The House met briefly this evening to receive various committee reports.
The following committees will meet Sunday, March 2:
Judiciary – 4:00 p.m. – 410M
The following committees will meet Monday, March 3:
Education – 9:00 a.m. – 432M
Judiciary – 9:00 a.m. – 410M
Finance Hearing on Senate Bill 770 – 9:30 a.m. – House Chamber
The House is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 3.
The Senate honored former lawmaker John H. Bowling Jr. by presenting his family with Senate Resolution 29. The Honorable John H. Bowling, Jr. was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1965 and to the West Virginia Senate in 1967. Bowling was also a member of the Greenbrier County Commission and a Mayor of White Sulphur Springs.
House Bill 4074, House Bill 4076, House Bill 4364 and House Bill 4676 have completed legislative action and now will be sent to the Governor for his approval.
House Bill 4074 will create an Office for Oral Health under the Bureau of Public Health. House Bill 4364 will amend various requirements for motor vehicle dealers and House Bill 4676 will continue the permissible appropriation of Public Employees Insurance Reserve Fund money to the bureau for medical services.
Two bills on second reading advanced to third reading and eight bills were read a first time.
The following committees will meet on Monday:
Judiciary – 10:00 a.m. – 208W
Pensions – 1:00 p.m. – 451M
Government Organization – 2:00 p.m. – 208W
Finance – 3:00 p.m. – 451M
Judiciary – 3:00 p.m. – 208W
The Senate will reconvene at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.
Members of the House voted to pass Senate Bill 579 , which will appoint additional members from Virginia to Bluefield’s sanitary board, and Senate Bill 704 , which will regulate how insurance companies operate their businesses, require licensing of the company and brokers and work to limit fraudulent practices. This brings the total number of bills completing legislation to 10.
The House voted to table all House bills remaining on third reading on the Special Calender.
Fourteen bills on first reading were advanced to second reading. One bill, Senate Bill 270 would eliminate provisions that require circuit clerks to handle and disburse inmate funds.
The following committees will meet today:
Finance – 1:30 p.m. – 460M
Education Subcommittee on Vision 20/20 – 2:00 p.m. – 432M
The following committees will meet Sunday:
Judiciary – 4:00 p.m. – 410M
The following committees will meet Monday:
Judiciary – 9:00 a.m. – 410M
Finance Hearing on Senate Bill 770 – 9:30 a.m. – House Chamber
Finance Hearing on Senate Bill 667 – 3:30 p.m. – House Chamber
The House will recess until 4:00 p.m. this evening
Members of the House met to receive various committee reports on the 51st day of session.
The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Health and Human Resources – 8:30 a.m. – 215E
Judiciary – 9:00 a.m. – 410M
Finance – 10:00 a.m. – 460M
Judiciary – 30 minutes after floor session – 410M
The House is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.
The Legislature celebrated “Higher Education Day” today as the halls of the state Capitol were filled with displays from various colleges, universities and community and technical schools from around the state. Information regarding course offerings and campus amenities were available for citizens to learn more about the individual schools and staff representing the various schools were also on hand to answer any questions interested bystanders posed.
One of the schools, the Community and Technical College at the West Virginia University Institute of Technology, based in Montgomery, WV, brought a 1/36th scale model of the Capitol Complex and the surrounding area to the Upper Rotunda.
The model, a project by the students in the computer-aided drafting and design department at the college, will replace an outdated model built in 1974 and will help state officials plan for emergencies and other events held at the Capitol.
Professors Bill Javins and Jim King were on hand to answer questions about the model and were the professors charged with helping create both the virtual and physical models with the help of over 30 students. The model includes such intricate details from around the Complex as the Veterans Memorial, the statue of Lincoln Walks at Midnight as well as a handcrafted eagle sitting atop the dome.
The model took nearly two years to complete and will now be used on a daily basis by the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety and the Division of Protective Services to aid officials securing the Capitol during high profile visits from dignitaries or the many fairs and festivals held on the grounds throughout the year.
The House Judiciary Committee reported out Senate Bill 145 with the recommendation that it do pass. This bill, which will allow West Virginia residents to use reasonable force to protect themselves against intruders in places where they have legal authority, was taken up for immediate consideration. The House voted to suspend constitutional rules, moved it to third reading and then voted to pass the bill.
