Page 112 – Wrap Up

Senate Bill Proposes W.Va. Intermediate Court

-

February 3, 2020

Senate Bill Proposes W.Va. Intermediate Court

The Bill Would Add a Judicial Layer Between Circuit and Supreme Court

Proposed legislation to create a West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals has become a recurring, relevant topic in the Senate Judiciary committee this week.

Senate Bill 275 proposes the creation of an Intermediate Court of Appeals, which would operate as a judicial layer between circuit courts and the state Supreme Court of Appeals. The Intermediate Court would be comprised of the northern and southern districts, conducting court proceedings as a panel of six total judges – three from each district.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals would have jurisdiction over decisions and orders concerning circuit courts in a civil case, family courts, administrative agencies appealable to the Kanawha County circuit court, guardianship and conservatorship cases, and the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. The court would not handle criminal cases.

The bill was taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 24. Counsel gave a presentation explaining the bill and answered questions from the committee before giving the committee the weekend to consider the bill along with potential amendments.

The committee began discussing the bill Monday morning, but the bill was once again laid over until later that afternoon.

A representative from the United States Chamber of Commerce spoke in favor of the bill and answered questions from the committee. The representative explained that the purpose of the bill was to modernize West Virginia’s court systems and create a more attractive environment for out-of-state businesses.

Some members of the committee argued that small businesses would suffer for the expenses of the bill, along with the salaries of Supreme Court Justices. Others saw this as an opportunity for businesses to be better represented in the state.

Amendments for the bill were adopted on Monday by the Judiciary Committee. One amendment adopted by the committee changed to provide judges to be elected instead of appointed by the governor as originally under the introduced version. If there is a vacancy, the governor would appoint, with advice and consent from the Senate, a judge from the Central Vacancy Advisory Commission.

A major concern of this bill is the cost. The Intermediate Court of Appeals would call for the appointment of six judges, each with a salary of $130,000 per year. The salaries and costs of the Intermediate Court of Appeals will be included in the appropriation for the state Supreme Court of Appeals.

Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, stated his disapproval for the bill.

“The creation of an Intermediate Court of Appeals is totally unnecessary,” Romano said.

He believes the addition of another layer to the state judicial system will cost the state millions of dollars to create. This would not only require paying the salaries of judges and employees but would broaden the base of legal literature. He said the creation of this court system would only benefit large insurance corporations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and West Virginia businesses would suffer as a result.

Romano said since a study conducted under former Gov. Joe Manchin in 2009, the number of appeals to the State Supreme Court of Appeals has been reduced by two-thirds; so, the creation of this new court is not justified by the claim of alleviating the Supreme Court’s workload.

Sen. Charles S. Trump IV, R-Morgan, sponsored the bill and believes the Intermediate Court would be beneficial in relieving the workload of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

“Our Supreme Court is among the busiest in the nation, as busy as it’s ever been,” Trump said. “An Intermediate Court of Appeals is necessary to allocate appellant review of judicial decisions in West Virginia and establish a system of review that is timely and thorough.”

Another concern is the delay that may occur when issuing another court system in the state. Trump said he believes this concern is overstated, and the court may expediate appeals from cases of lower courts. Although committee members remained divided on the issue, which has remained a hot topic last week, the committee advanced the bill. It now heads to the Senate Finance Committee to evaluate the costs and benefits of passing the bill.

House Passes Four Bills

House Floor Session

Juliet Thomas

-

February 3, 2020

0

The House convened at 11 a.m. Monday to pass House Bills 3049, 4484, 4600 and 4601.

House Bill 3049 provides for more immediate broadcasting of boiled water advisories through local health departments and local emergency management 911 answering points, and directly to interested customers.

House Bill 4484 extends the annual certification fee for facilities that manage hazardous waste until June 30, 2025. The certification fee was set to expire this year in 2020. The revenues collected from this fee will be used for the Hazardous Waste Management Fee Fund. This extension also prevents the state from losing federal funds.

