The House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Wednesday afternoon to consider four pieces of legislation.
House Bill 2036 is a revived piece of legislation from last year. It passed the House of Delegates unanimously during the previous session but it didn’t get approved by the Senate. House Bill 2036 would allow vehicles with disabled veterans’ special registration plates park in spaces reserved for people with mobility impairments. This would allow those with disabled veterans’ stickers or plates to use this documentation as an equivalent to the usual blue handicap signs.
House Bill 2036 was advanced to the House floor, with the request that the second reference to the Judiciary Committee be dispensed. This was decided on the grounds that the bill was passed in the House the previous session unanimously.
House Bill 2209 would allow military veterans who have certain qualifications to qualify for examination for licensure as an emergency medical technician. If a service member obtains a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in a field related to that of emergency medical technician or combat medic, they can apply to test for an emergency medical technician license in the state of West Virginia. If they pass the examination, these people would not have to go through additional state training.
Delegate Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, proposed an amendment to the bill that would not only apply this legislation to active duty military personnel within the state, as well as those in reserve.
The amendment to House Bill 2209 was adopted unanimously through the committee. The bill was advanced to the House floor as amended. Additionally, the committee also approved the option to request that the second reference to the House Committee on Health and Human Resources be dispensed.
House Bill 2223 would allow military personnel stationed in West Virginia to be recognized as citizens of the state in order to obtain a concealed carry permit. Current statute requires those in the state of West Virginia to be citizens of West Virginia, and this bill would allow those stationed in the state to be recognized under this.
The Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security approved House Bill 2223 unanimously but with the recommendation that it be referenced to Judiciary Committee first.
House Bill 2330 is similar to House Bill 2209, but the occupations it would work to legislate for differ. If a service member obtains a MOS related to the fields of plumbing, HVAC operation, or sprinkler installation, they can also opt to take the examination for state licensure without going through additional state training.
Steele proposed a parallel amendment to 2330, moving to apply the bill to not only those in active duty, but on reserve as well.
House Bill 2330 was advanced to the floor as amended with a recommendation that it should pass, with a request for the dispense of a second reference to the House Committee on Government Organization.
