Page 166 – Wrap Up

Judiciary Committee Commits Sexual Assault Bill to Study Resolution

House Committee

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February 25, 2019

The Judiciary Committee met Monday taking up several bills including, Senate Bill 563, which prohibits sexual assault victims from being subjected to certain physical examinations.

This bill adds new sections to code that prohibits a court to require an alleged victim in a prosecution for a sexual offense to endure a gynecological or physical examination of certain body parts. It also provides that a victim’s refusal to undergo a physical examination does not serve as a basis to exclude evidence from prior, relevant physical examinations, unless constitutionally required. Finally, it provides that for purposes of this new subsection, the term “sexual offense” means any offense in which sexual contact or intrusion is an element of the offense.

The committee discussed the bill and asked questions of counsel but decided it would be safer to study the bill more in a study resolution.

The committee also took up Senate Bill 453, which relates to background checks of certain financial institutions. This bill provides an alternate form of background checks for certain situations or instances. It provides that the Commissioner of the Division of Financial Institutions may determine alternate acceptable forms for background check information for direct and indirect principals of a licensee or applicant for a mortgage lender or broker license or a money transmission license who are not residents of the United States.

The committee advanced this bill and reported it to the House.

The committee also advanced Senate Bill 440, which relates to the Antihazing Law. Currently, the anti-hazing law only applies to organizations operation under the sanction of, or recognized as an organization by, an institution of higher education. Unsanctioned organizations are not covered by the anti-hazing law.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee advanced Senate Bill 510, which relates to medical professional liability. The purpose of this bill is to amend the prerequisites for filing a medical professional liability claim to clarify and provide additional expert witness qualifications.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee also advanced Senate Bill 295, which relates to crimes against public justice. The purpose of this bill is to include court security officers, the state fire marshal assistant, and deputy fire marshals in the definition of persons against whom obstructing an officer is a crime. The bill will be reported to the House.

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Banking and Insurance Sends Bills to Senate

Senate Committee

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February 25, 2019

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The Senate banking and insurance committee convened to report two House Bills to the Senate, Monday.

The brief meeting center around discussion of House Bills 2476 and 2609. Following the committee’s discussion and consideration of amendments, both bills were reported to the full Senate with the recommendation of the passage.

If passed, House Bill 2476 would amend a section of the state’s insurance code relating the evaluation of totaled automobiles. According to counsel, the language of the legislation was intended to clarify the the evaluations of insurance claims.

Counsel also provided the committee with a technical amendment drafted to strike language to further clarify the intentions of the bill.

Following discussion, the committee unanimously voted to adopt the amendment.

Members also reviewed House Bill 2609, relating to presumptions of abandonment and indication of ownership in property. Counsel addressed members to explain the purpose of the bill is to strike a section of code which was enacted in 1984 and is no longer needed.

According to counsel’s explanation, the proposed legislation received no objections from the Division of Financial Institutions.

Judiciary Committee Reports Three Bills to the Senate

Senate Committee

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February 25, 2019

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The Senate Committee on the Judiciary met Monday afternoon to discuss two Senate bills and one House bill on the Committee agenda.

Senate Bill 574 would permit members of a hospital medical staff to order an involuntary hospitalization of a person who is present at the hospital if the physician believes that the individual is addicted or mentally ill and because of the addiction or mental illness is likely to cause serious harm to themselves or to others if allowed to remain at liberty. Senator Lindsay (D – Kanawha, 8) proposed an amendment that would require physicians to do an evaluation of an individual before they could be involuntary held, which was adopted.

House Bill 2547 would this bill would fix an oversight with regard to the electioneering prohibition zone from last year’s legislation shrinking that zone from 300 to 200 feet to comport with Federal precedent. The original bill brought it down to within 100 feet, but the Committee adopted an amendment by Senator Baldwin (D – Greenbrier, 10) to only lower it to 200 feet.

Senate Bill 414 would create the Protect Our Right to Unite Act. The bill would provide protection of privacy of association, enforcement by state or citizen action, damages, and attorney’s fees.

The Committee passed all three bills, and will be reported to the full Senate to be voted upon.

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Multiple Bills Swiftly Pass Out of Senate

Senate Floor Session

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February 25, 2019

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25 pieces of legislation received passage on third reading during Monday’s floor session.

Of the legislation on the agenda, Senate Bills 238, 316, 400, 421, 432, 441, 511, 535, 539, 544, 547, 554, 592, 596, 597, 603, 627, 654, 656, 665, 666, and 667 received passage in addition to House Bills 2036 and 2821.

Senate Bill 603, which would exempt certain activities from licensing requirements for engaging in business of currency exchange, was up for third reading with the ability to amend but received no amendments before being passed unanimously out of the Senate.

Senate Bill 627, relating generally to Rural Rehabilitation Loan Program
Senate Bill 666, would create the WV Motorsports Entertainment Complex Investment Act
Senate Bill 667, would create the WV Motorsport Committee.

House Bill 2740, which would bar a parent from inheriting from a child in certain instances, and House Bill 2746, relating to administration of estates, were laid over.

Additionally, discussion of legislation which would create a road and repair fund led to the adoption of an multilayer amendment.

If passed, Senate Bill 522 would create a special fund intended to address the state’s roads. Following lengthy discussion of the bill in the Senate finance committee, the legislation was brought before the body on second reading where Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, proposed an amendment.

