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Bills Advance to Passage Stage in House

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Three more bills have made it through the committee process and were on today’s House Calendar and advanced to second reading. Two other bills have advanced to the third reading and will be up for passage tomorrow. The House also introduced 10 more bills including two bills which resulted from months of study in interim meetings. House Bill 4051, woud provide that only healthy beverages and healthy or nutritional snacks may be sold in the county school system.

The following meetings will meet today:

Political Subdivisions – 3:00 p.m. – 215E

Health and Human Resources – 4:00 p.m. – 215E

The following meetings will meet tomorrow:

Finance – 9:00 a.m. – 460M
Finance – 1:00 p.m. – 460M
Judiciary – 2:00 p.m. – House Chamber

The House is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, January 17, 2008.

In the House

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As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, January 16, 2007, the eighth day of the 2008 Regular Session, 60 bills have been introduced. Another 635 carry-over bills from last session were reintroduced in the House of Delegates. A sampling of bills introduced include:

House Bill 4004 would provide funds for the maintenance, repair and preservation of statues located on the Capitol grounds. The money would come from a portion of the lottery fund as well as any appropriations, gifts and grants given to the “Lottery Maintenance, Repair and Preservation of Statues on the Capitol Grounds Fund.”

House Bill 4005 would extend the current tax credit for alternative fuel motor vehicles from the current 10 years to 20 years. It would also make the credit retroactive from the expiration date from the original tax credit.

House Bill 4012 would give a corporation net income tax credit for providing heating fuel or propane gas services at special reduced rates for low-income residential customers. The amount of the tax credit will be equal to the cost of providing the heating fuel or propane gas.

House Bill 4013 would require the Director of the Division of Veteran’s Affairs to establish a healthcare database between all of the state’s veteran’s hospitals. The database would provide veterans easy access to different care options.

House Bill 4015 would give teachers in “critical needs” areas of education a tax credit against personal income taxes for the first three years. If the teacher were still educating in a “critical needs” area after five years, the tax credit would equal 50 percent of the teacher’s taxes that are due. Areas labeled as “critical needs” would be decided by the State Board of Education.

House Bill 4020 would authorize disclosure of specific mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. If an individual has been involuntarily hospitalized, ruled mentally incompetent in a court proceeding, or has regained the ability to own a firearm, their mental health records would be sent to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

House Bill 4021 would eliminate the requirement for a battery-powered strobe light to be attached to a self-contained self-rescue device. It would also extend the current theft and destruction penalties for certain pieces of coal mine equipment and property. The bill would establish criminal penalties for individuals who enter onto coal mine property to commit a felony or larceny.

House Bill 4022 would create the Indigent Defense Commission. The purpose of the commission would be to assist Defender Services with general policies and procedures. The commission would also provide additional management of the costs and administrations of the Public Defender Corporations. Members of the commission would include the Director of Public Defender Services, Director of Prosecuting Attorneys Institute and others appointed by the Governor.

House Bill 4023 would deny a student, between the ages of 15 and 18, a driver’s license if he or she does not obtain passing grades. A Driver’s Eligibility Certificate or other form of proof that the student meets the requirement must be presented before he or she is able to receive their license. A student who has a license has failing grades will have their license revoked.

House Bill 4024 would make the false reporting of a violent act a felony and would also add new language that would clearly define what “acts of violence” include. Some of those acts are: Unauthorized individuals carrying a weapon on school property, someone committing an action that is or could become life-threatening while on school property, and the action of kidnapping or holding hostages on school grounds.

House Bill 4025 would give further protection to whistle-blowers for reporting unsafe working conditions in mines. A miner who refuses to enter a mine that he or she deems unsafe cannot be discriminated against under provisions of this bill. If a miner feels they were discriminated against or unjustly compensated, they would be able to file a complaint that then would be thoroughly investigated.

House Bill 4026 would restrict the public’s access to concealed weapons’ permit records. Those allowed access to these permit records would include; the applicant or licensee themselves, a qualified executor of the estate for an applicant or licensee, an attorney at the behest of the applicant or licensee, and an authorized representative of the law enforcement for official duty purposes.

House Bill 4037 would reduce the state income tax for certain county, state and federal retirees. To accomplish this, there would be an increase in the amount excluded from the retiree’s income, not to exceed $20,000 when calculating the federal gross income for state personal income tax purposes.

