The House of Delegates convened at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 26 to consider forty-four bills on third reading on the 49th day of the regular legislative session. Forty-four bills were passed on this day, in preparation for Wednesday being crossover day.
House Bill 2011 was passed by the House of Delegates after a lengthy discussion regarding the scope of privatization in the implications of the bill. This bill would create a program in the state known as the Road Maintenance Program that would allow for and encourage a program in every district of the state to contract out with private contractors in order to perform road maintenance within that district. The WV Division of Highways and Legislative Auditor would oversee the efficacy of this bill if it were to pass. The Road Maintenance Program would aim to solve for the abundance of road work projects, however, several members were concerned about the amount of contracting the Division of Highways would do out of the state of West Virginia. Despite this, the bill was passed overwhelmingly.
House Bill 2014 was also passed by the House of Delegates. This bill would create the WV Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets Act, which would strengthen protections for items created of commercial value. The bill would add a formula definition of intellectual property, adds provisions to protect employment nondisclosures, and provides criminal and civil penalties for violations.
House Bill 2049 would provide protections for prime contractors in regards to wages and benefits. If an employee believes that they haven’t been paid the proper amount of wages by the prime contractor, they would have to first notify the prime contractor of the discrepancy and then give them notice and provide them with verifiable proof, such as a check stub. They must also give the contractor time to remedy the lack of payment before taking court action. This bill passed unanimously in a 58-41 vote.
House Bill 2378 passed unanimously. This bill would allow the revocation of state teaching licenses from individuals who have been convicted of a crime requiring them to register as sex offenders, or individuals who have been convicted of a crime regarding the possession or transfer of a controlled substance.
House Bill 2396 was also passed unanimously on this day. This bill would create the WV Fresh Food Act. This bill would require all state funded institutions to purchase a minimum of 5% of fresh food from West Virginia. The intent of this bill is to stimulate economic growth for the state’s agricultural industry.
House Bill 2497 was passed unanimously by the House of Delegates. If passed, this bill would issue more protections for whistleblowers in the state of West Virginia. It codifies the protection of West Virginia whistleblowers, and mandates that they cannot be passed up for a raise or promotion because of their status as a whistleblower, and they cannot be prohibited from taking part in political or union activities.
House Bill 2617 would require the Insurance Commissioner to provide for the use of electronic means of delivery and electronic signing of the form for making an offer of optional uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage by insurers. After little debate concerning the rights of the uninsured and underinsured, this bill ultimately passed.
House Bill 2991 was also passed on this day, a bill to require the WV Office of Drug Control Policy within the DHHR to conduct an assessment of WV’s system of care for treatment and recovery services for substance use disorder. This assessment will be used to find gaps in the treatment and recovery services for substance use disorders. Money found in these assessments will be allocated to the Ryan Brown Fund.
House Bill 3020 would allow an institutional governing board, the Higher Education Policy Commission or the Community and Technical College Council to enter into a contract for materials, goods, equipment, services, printing, facilities, or financial services with an affiliated nonprofit corporation in the state. After lengthy discussion, this bill was also passed.
House Bill 3131 also generated lengthy discussion, but was ultimately passed. This bill would give the Department of Health and Human Resources the authority to use existing funds to make salary adjustments and increase the salary ranges for certain employees, such as CPS workers.
Action on House Bill 2931 and House Bill 2937 was postponed for one day.
All other 34 bills passed by the House of Delegates can be accessed on the Calendar.
The House of Delegates is in recess until 3:00 p.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 26 to continue consideration of the posted agenda.
Committees Meeting Today After Floor Session:
-The House Committee on Political Subdivisions will meet at 1 p.m. in 434-M.
-The House Committee on Pensions and Retirement will meet at 4 p.m. in 460-M.
-The House Committee on Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services will meet at 5 p.m. in 215-E.
-The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources will meet at 7 p.m. in 215-E.
