The House of Delegates convened for an extended floor session at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The House passed seven bills on third reading, and is continuing to meet in the House Chamber in order to consider amendments to Senate Bill 451, a bill for comprehensive education reform.
The second reading of the omnibus education bill was moved to the foot of the House agenda for the day. The House’s amendment to the bill, a strike-and-insert amendment that currently features drastic changes from the Senate Bill 451 passed out of the Senate, was passed out of the House Education Committee last week and is subject to 35 possible secondary amendments from the Delegates.
Bills on third reading that passed out of the House of Delegates on this day include
- Senate Bill 18, a bill to allow individuals legally possessing a firearm to have those firearms stored in a motor vehicle on State Capitol Complex property and/or to be carried outdoors on State Capitol Complex.
- Senate Bill 61 is a bill that would add the crimes of first and second degree murder, first degree robbery, treason and participation in an organized criminal enterprise to the list of crimes that a state court may wiretap for.
- Senate Bill 323 is a bill that would provide a mechanism to establish a special revenue fund for capital improvements to Department of Agriculture’s facilities.
- House Bill 2609 is a bill that would prevent unnecessary reporting and administrative costs when an individual makes a report of accounts and other property held by a financial organization. This would apply to active members of a state financial organization.
- House Bill 2647 is a bill that would establish a limited lines insurance license to allow owners of self-service storage facilities to obtain a license to sell or offer self-service storage insurance coverage to occupants.
- House Bill 2720 is a bill that would authorize first responders on duty to carry a firearm.
- House Bill 2878 would add several specific narcotics to the list of state Schedule I drugs in order to match with the federal schedule.
House Bill 2468 was tabled during this floor session.
Bills on second reading on this day except for Senate Bill 451 were adopted without amendment- House Bill 2715 and House Bill 2761.
The second reading of Senate Bill 451 was taken up immediately upon finishing the day’s scheduled business. Several amendments were proposed and were rejected by the House.
An amendment by Delegate Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson, was the first amendment to the strike-and-insert version of Senate Bill 451 to be accepted. The amendment would include public Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, and Baccalaureate programs under the umbrella of listed programs that would receive a foundation allowance to improve upon themselves under Senate Bill 451.
An additional amendment proposed by Delegate Doug Skaff, D- Kanawha, Delegate Eric Nelson R-Kanawha, and Delegate Ed Evans, D-McDowell (notated as HFA- Skaff, Evans, et al 2-13) was also adopted to the strike-and-insert amendment. This amendment would increase the amount of bonus a West Virginia K-12 teacher would receive if they complete the school year without missing four days. Instead of receiving a $500 bonus, they would receive a $1,000 bonus.
After lengthy consideration of an amendment proposed by Delegate Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, that ultimately failed after being reconsidered, the House recessed for twenty minutes. They reconvened at 2:39 p.m. to continue considering amendments.
An amendment proposed by Delegate Isaac Sponaugle, D-Pendleton, to introduce law enforcement officers to public K-12 schools was highly debated within the House on this day. This amendment, inspired by Sponaugle’s conversation with middle and high schoolers, would proportionally introduce a number of police officers into a school for security purposes according to the size of the district.
“A lot of these kids are worried sick about being shot in our schools,” Sponaugle said. “We need to prioritize security in this state, that’s what this amendment does.”
A lot of contested and passionate debate continued in the House regarding the importance of prioritizing the safety of West Virginia students, and how economically feasible the amendment’s mechanism was.
Delegate Eric Householder, R-Berkley, rose in opposition. While Householder appreciated the merit that the amendment advocated for, he noted an astronomical fiscal note.
“When we use the formula in your amendment, getting these officers in the school could cost upwards of 125 million dollars. It stands to cost even more when we factor in how many officers each district would have to hire,” Householder said.
After extended discussion, Delegate S. Marshall Wilson, R- Berkley, made a motion to move to previous question. The motion carried.
Delegate Sponaugle asked the Speaker for permission to upload a revised version of his amendment, that would provide funding for one law enforcement officer per West Virginia school. He cited a fiscal note of 40.5 million dollars.
The amendment passed through the House overwhelmingly with the changes to the formula made.
Another secondary amendment made to the strike-and-insert was an amendment made be Delegate Erikka Storch, R-Ohio. This amendment would allow students studying to be a music teacher in the state of West Virginia to be eligible for the Underwood Smith Teacher Scholars Program. This amendment was also passed.
The House continues to convene indefinitely to consider amendments to Senate Bill 451.
