The House of Delegates convened at 11 a.m. on Feb. 22 for the 45th Day of the 84th West Virginia Regular Legislative Session to consider legislation. On this day, 15 bills were passed out of the House of Delegates, including the bill to approve a five percent pay raise for state police personnel and public school employees.
House Bill 2730 would issue a pay raise to the state police, WV K-12 school teachers, and WV K-12 school personnel starting this fiscal year. The raise would be five percent more than the aggregate salary of these state employees. This piece of legislation was suggested by Governor Jim Justice, and has raised a lot of discussion in the state regarding teacher pay.
Several delegates were hesitant to approve of the pay raise on the issue of teacher merit, and others had fiscal concerns.
“People who walk off the job don’t deserve a pay raise,” Delegate Tom Bibby, R-Berkley said in reference to last week’s strike.
Delegate Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, raised concern over the $105 million fiscal note that would come with issuing state employees the pay raise.
Delegate Christopher Thompson, D- Randolph, addressed these fiscal concerns, saying that there was a need to address recruitment and retention of WV teachers.
After a lengthy discussion, House Bill 2730 passed through the House of Delegates in a vote of 89-8 and was also approved to be made effective starting July 1, 2019. House Bill 2730 now moves on to the Senate for consideration.
There was a number of Senate Bills that were passed by the House of Delegates on this day.
Senate Bill 13 was passed on this day, a bill that generated a large amount of controversy while it was on second reading. This bill would fulfill a past promise of reimbursement that the state made to the state’s racehorse industry. Senate Bill 13 would restore $11 million to the purse funds for racetrack horses in the racing industry. This bill would restore money that was taken from the purse funds by the state in 2005 to help fund needed worker’s compensation cases.
Senate Bill 442, Senate Bill 443, and Senate Bill 444 were also passed on this day. These bills all address supplemental appropriations for state agencies. Senate Bill 442 would allow the Insurance Commissioner to utilize federal block grant money. Senate Bill 443 and Senate Bill 444 would add supplemental appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Resources for mental health services, laboratory funds, and other miscellaneous items.
House Bill 2532 was also passed on this day. This bill would grant West Virginians renewing their drivers’ licenses or vehicle registrations the ability to make a contribution in the amount of $3, $5 or $10 to the West Virginia Farm Bureau, the West Virginia 4 H Program, or the West Virginia Future Farmers of America Education Foundation.
House Bill 2540 would make it unlawful for any person through carelessness, neglect or otherwise to let any edible portion of any big game or game fish to go to waste needlessly. The bill also provides for penalties and gives the Division of Natural Resources the authority to enforce this law. This bill was passed after a lengthy floor discussion regarding freedom.
House Bill 2541 was also passed this day. This bill updates safety measures for public K-12 schools in West Virginia. House Bill 2541 would to require county boards to implement a safety plan for public schools, containing the following requirements: visible room numbers on the outside of the building, provide updated school floor plans to local first responders and law enforcement, and provide active shooter and first aid training to teachers and students.
House Bill 2807 was passed unanimously. House Bill 2807 would provide a reducing modification to the West Virginia adjusted gross income of a shareholder of a Subchapter S corporation engaged in banking business in WV.
House Bill 2829 would terminate the state severance tax on the extraction of limestone and sandstone starting in 2021. The bill comes with a fiscal note of $1.2 million.
Delegate Vernon Criss, R-Wood, addressed concerns regarding the costly implication of this tax cut. He stated that because of the Division of Highways being the largest purchaser of limestone and sandstone in the state, a lot of that cost would be directly funneled back into the state. The bill passed through the House of Delegates.
House Bill 2872 would allow state law enforcement officers to assist the state fire marshals in cases that lend itself to their involvement. This bill would address a gap in code and was passed without little discussion.
House Bill 2901 also passed on this day. This bill would allow a licensed racetrack to establish a secondary location for racetrack video lottery terminals and racetrack table games at a location within the county as approved by the lottery commission.
House Bill 2934 would authorize licensing in the state for interactive wagering. Casinos in the state would be allowed to create applications to allow individuals to wager digitally on a mobile device or desktop. There would be a 15% privilege tax on these games.
“This is to address a problem with a huge black market,” Delegate Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha said in defense of the bill. “The passage of this bill allows us to capture that dangerous black market, bring it under regulation, and establish state control.”
House Bill 2934 passed through the House.
House Bill 2968 would authorize the addition of remote service units, or RSU’s, to customer bank communications terminals. This bill also passed unanimously.
House Bill 3134 was postponed for one day.
Bills on second reading that were advanced without amendment on this day were Senate Bill 26, House Bill 2452, House Bill 2550, House Bill 2598, House Bill 2617, House Bill 2690, House Bill 2694, House Bill 2718, House Bill 2770, House Bill 2802, House Bill 2816, House Bill 2827, House Bill 2828, House Bill 2830, House Bill 2926, House Bill 3024, House Bill 3045, House Bill 3133, and House Bill 3135.
Action on House Bill 2617, House Bill 2802, and House Bill 2991, three additional bills on second reading, was postponed for one day.
Senate Bill 489, a bill on second reading was amended on this day. The language change that was amended made the legislation more permissive.
House Bill 2229 and House Bill 3132 were amended with technical changes.
House Bill 2837 was amended to change the date effective from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2022.
All bills on first reading were advanced on this day. Additionally, bills reported from committees were read for a first time on this day and advanced to second reading.
The House of Delegates is in recess until 7 p.m. this evening.
Committees Meeting Today:
– The House Committee on the Judiciary will meet at 2:15 p.m. in 418-M.
-The House Committee on Finance will meet at 3:00 p.m. in 460-M.
-The House Committee on Education will meet at 3:00 in 434-M.
-The House Committee on Government Organization will meet at 3:00 p.m. in 215-E.
Committees Meeting Monday Morning Before Floor Session:
-The House Committee on Finance will meet at 8 a.m. in 460-M.
-The House Committee on Government Organization will meet at 9 a.m. in 215-E.
-The House Committee on the Judiciary will meet at 9 a.m. in 418-M.
-The House Committee on Rules will meet at 10:45 behind the House chamber.
The House of Delegates reconvened briefly at 7 p.m. tonight, February 22 to hear committee reports.
All of the committee reports received on this night were read for a first time except for House Bill 3144, House Bill 3142, and Senate Bill 1.
Senate Bill 1 was referenced to the House Committee on the Judiciary for a second reference.
The House of Delegates is adjourned until 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 25.
