute to House Bill 2807. The bill recognizes Geographical Information System (GIS) User Groups such as the West Virginia Association of Geospatial Professionals to assist the development of the State GIS Plan.

The Judiciary committee submitted eight bills to the floor. House Bill 3224 relates to compensation for condemnation commissioners. The commissioners would now receive up to $200 for services in each eminent domain proceeding. House Bill 3194 would make knowingly filing false information with the Secretary of State a misdemeanor. Upon conviction, persons would be fined up to $1,000 or confined up to a year in jail.

The Education committee reported two bills this evening. The first (House Bill 3149) would change the board members of public service districts terms from six years to three years. The second ( House Bill 3146) relates to seniority rights for school service personnel.

Finance presented a plethora of bills, including: House Bill 3043 would prohibit extended coverage upon retirement based on years of service for new higher education employees; House Bill 2538 relates to supplemental funding for the provision of alternative programs for limited English speaking students; and House Bill 2870 would extend the deadline of the buyback provision provided under the Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System to the State Teachers Retirement System.

The House also received messages of passage from the Senate and those bills were assigned to the appropriate committees.

The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Judiciary- 9 a.m.- 410M
Government Organization- 9:30 a.m.- 215E
Finance- 9:30 a.m.- 460M

The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. tomorrow.