A bill on third reading, House Bill 4568, which would require accident and sickness insurance providers and HMO’s to cover the treatment of Lyme disease, was tabled by the House.
Senate Bill 704, which would regulate how insurance companies operate their businesses, require licensing of the company and brokers and work to limit fraudulent practices, was advanced from second reading to third.
The following committees will meet today:
Political Subdivisions – 1:00 p.m. – 215E
Finance Subcommittee on Court Claims – 1:15 p.m. – 460M
Finance – 1:30 p.m. – 460M
Government Organization – 1:30 p.m. – 215E
Education – 2:00p.m. – 432M
Education Subcommittee C – following Education meeting – 432M
Judiciary – 2:00p.m. – 410M
Senior Issues – 4:00p.m. – 215
The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Finance – 9:00 a.m. – 460M
Judiciary – 9:00 a.m. – 410M
Government Organization – 9:30 a.m. – 215E
The House will recess until 5:00 p.m. this evening.
The halls of the Capitol were lined this afternoon with booths from many of West Virginia’s fine institutions of higher learning as today is Higher Education Day in the Legislature.
Five bills on third reading were laid over and will be on third reading again tomorrow. Eight bills were on second reading, three of which were laid over one day. House Bill 4076, House Bill 4364 and House Bill 4676 were read a second time and advanced to third reading. House Bill 4074 was also advanced to third reading and would create an Office of Oral Health under the Bureau for Public Health and would authorize a full-time office director.
The Senate also took up committee reports this afternoon. Three bills out of committee were taken up for immediate consideration and read a first time.
The following committees will meet this afternoon::
Confirmations – 1:00 p.m. – 208W
Health and Human Resources – 1:00 p.m. – 451M
Banking and Insurance – 2:00 p.m. – 208W
Education – 2:00 p.m. – 451M
Finance – 3:00 p.m. – 451M
Judiciary – 3:00 p.m. – 208W
Education – 5:00 p.m. – 451M
The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Economic Development – 9:00 a.m. – 451M
Military Committee – 10:00 a.m. – 208W
Transportation and Infrastructure -10:00 a.m. – 451M
The Senate will reconvene at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.
Senate Bill 239, Senate Bill 680 and Senate Bill 248 passed the Senate this evening and were sent to the House for consideration. Senate Bill 248 would provide that West Virginia will not participate in the Real ID Act of 2005.
In addition, the Constitutional Rule was suspended for 10 bills that were read a second and third time and passed by the Senate. Senate Bill 499 would eliminate the timber severance tax. In addition, Senate Bill 693 would create senior resident lifetime hunting, fishing and trapping licenses.
The Senate also received committee reports during this evening’s session and five bills were reported out and read a first, second and third time due to the Constitutional Rule being suspended. These bills include Senate Bill 373, Senate Bill 390, Senate Bill 456, Senate Bill 735 and Senate Bill 751.
The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Confirmations – 1:00 p.m. – 208W
Health and Human Resources – 1:00 p.m. – 451M
Banking and Insurance – 2:00 p.m. – 208W
Education – 2:00 p.m. – 451M
Finance – 3:00 p.m. – 451M
Judiciary – 3:00 p.m. – 208W
Education – 5:00 p.m. – 451M
The Senate will reconvene at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.
A total of 31 Senate bills were passed during the afternoon session and sent to the House for consideration. Senate Bill 770 would reduce certain landfill solid waste assessment fees in West Virginia. In addition, Senate Bill 556 would provide for prior written authorization from private property owners for the towing of motor vehicles without the consent of the owner of the vehicle. This bill would also require criminal background checks for drivers of tow vehicles.
Senate Bill 239 and Senate Bill 680, which would reduce the Corporation Net Income Tax Rate effective January 1, 2009, were moved to the foot of bills on third reading.
Five bills were laid over one day including Senate Bill 235, Senate Bill 533, Senate Bill 594, Senate Bill 702 and Senate Bill 767.
The following committees will meet today:
Judiciary – 4:45 p.m. – 208W
The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Confirmations – 1:00 p.m. – 208W
The Senate will recess until 5:30 p.m.
