The Senate met briefly on Thursday morning to read four bills a second time and advance them to passage stage on Friday.
Senate Bill 15 This bill modifies existing West Virginia law concerning permits for carbon capture practices, specifically focusing on protecting valuable underground resources like coal, oil, and gas. The key change requires that any permit application for a carbon sequestration project must include a plan to isolate any existing or future production of commercially valuable minerals, such as coal or oil and gas, from the plume of injected carbon dioxide.
If the proposed storage facility contains such minerals, the permit can only be issued if the state is satisfied that the interests of the mineral owners and lessees will not be negatively impacted.
The bill also mandates that the applicant must notify these mineral owners and lessees about the proposed project and provide them with an opportunity to object to the design if they believe it could adversely affect their mineral interests, with the applicant needing to address these objections to the state’s satisfaction before the permit process can continue.
Senate Bill 66 modifies classes of state of preparedness declared by the Governor or the Legislature.
Senate Bill 137 changes parole eligibility and sentencing for second-degree murder. This legislation would require a person convicted of second-degree to serve 15 years before becoming parole eligible. Under current law, the minimum time served before parole eligibility is 10 years.
Senate Bill 207 clarifies how sheriffs in West Virginia are compensated for collecting taxes. Specifically, the bill establishes that after a sheriff collects 85 percent of all assessed real and personal property taxes, they are eligible for an additional annual commission of $15,000, on top of their regular salary. The key change is that the county would now be the entity that decides whether the sheriff has met the 85 percent collection threshold to receive this commission. This commission would then be charged against the various funds generated by tax collections and becomes a standard part of the sheriff’s budgeted annual compensation.
These bills are scheduled to be up for a vote in the Senate tomorrow.
The Senate introduced bills 573-584
The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, Jan. 23, at 10 a.m.
Afternoon Meetings:
Health at 1 p.m. in 451M
Finance at 3 p.m. in 451M
Judiciary at 3 p.m. in 208W
Morning Meetings for Jan. 23:
Military at 9 a.m. in 208W