House Bill 4038 would prohibit a person from undertaking the business of erecting, constructing, installing, altering, servicing, repairing or maintaining elevators without successfully completing the Qualified Elevator Inspector license from an ­examination organization approved by the Division of ­Labor Commissioner. The bill would be effective on the first day of January 2010. Failure to comply by the new guidelines would be a misdemeanor and carry various penalties.

House Bill 4042, or the Equal Parenting Act, would establish the presumption, unless otherwise disputed, of joint legal and physical custody of the children in child custody matters. The bill would call for equal parenting to be established so that the child or children spend the same amount of time with both parents. The only exception would be if it were shown that the child is or may be harmed. Proof that a child is at risk with one of the parents would require a written finding, not simply allegations alone.

House Bill 4047 would prohibit the usage of cell phones and other defined “text-messaging devices” while driving. The only exception would be in the case of an emergency or the use of a hands-free device. School Bus drivers would also prohibited from using a cellular device except under limited circumstances such as an emergency.

House Bill 4051 would only allow healthy beverages and healthy, nutritional foods, to be sold in county school systems. Fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt and whole grain foods were all mentioned as healthy and nutritional snacks. Each food or drink served could not contain more than 200 calories.

House Bill 4052 would establish a council within the Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health, to advise on maternal risk assessment. The purpose of the council is the need for a more absolute and uniform approach to the screening of at-risk or high-risk pregnancies performed by physicians. The advisory council would be comprised of various individuals including: Commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health, member of both a public and private provider of maternity services, Director of the Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health and a certified nurse midwife.

House Bill 4057 would authorize County Commissions to create a combined joint emergency services agency. This agency would obtain the rights and the responsibilities of emergency ambulance services, county fire associations, and county fire boards. A board comprised of between five to 15 individuals would manage the agency.

House Bill 4058 would require group insurance companies to furnish their claims experience upon the request of their policyholders. The insurer must submit these claims within 30 days of the initial request unless that information was sent at least six months prior to the group policyholder.

Job Creation Shines Bright in State of the State Address

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Under the newly cleaned lights of the House Chamber’s chandelier, the 78th Legislature kicked off its second regular session by gathering for the Governor’s annual State of the State Address. Required by Article VII, Section 6 of the West Virginia Constitution, the address is the Governor’s opportunity to present his agenda for the upcoming session as well as his proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

This year’s address highlighted much of the progress the state has made in attracting business investment and job creation. The Governor pointed to a study by Expansion Management Magazine and the National Policy Research Council that ranked West Virginia eight in the nation in business recruitment and attraction. He also lauded the state’s 4.6 percent unemployment rate last year, the lowest in West Virginia history. Correspondingly, an average of 778,269 West Virginians were employed last year, a record high for the state.

The Governor also emphasized the progress the state had made in upgrading its infrastructure. In 2004, only 58 percent of West Virginians had access to broadband Internet. Now, that number is up to 80 percent, with the goal of reaching 100 percent by 2010. In addition, sewer and water systems have been upgraded throughout the state thanks to a $300 million investment by the state since 2004.

The speech was more than just a recap of the state’s recent progress, and already the Legislature has received some of the Governor’s State of the State proposals in the form of legislation. This includes a bill that would suspend or deny driver’s licenses for high school students who drop out or who fail to maintain a 2.0 grade point average. Education was also the focus of another bill borne out of the State of the State Address; this bill would require Promise scholarship recipients to repay the loan if they work out of state after graduation.

After the address, both houses reconvened to introduce the budget bill. The proposed budget will dole out $14.19 billion based on an estimated $14.69 billion in revenues. The Senate and House Finance committees will work with the budget bill throughout the session. At the end of the regular session, the Legislature traditionally meets for an extended session devoted specifically to passing the budget bill.

While the State of the State Address marks the beginning of session, only a handful of the bills sent to the Governor before the end of session find their genesis in the speech. Already, nearly 1,000 bills have been introduced in both houses, with only a small percentage introduced by request of the Governor. Many of these are House bills that have been carried over from last regular session or Senate bills that were introduced last year but failed to pass. Many of the new bills for this session are based on work done in interim committees prior to session, while others are based on requests or concerns expressed by constituents.

