The House of Delegates convened at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 9 on the final day of the legislative session to receive messages from the Senate.
Senate Bill 4, a bill to establish the permanency of the Municipal Home Rule Program, completed legislative action on this day. The Senate issued a title amendment to Senate Bill 4, which the House unanimously adopted and concurred with.
The Senate amended the title of Senate Bill 28, a bill to remove the hotel occupancy tax limit collects for medical care and emergency services, and also amended several provisions in the bill regarding dollar amounts of tax collections. The changes did not alter the nature of the bill’s impact, so the House concurred with these changes. Senate Bill 28 completed legislative action on this day.
Senate Bill 402, House Bill 2768, and House Bill 2982 all underwent technical amendments by the Senate, which were adopted by the House of Delegates.
Conference committees were appointed on two Senate Bills in order to reach a compromise between the two chambers.
The House refused to recede their amendments to Senate Bill 596 and appointed Delegate Jason Harshbarger, R-Ritchie, Delegate Chris Phillips, R-Barbour, and Delegate William Hartman, D-Randolph to conference on Senate Bill 596, which seeks to adjust voluntary contribution amounts on certain DMV forms. The Senate will also appoint three members for this conference committee.
A conference committee consisting of Delegate Moore Capito, R-Kanawha, Delegate Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, and Delegate Chad Lovejoy, R-Cabell, was appointed to reach a compromise on Senate Bill 487. The House refused to recede on their amendments for Senate Bill 487, which relates to admissibility of health care staffing requirements in litigation.
The House of Delegates also refused to concur with amendments on Senate Bill 405 and House Bill 2503, and will send a message to the Senate asking them to recede from their changes.
The House of Delegates concurred with a Senate amendment to House Bill 2849, a bill to establish different classes of pharmacy technicians. The Senate change would ensure verification of the proper authorities indicated in the bill.
The House of Delegates voted to concur as amended House Bill 3144 with a gallery full of WV coal miners looking on. The bill would provide a tax break for state coal miners via the North Central Appalachian Coal Severance Tax Rebate Act, a rebate that would be created by the bill.
Amendments to Senate Bill 673, a bill to eliminate the requirement for a state-wide master plan for public higher education and state and institutional compacts, were receded on this day. The Senate requested the House of Delegates to recede their changes to the bill, and they agreed to recede in a 52-44 vote.
A lengthy debate persisted over the House’s actions on House Bill 2001, a bill to issue a tax break to exempt social security benefits from personal income tax. The bill, a landmark piece of legislation by the House, went under significant changes by the Senate that put a salary cap on seniors who would receive tax exemptions, and implement the tax break over three years instead of within one fiscal year.
Delegate Mick Bates, D-Raleigh, echoed several members’ concerns that the Senate amendment changed the House bill too drastically.
“This isn’t a compromise if we concur, it’s a cave,” Bates said.
Several members were concerned that the House’s failure to concur with the Senate’s changes to House Bill 2001 could result in the death of the bill.
“Refusing to concur would simply be a high risk game of chicken,” Delegate Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson argued.
The House of Delegates agreed to concur with the Senate changes to House Bill 2001 in a 52-44 vote.
