The House of Delegates convened at 9 a.m. and finished business around 10 p.m. on Friday.
Only being one day away from the end of the 2016 session, the House calendar was lengthy to have final discussions on a total of 32 bills up for passage.
The first bill to pass was Senate Bill 107. This particular bill is also known as the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act. Another bill voted to pass was Senate Bill 262, which would eliminate need for law enforcement to obtain court order prior to having access to inmate mail and phone recordings.
After the passage of a few bills, there was an extended debate on the floor over Senate Bill 269, the budget bill, which eventually passed in the House and will now be communicated back to the Senate.
The House returned from recess to consider the rest of the bills on the calendar. The first bill to be discussed after recess was House Bill 4741 which would expire funds to the Division of Human Resources, Medical Services Trust Fund. House Bill 4742 then passed right after that in order to work to expire funds to the Division of Human Resources, Medical Services Trust Fund from various accounts. Both bills will now be sent to the Senate for further consideration.
Along with bills passed on third reading, Senate Bill 298, also known as the Brunch Bill, passed in the House which would allow restaurants, private clubs and wineries to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays. The bill passed and will now be communicated to the Senate.
Among other bills passed were Senate Bill 339, 454, 504 and 517. Senate Bill 563 also passed which would work to increase retirement benefit multiplier for WV Emergency Medical Services Retirement System members.
Senate Bill 686 also passed in the House which would authorize local governing authorities hold sanctioned motor vehicle races on roads, street or airports under their jurisdiction.
House Bill 4017 was tabled, to be considered tomorrow.
A total of six bills were advanced to third reading.
When the House reconvened they took up and adopted HCR 36, which would allow for a constitutional convention of states regarding a balanced budget amendment.
The House will reconvene at 10 a.m. Saturday.