Eight bills were advanced to third reading. Thirteen bills were advanced to second reading.

Six resolutions were introduced. House Bills 4645-4663 were also introduced.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Senate Passes 3 Bills, Adopts Resolutions

Senate Floor Session

Madison Perdue

-

January 31, 2020

0

Senate Passes 3 Bills, Adopts Resolutions

The Senate convened at 11:00 AM today to discuss the passage of three bills.

SB 449 promulgates legislative a rule for the Department of Commerce. The rule relates to the small business innovation research and technology transfer matching funds programs.

SB 550 would permit the usage of leashed dogs in the tracking of mortally wounded bears or deer. The bill specifies how dogs caught chasing deer should be handled.

Senate Bills 669-683 were introduced and referred to the appropriate committees.

The Senate also adopted Resolution 24, congratulating Lukas and Gabby Newcomer of Noble Farms Inc. for winning the Conservation Farm of the Year Award.

Senate Resolution 26, 27 and 28 was also adopted by the Senate, congratulating George Washington High School volleyball team, the boys’ soccer team, and the tennis team on winning their respective Championships. Two brief recesses were held for the presentation of these resolutions.

The Senate is adjourned until 11:00 AM Monday morning.

House Passes Forensic Testing Bill

House Floor Session

Juliet Thomas

-

January 31, 2020

0

The House convened at 11 a.m. to Friday to pass six bills, one of which ensures efficient handling of sexual assault forensic kits.

House Bill 4476 aims to provide timely handling of these forensic kits. This provides for better communication between the law enforcement agency, victims of the crime and the state forensic laboratory.

Under the bill, kits must be submitted for testing within 30 days of collection. Kits are to be tested unless the victim recants their statement, or the statement is invalid. Kits must be transmitted back to the local law enforcement agency it came from after testing. Additionally, the state lab must receive approval from the circuit courts and the victim must be notified before disposing of the kits after testing.

By December 1, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Resources must develop a strategic plan to create a tracking system for victims, so they will be aware of the status of their case and will be alerted when it is complete.

This is an attempt to prevent a backlog of untested sexual assault kits in the state from happening again. There is a current backlog of cases as old as 40 years. The Marshall University forensics department is testing cases prior to 2015, and the state lab is working on cases from 2019 and later.

House Bills 3049, 4484, 4600 and 4601 were advanced to third reading. Action for House Bills 4356 and 4434 was postponed for one day.

House Bills 2164, 2892, 4001, 4102, 4137 and 4412 were advanced to second reading.

Three resolutions were introduced. House Bills 4621-4644 were introduced.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Monday.

House Bill Adds Protections for Missing Children

House Committee

Juliet Thomas

-

January 30, 2020

0

House Bill Adds Protections for Missing Children

The House Health and Human Resources Committee convened Thursday to consider multiple bills, one which deals with the protection and recovery of missing children.

House Bill 4415 aims to improve the response, protection and recovery of this state’s missing and endangered children. The bill states that schools and foster care agencies must work in cooperation with law enforcement while handling these cases. Specifically, this bill would establish a missing foster child locator program. This would ensure that caseworkers will be required to participate in missing children cases in a more involved way. Foster children, or children otherwise in state custody, are more likely to be missing or endangered than other children.

According to testimony from DHHR general counsel Cammie Chapman, there were 545 cases of missing and endangered foster children in the entire year of 2019. The number was brought down to 70 cases by the end of the year.

Under this bill, the Department of Health and Human Resources would designate three employees specifically for the cases of missing and endangered children. Two employees would work actively in the field, and one employee would be centralized in the department. DHHR believes that designating a specific role to these employees would alleviate some of the case overload and would allow these employees to focus their attention on helping missing and endangered foster children.

House Bill 4415 was advanced by the Health and Human Resources Committee and will be reported to the floor.

Senate Health Adopts Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

Senate Committee

Madison Perdue

-

January 30, 2020

0

Senate Health Adopts Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources met at 1:00 Pm today to discuss five bills.