Over the 60-day session, legislative committees will mull these bills over. Only those that lawmakers consider the most important will make it out of committee and be sent to the Governor. The process is, for the most part, slow and deliberate, but it ensures that each bill receives the proper attention it deserves.

Throughout the session, you can keep track of every bill on the Legislature’s Web site at https://www.wvlegislature.gov/. On the site, you can find contact information for your legislators and use personalized bill tracking to keep tabs on the bills most important to you.

Bluegrass Band Performs For Delegates

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In lieu of the usual prayer in the House Chamber, House of Delegates members were treated to a performance by the Nicholas County bluegrass band, Laurel Creek. The band played two songs, “Heavens Jubilee” and “The Twelve”, the latter of which was dedicated to the twelve miners who lost their lives as a result of the Sago Mine tragedy in 2006.

The band were invited as guests of the delegates representing the 29th, 35th, 36th, 39th and 40th delegate districts.

Industry of the Future Day at the Capitol

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Today the Legislature invited the WV Technology Association to the state Capitol to help celebrate Industry of the Future in West Virginia. Industries of the Future – West Virginia (IOF-WV) is a partnership which grew out of a collaboration between West Virginia University, the West Virginia Division of Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy. For more information on this organization, visit their website at www.iofwv.nrcce.wvu.edu.

Three Bills Added to Senate Hopper

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During the fifth day of the session, three new bills were introduced in the Senate.
Senate Bill 219 deals with the county development fees. Another proposed bill, Senate Bill 218, relates to the nonpartisan election
of Supreme Court justices and circuit court judges. The other bill, Senate Bill 217, would reduce compliance time for nonresident traffic violations.

Committee meetings today:
Finance Subcommittee B – 3:00 p.m. – 451M

Education – 2:00 p.m. – 451M

The Senate will readjourn tomorrow Wednesday, January 15 at 11 a.m.

First Bills Reach House Calendar

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Two bills completed the committee process and were reported to the House floor yesterday. Today these bills were read a first time on the House Calendar and advanced to second reading. The House also introduced 4 more bills during today’s session. House Bill 4047 , 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 an emergency. Another bill, , provides that all employees have the right to review and copy the contents of their personnel file. House Bill 4048.

The following committees will meet today:
Education – 1:00 p.m. – 432M
Government Organization – 1:00p.m. – 215E
Finance – 1:00 p.m. – 465M

The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Health and Human Resources – 4:00 p.m. – 439M
Political Subdivisions – 3:00 p.m. – 215E
Veterans Affairs – 1:00 p.m. – 215E

The House adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, January 16.

Mingo County Day at the Legislature

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Today over 100 citizens traveled from Mingo County to the state Capitol in Charleston as the Legislature celebrated “Mingo County Day”.

The group heard from a variety of elected officials representing the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches, were given a tour of the statehouse and were able to watch a floor session take place.

Groups from other counties and many varying interest groups often come to the Capitol during session to better express in person their views on issues important to their causes.

Senate Reconvenes For the Beginning of the Second Week of the Session

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The Senate met to introduce one bill – Senate Bill 216, introduced by request of the Governor, would eliminate the
coalbed methane tax exemption under the Severance and Business Privilege Tax Act.

The following Senate committees will meet today:
Natural Resources – 1:00 p.m – 451M

Government Organization – 1:45 p.m. – 451M

Finance – 2:30 p.m. – 451M

Finance Subcommittee A – 3 p.m.- 451M

The following Senate committees will meet tomorrow:

Economic Development – 9:00 a.m. – 451M

The Senate will adjourn at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, January 15.

House Reconvenes to Begin Second Week of Session

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The House of Delegates introduced 9 more bills during today’s session. One of these bills, House Bill 4041 , deals with the regulation and treatment of the production of natural gas and coalbed methane. Another bill introduced was, House Bill 4042, a bipartisan effort that is known as the Joint Parenting Act. Each of the bills introduced were referred to the appropriate committees.

The following committees will meet today:

Finance – 1:00 p.m. – 465M
Judiciary – 2:00 p.m. – 210W
Education – 2:00 p.m. – 432M

The following committees will meet tomorrow, January 15:

Finance – 9:00 a.m. – 465M
Judiciary – 9:00 a.m. – 210W
Education – 1:00 p.m. – 432M

The House adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, January 15.