The House session started with a somber tone today. Members adopted House Resolution 46 which commemorated the life of the Honorable William D. “Bill” Proudfoot. He represented the 37th District for 18 years, until his passing on December 23, 2008. Members of Proudfoot’s family (Lynn Currence Proudfoot pictured) were presented with a copy of the resolution and the House extended its sympathy at the passing of one of their beloved colleagues.
Eighteen bills were presented on third reading today and all of them passed to the Senate for its consideration. Twelve of those passed unanimously.
House Bill 2133 would increases the penalties for littering. The minimum fine for depositing less than 100 pounds of litter would increase from $50 to $100. The Supreme Court would be required to increase the mandatory community service sentence from eight to 16 hours. If the offender deposits over 100 pounds of litter, the Supreme Court would be mandated to sentence the person to 24 to 40 hours of community service.
House Bill 2415 would identify salvia divinorum as a hallucinogen and add it to the list of controlled substances. Any person who possess a material, compound, mixture or preparation intended for human consumption which contains salvia divinorum would be guilty of a misdemeanor and jailed up to six months and/or fined $1,000.
House Bill 2538 would provide a framework for distributing legislative funds to supplement alternative language education programs for limited English proficient students.
After discussion from several members, House Bill 2747 passed 72-28. The bill would create a temporary reinvestment fee for health insurers, third party administrators and others to assist in funding health information technology in the state. The bill specifies the various fee options and clarifies that all health insurers contribute equally to the West Virginia Health Information Network Account (WVHIN).
The following committees will meet today:
Government Organization- 1:15 p.m.- 215E
The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Banking and Insurance- 10 a.m.- 215E
Health and Human Resources- 4 p.m.- 215E
The House is in recess until 2:30 p.m. when they will finish voting on the nine bills that remain on third reading.