The committee considered House bill 4007, which requires a physician to use reasonable medical judgement in the event that a child is born alive after an abortion is performed. This means that medical personnel are required to give life-saving care to a child born breathing following an abortion procedure. When the committee asked the counsel how much this legislation would affect current law, it was to the understanding of counsel that it did not add substantial change to laws already in place. The bill was adopted and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SB 560 was also considered, a bill that was laid over on January 23rd. The bill addresses medicine distribution in nursing homes and authorizes trained individuals under the supervision of a registered nurse to administer medication to nursing home residents. After technical amendments were approved, the bill was adopted and will be reported to the full Senate with recommendation for passage.

SB 291, which would require health insurance providers such as the Public Employees Insurance Agency to provide mental health parity between mental health, behavioral health, substance use
disorders and medical procedures. This bill was adopted and will be reported to the Senate Finance Committee before advancing to the full Senate.

SB 269 was also adopted. The purpose of the bill is to create an advisory council to educate the public and the medical community about the diagnosis, treatment, and research of rare diseases. This bill was referred to the committee on Government Organization for further consideration.

SB 544 authorizes pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer vaccines. The bill grants authority to the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine to create joint rules to be approved by the legislature concerning this. This bill was adopted and will be reported to the full Senate.

Senate Completes Action on 1 Bill, Passes 3 Others

Senate Floor Session

Madison Perdue

-

January 30, 2020

0

Senate Completes Action on 1 Bill, Passes 3 Others

The Senate met at 11:00 AM today to discuss the passage of three bills and to complete action on one bill.

SB 323, a rules bill relating to the Public Defender Services, returned to the Senate from the House after the addition of technical amendments. The Senate concurred with the House amendment and completed action for the bill. The bill will go to the governor’s desk to await a signature.

The first bill to receive a vote was SB 175, which requires certain agencies of the executive branch to maintain a website that provides specific information such as office contact information. This bill would also authorize county commissions and municipalities to maintain informative websites that are free to the public, and would require them to provide certain information and updates to the Office of Technology and the Secretary of State.

The Senate also passed SB 261, which creates criminal penalties for introducing ransomware to computers with the intent to extort money, property, or other services under fraudulent pretenses. The bill establishes the elements of tis offense and the penalties for it.

The Senate also passed SB 339, a rules bundle for the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Senate bills 657-668 were introduced and referred to the appropriate committees.

Senate Resolution 22 was adopted by the Senate, designating today as Marshall University Day at the legislature. A brief recess was held for the presentation of this resolution and a short performance by the John Marshall Fife and Drum Corps.

Senate Resolution 23 was also adopted, congratulating the University of Charleston’s men’s soccer team. A brief recess was held for the presentation of this resolution.

The Senate is adjourned until 11:00 Am tomorrow.

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 1:00 PM in room 451M.

The Senate Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining will meet at 1:00 PM in room 208W.

The Senate Education Committee will meet at 2:00 PM in room 451M.

The Senate Committee on Government Organization will meet at 2:00 Pm in room 208W.

The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 3:00 PM in room 451M.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 3:00 PM in room 208W.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 10:00 AM tomorrow in room 208W.

House Passes 3 Prison Reform Bills

House Floor Session

Juliet Thomas

-

January 30, 2020

0

The House passed six bills today, three of which related to reforming the prison system in the state.

House Bill 4496 reduces the price of insurance coverage for the Department of Corrections in Rehabilitation from $1.25 million to $1 million. This aligns the insurance coverage for the Department of Corrections to match the rest of agencies in the state.

House Bill 4501 gives immunity to the commissioner and employees of a state correctional agency in a civil or criminal case that may arise from the result of accepting an offender into a jail that refuses medical treatment. This bill only protects the commissioner or employee if the consequences from refusing medical treatment cause damage but does not provide protections in the case of a separate injury.

