The House of Delegates convened at 9 a.m. and passed 12 bills today.
Com. Sub. for H. B. 2447 would rename the Court of Claims as the state Claims Commission and rename the judges as commissioners. It would provide authority to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance for the hiring of a clerk, chief deputy clerk, and deputy clerks; and establish a shortened procedure for certain road condition claims. The House concurred with the Senate amendments and passed the bill 63-36.
Com. Sub. for S. B. 206 would expand the definition of kidnapping to including taking or gaining custody of, confining or concealing another person by force or threat of force. The bill passed 99-0.
S. B. 222 would provide that an individual is disqualified for benefits for any week, or portion of a week, in which he or she left or lost his or her job as a result of a strike. The bill would clarify that a lockout is not a strike and it would establish the circumstances when a worker is determined to leave or lose employment by reason of a lockout. The bill provides that contractor employees who perform the work of a striking worker is not to be determined to have permanently replaced a striking worker. The bill passed 57-42.
S. B. 256 would prohibit school personnel who have engaged in sexual misconduct with students or minors from being assisted to find new employment without having that misconduct reported to the appropriate authorities and investigated. This bill would punish those helping to cover up these acts. The bill passed 99-0.
Com. Sub. for S. B. 437 would discontinue the West Virginia Racing Commission special account known as the West Virginia Greyhound Breeding Development Fund. It would transfer and redirect all moneys from this fund to the Excess Lottery Revenue Fund. This legislation provoked a long discussion, especially from those in the Northern Panhandle.
Finance Chair Eric Nelson (R-Kanawha) gave some background on the industry. He said that Dog Racing was authorized in West Virginia in 1975; first in Wheeling and then in Cross Lanes. Dog Racing declined in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1994, the legislature passed legislation to allow for video lottery at the race tracks. He said in the past few years there has been a decline again. He stated that 39 states have banned racing.
Delegate Joe Canestraro (D-Marshall) said he’s heard over and over how they have to “right-sized government. He said, “All this body has done is cut the low hanging fruit.” He said passage of this legislation will effect police and firemen pension funding. He stated that this fund is not a subsidy. “Tax money does not go into this fund, its funded by the gamblers,” he said. He reminded everyone that 1700 people would lose their jobs with the passage of this legislation.
Delegate Phillip Diserio (D-Brooke) said he doesn’t have a race track in his district, but he’s always considered himself lucky because he has one to the North and one to the South of him. He said when the steel jobs left his district, the people of his district at least had job opportunity at the race tracks in the surrounding counties. He named several dog kennels and farms in the area. He said “These are jobs for these people. I’ve heard a lot about living within your means. Let’s let these people live within their means. Let’s not throw them into the ranks of unemployment and welfare.”
Delegate Erikka Storch (R-Ohio) stood to oppose the bill, because her district will be directly affected by the passage. She wanted to point out how other districts could be affected, so she listed the location of several dog kennels throughout the state. There are kennels and breeders in many counties. She stated that Wheeling Gaming is the 5th largest employer in Ohio County and they will be affected by this passage. She reminded everyone that West Virginia does gambling differently than most states because breeders had a distrust for the Charleston Owner and the state had to get involved. After that, the state treated all the racetracks the same.
Nelson yielded to questions from Delegate Pat McGeehan (R-Hancock). McGeehan asked how much money would go from this special revenue to the general revenue. Nelson answered $13.6 million. McGeehan asked how much Wheeling Island pays in taxes a year. Nelson said he didn’t know and McGeehan stated it was just over $50 million.
The bill passed the House 56-44.
The House is in recess until 1:30 p.m.
At 2 p.m., the House convened briefly to receive committee reports, amend legislation on 2nd reading and read bills for first time.
Committee Meetings Today
Finance: 30 minutes after session in 460M
Judiciary: 3 p.m. in 410M
Health and Human Resources: immediately after session 215E
Committee Meetings Monday April 3
Judiciary: 9 a.m. in 410M
Finance: 10 a.m. in 460M
Rules: 10:45 a.m. behind House Chamber
Roads and Transportation: 1 p.m. in 215E
Education: 2:30 p.m. in 434M
Monday there will be three public hearings. At 8 a.m., there will be a public hearing in the House Chamber on SB 637. At 9 a.m., there will be a public hearing in the House Chamber on SB 576. At 10 a.m., there will be a public hearing on SB 60.
The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. on Monday.
