As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, February 13, the 36th day of the 78th Legislature, 1,154 bills have been introduced in the House. Of these, 12 have passed this week and been sent to the Senate for consideration. Bills passed this week include:

House Bill 4032 would allow employees and employers to use a direct deposit system using an ATM card or other means of electronic transfer for the payment of employees’ wages.

House Bill 4059 would allow a school bus operator to be eligible for continued employment if he or she is issued a passenger endorsement on his or her driver’s license through the Division of Motor Vehicles’ intrastate waiver program for diabetes. The operator would have to submit the information required for the waiver to his or her employer and remain in compliance with the conditions of the waiver.

House Bill 4069 would require applicants to pass a vision screening conducted by the DIvision of Motor Vehicles in order to be eligible for license renewal. A driver’s license would not be renewed for a person whose eyesight cannot be corrected to conform to minimum vision standards. This bill would become effective on January 1, 2009.

House Bill 4120 would prohibit complaints in personal injury or wrongful death actions from stating specific dollar amounts or figures effective July 1, 2008. It also would permit party defendants in such actions to request written statements of the nature and amount of damages being sought.

House Bill 4137 would require a municipality or county to be notified in writing by an insurance company when a claim for total loss is filed within that county or municipality.

House Bill 4329 would allow the DIvision of Motor Vehicles to offer an optional two-year registration for Class G vehicles. The fee for the two-year registration would be double a one-year registration fee.

House Bill 4337 would authorize the Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists to increase fees for one year. For 2009, such fees would be $50 for a licensing exam, $35 for a license, $100 for a reciprocal license and $25 for a student permit.

House Bill 4348 would give statutory authority to the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training to charge fees for necessary tests, certificates and mine safety publications.

House Bill 4388 would allow the Supreme Court to maintain a domestic violence database containing certified copies of protective orders issued in West Virginia and other states. Anyone who has obtained a protective order would be able to register that order with the database.

House Bill 4423 would prohibit a purchaser of scrap metal from knowingly purchasing or possessing a stainless steel beer keg, or part of a keg, for the purpose of reselling as scrap metal unless the purchaser receives the keg from a beer manufacturer, authorized representative or a seller with proof of lawful ownership.

House Bill 4478 would prohibit the transfer during the instructional term of any aide, paraprofessional or interpreter who is assigned to work with a student who has an individualized education program (IEP) that requires one-on-one services.

A Sampling of Bills Introduced In the Senate

House Bill 4460 would require property owners to disclose the previous existence of a crystal methamphetamine lab on a property. Failure to disclose such information would make the sale or lease of the property voidable.

House Bill 4462 would increase the amount of support that is received for dependent children who survive State Police officers killed in the line of duty from $150 per month to $500 per month.

House Bill 4467 would make it a misdemeanor to falsify educational or academic records or to knowingly misrepresent academic or educational records to obtain a benefit for that individual or another party.

House Bill 4474 would require a registered nurse to be present as a circulating nurse in each operating room during surgical procedures. These nurses would have to have the qualifying education, license and experience in operating room nursing.

House Bill 4483 would prohibit any sex offender on supervised release for a term of 10 years to life from loitering within 1,000 feet of a school, childcare facility, school bus stop or other child safety zone such as a playground or swimming pool. A sex offender who violates this prohibition would be required to serve all or part of the term of supervised release in prison without credit for time previously served on release.

House Bill 4484 would revise the current criminal offense of stalking to incorporate the provisions of the National Center for Victims of Crime’s “Model Stalking Code for the State.” A person would be guilty of stalking if he or she engaged in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third person or suffer other emotional distress. If found guilty of stalking, a person would be charged with a misdemeanor and jailed for up to six months or fined up to $1,000. In addition, an individual would be guilty of a felony if he or she violated any court order prohibiting contact with the victim, the victim was a minor, the defendant used or threatened to use force or a weapon or the defendant was convicted for a stalking violation within the previous five years.

House Bill 4498 would limit the liability for repair costs to automobile owners when they hit a deer on a state highway. The person who hit the deer would not be liable for repair costs exceeding $200, regardless of the amount of the deductible required under his or her motor vehicle insurance policy.

House Bill 4505 would allow fireworks displays on public school property upon approval of the State Superintendent of Schools and the State Fire Marshall. Public schools and County Boards of Education would not have to obtain a bond for a fireworks display.

House Bill 4514 would require the Whitewater Commission to establish a fee for each customer transported by a licensed commercial whitewater outfitter through a study zone of the Gauley River. The fee would be used to stock the Gauley River with trout during the spring and fall seasons of each year to help relieve the loss of fishing opportunities resulting from the additional water volume on the Gauley River.