The Judiciary Committee and its subcommittees met this morning.
Markup & Passage
House Bill 2441 removes eligibility for unemployment when an individual in a safety-sensitive job fails a drug test and is fired.
House Bill 2653 changes membership requirements for the West Virginia Law Institute.
House Bill 2683 prohibits ranked-choice voting in West Virginia. The bill defines rank-choice voting as a method for casting votes in which voters rank candidates for an office in order of preference. Then, a tabulation occurs in rounds, with the candidate with at least support dropping from each round and then reallocating the votes to the second-choice candidate.
Some are concerned with the uncertainty of rank-choice voting because of several variations in definitions. Rank-choice voting was explained as ranking your choices in order from first to last. The issue it works to solve is if no one gets 50% of votes, a winner could be chosen, by the one with the least number of votes dropping off. Rank-choice voting is not taking place in WV.
House Bill 2702 allows the Governor to appoint an interim state official for the 20 days it can take for the nomination process of a new official.
House Bill 2709 permits a voter who has moved within the same county to vote in a new precinct without casting a provisional ballot
Committee Hearing
House Bill 2444 limits the Lottery Commission’s inspection of records to records relating to the permittee’s limited video lottery business.
The Subcommittee on Courts considered the following.
Markup & Passage
House Bill 2871 renames the Negligent homicide to Vehicular homicide in code. The bill creates new crimes and clarifies victims to include an embryo or fetus.
Committee Hearing
House Bill 2067 creates the West Virginia Firearms Liability Clarification Act.
House Bill 2634 increases the penalties for child sexual assault and sexual abuse. The bill also increases the penalties for distributing, possessing, and transporting materials with children depicted in a sexually explicit manner. The bill clarifies if a parent, guardian, or person in a trusted position is aware and does not report the assault or abuse, they are guilty of a felony as well.
The Subcommittee on Legal Services considered the following.
Markup & Passage
House Bill 2710 creates the Truth in Giving Act, requiring information to be provided to those who donate or purchase donated items for resale whether their donations/purchases are benefiting non-profit charitable organization or a for-profit business.
Committee Hearing
House Bill 2719 allows for membership organizations and domestic corporations to make political contributions and expenditures. The bill does require disclosure and define limitations.
House Bill 2382 establishes misdemeanor crimes for camping in or storing personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia upon governmental or public property.