House Bill 4510 prohibits bodily intrusion by an inmate upon any person at any correctional facility and defining bodily intrusion for purposes of the section. This bill is specifically written to deal with inmate crimes against other inmates. This bill aims to fix a current problem in women’s prisons across the state.

House Bills 4026 and 4353 also passed. The Senate amendment for House Bill 4130 was concurred and the bill was passed, therefore completing the legislative process. Action for House Bill 4476, relating to the timely handing of sexual assault forensic cases, was postponed for one day.

House Bills 2338, 4179, 4359, 4381 and 4470 were advanced to third reading.

House Bills 3049, 4059, 4198, 4356, 4434, 4484 and 4600 were advanced to second reading.

Seven resolutions were introduced. House Bills 4602-4620 were introduced.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Friday.

House Finance Advances W.Va. Impact Fund Bill

House Committee

Andrea Lannom

-

January 30, 2020

0

House Finance Advances W.Va. Impact Fund Bill

A bill with the goal of investing in projects aiming to spur economic and infrastructure development in West Virginia advanced out of the House Finance Committee Wednesday night.

House Bill 4001 has a three-part mechanism that aims to develop infrastructure and create opportunity through investing money in projects.

Under the bill, a 7-member investment committee would be established with the committee comprised of the governor, commerce secretary, and five private citizens selected by the governor and approved by the Senate. The House Speaker and the Senate President would also serve on this committee but in an advisory non-voting capacity.

The committee would appoint a managing director for a newly-created Mountaineer Impact Office, which would be tasked with working with professionals and consultants to find investors who want to partner with West Virginia.

The minimum aggregate investment in a project by the investment committee or the committee and investors, would have to be $25 million or more, which was reduced from the $100 million under the introduced version.

The Mountaineer Impact Office would present these potential projects to the Investment Committee, which would approve or reject the proposals. The committee would look into several factors in deciding whether to approve these projects: the ability to leverage other sources of funding, whether the investment funding for the project is available, whether the project could create or retain jobs along with the number and types of jobs involved, whether the project would promote economic or infrastructure development, and whether the project is in the public’s best interest.

The Mountaineer Impact Office would deposit income from investments into a newly-created special revenue fund called the West Virginia Impact Fund. The office would have to report annually on these investments.

Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, addressed the Finance Committee Wednesday night. Hardy explained the estimated fiscal note for the bill for this fiscal year would be about $150,000. For the 2021 fiscal year, Hardy estimated it could cost between $500,000 and $750,000 to get the office up and running, hire people, and get the committee established. The office would be funded through Commerce, Hardy said.

Finance advanced the bill after lengthy debate and questioning. House Bill 4001 is up for first reading in the House.

Two Economic, Tax Bills Referred to Subcommittee

House Committee

Andrea Lannom

-

January 29, 2020

0

Two Economic, Tax Bills Referred to Subcommittee

Two economic and tax related bills were sent to subcommittees to hammer out the details.

The House Committee on Small Business and Economic Development took up the two bills in its Wednesday meeting. The first bill, House Bill 4445, called the Economic Diversification Act of 2020, seeks to waive income tax and corporate net income tax for new businesses moving into the state that manufacture products or offer services that are currently not offered in West Virginia.

Under this bill, the business could receive tax relief for a maximum of 8 years. If the business could prove after the initial four years that no other business is providing these products or services, it could get the other four years.

Committee members mentioned a few concerns about the bill, including that it did not specify a cap on the tax relief.

House Bill 4445 was referred to a subcommittee.

The committee also took up House Bill 2724, which seeks to provide tax credits for small businesses. Under the bill, companies with fewer than 25 employees could receive a temporary tax credit up to 50% of branding, marketing, and advertising of agriculture of manufactured products produced and manufactured in West Virginia. The credit would be available for five years and would be up to $100,000 to be used against the corporate net income tax.

Due to the amount of questions on the bill, the committee assigned House Bill 2724 to a subcommittee.