The Senate met Monday morning, passing seven bills, introducing Senate Bills 1,063 – 1,079, and adopting Senate Resolution 45 regarding Child Health Advocacy Day.
House Bill 4088 would update the current state law by governing certified public accountants in West Virginia.
It reinforces standards for conduct, firm names, fees, and the use of the CPA title.
The bill completed legislative action and is now sent to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
Senate Bill 558 would establish the Protect Our Children at the Bus Stop Act.
This bill would require drivers to stop when a school bus is displaying activated stop-arm signals and red warning lights when picking up or dropping off students. This would apply to public highways and similar roadways, unless the vehicle is on a separate roadway, such as the opposite sides of a divided highway.
The state’s existing criminal penalties will remain the same under this bill if a violation takes place; repeated violations would have an increased fine, along with potential jail time of up to six months and a mandatory driver’s license suspension of 60 days for a first offense, 180 days for a second, and one year for a third or subsequent conviction.
A third aggravated offense within ten years would be a felony, punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison and fines of at least $5,000.
Stop-Arm cameras mounted on school buses would be required to issue civil violations when a driver illegally passes a bus displaying activated stop-arm signals and red warning lights.
The bill passed the full Senate and was sent to the House of Delegates for consideration.
Afternoon Meetings:
Transportation and Infrastructure at 1 p.m. in 451M
Workforce at 1 p.m. in Room 208W
Pensions at 2 p.m. in Room 451M
Energy, Industry, and Mining at 2 p.m. in Room 208W
Finance at 3 p.m. in Room 451M
Judiciary at 3 p.m. in Room 208W
The Senate is in recess until 4:30 p.m. today.