The Senator rose to describe his collaboration with fellow Senator Chandler Swope, R-Mercer and Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, to potentially amend three sections of the legislation. According to Tarr, under the introduced version of the bill, each county district would be able to contract road repairs to local contractors when not meeting their 70 percent productivity threshold. The Senator explained that if adopted, his amendment would allow funding allocated to smaller counties to be used toward boosting the productivity of a larger counties’ repairs.

The amendment would also reduce the amount of baseline funding allocated to counties from $1.5 million to $1 million, and give more control to local boards when establishing a priority list of road repair.

Following further discussion of the amendment, members voted to adopt the changes and engross the bill to third reading. Of the other 21 bills on second reading, five bills also received and amendment.

The body also passed Senate Resolution 59, which designated Feb 25, 2019 as Civil Air Patrol Day at the Legislature, and Senate Resolution 60, which recognized Leadership Jefferson.

The following committees will be meeting today:

The Senate Committee for Banking and Insurance will meet at 2 p.m. in 451M.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 3 p.m. in 208W.

The following committees will meet tomorrow:

The Senate Committee for Transportation and Infrastructure will meet at 10 a.m. in 208W.
The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in 451M.
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in 451M.

The Senate is in recess until 4:30 p.m.

UPDATE: The Senate reconvened at 4:30 p.m. to review reports from standing committees and put two bills under immediate consideration and read for a first time.

Senate Bill 414 would create the Protect Our Right to Unite Act.
Senate Bill 547 which woulid limit landowner liablity for recreational use of lands.

Senate Meets on Day 46, Completes Action on One Bill

Senate Floor Session

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February 23, 2019

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Today, the Senate convened in an afternoon session following morning comittee meetings to pass 16 Senate Bills and two House bills, one of which completed legislative action.

Among the bills passed by the Senate today was Senate Bill 529, which seeks to clarify certain provisions of the Nonintoxicating Beer Act.

One bill which was previously passed by the House was passed by the Senate unchanged and now heads to the Governor for a signature. That bill, House Bill 2612, propsed rules related to the completion or updating of source water plans.

House Bill 2036, House Bill 2740, House Bill 2746 and House Bill 2821 were also on third reading but were all laid over and retain their place on the calendar.

Senate Bill 596, adjusting voluntary contribution amounts on certain DMV forms, was also laid over one day on Third Reading and will retain its place on the Senate Calendar.

The Senate also advanced 22 bills from 2nd Reading to Third Reading which will be up for passage Monday. One bill, Senate Bill 544, would increase salaries for members of WV State Police over three-year period. One bill, Senate Bill 603, was advanced to third reading with the right to amend.

All bills on first reading were read a first time and advanced to 2nd REading. The Calendar is always available on the Bulletin Board.

The Senate is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. Monday, February 25th.

Government Organization will meet Monday at 8:30 a.m. in 208W.

Finance will meet Monday at 9:30 a.m. in 451M.

Natural Resources will meet Monday at 10:45 a.m. in 208W.

Senate Bill 632 Raises Questions Among Finance Committee

Senate Committee

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February 22, 2019

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Legislation which seeks to implement video cameras in special education classrooms sparked extensive debate and concern among Senate finance member’s, Friday.

Senate Bill 632, which received lengthy consideration from the education committee on Thursday, was brought before members of the finance committee for further consideration.

Following an explanation of the proposed legislation from Sarah Stewart of the state’s Department of Education, members cited concern over two areas in the bill relating to funding and an amendment proposed by Sen. Charlie Trump, R-Morgan.

During Thursday’s education committee, the Morgan County Senator requested to amend legislation to protect students involved in additional circumstances from disciplinary action when footage relating to circumstances in question are under review.

Sen. Bill Hamilton, R-Upshur, questioned the amendment, which would essentially protect students from disciplinary actions if they weren’t included in the original request to review footage. Hamilton addressed the committee to state that even though he was tore on an opinion relating to the bill, he believes the legislation is discriminatory to the state’s special education students.

Currently, the bill would only allow for footage to be reviewed by school administrators, teachers, parents or legal guardians and law enforcement officers, upon request.

After discussion of the bill, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, motioned to remove the amendment offered by Trump.

Members of the committee also raised concern over the potential fiscal impact of the bill which would request $7 million from the state and allocate $2,600 for each of the state’s 2,715 special education classrooms.

Following further discussion of the bill, members motioned to amend the committee substitute for the committee substitute and report it to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.

Judiciary Committee Reports Six Bills to the Senate Floor

Senate Committee

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February 22, 2019

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The Senate Committee on the Judiciary met Friday evening to discuss serval different bills there were on the Committee’s agenda.

Senate Bill 348 would raise the legal age for the purchase of tobacco, tobacco products, tobacco derived products, alternative nicotine products and vapor products from 18 to 21. The bill would also add the language of Senate Bill 136 because of how the two bills were closely related. SB 136 would change the definition of “electronic cigarette” to E-Cigarette.” The Committee adopted several different amendments to the proposed legislation. One amendment by Senator Takubo (R – Kanawha, 17) would make it illegal to smoke in car with someone in the car that is the age of 17 or under. The Committee passed the bill, and will be reported to the Senate.

Senate Bill 353 would enact the 2018 recommendations of the Judicial Compensation Commission providing salary increases for magistrates, family court judges, circuit court judges, and Supreme Court justices. Increases would be incremental starting July 1, 2019 with the last pay increase being July 1, 2022. Pay increases for these judges by 2022 would include:

Supreme Court Justices – $156,215
Circuit Court Judges – $ 149,070
Family Court Judges – $113,930

Senate Bill 273 would clarify that evidence and reports of fraud, waste, mismanagement, or other misconduct relating to government money at any level of government must be provided to the Commission on Special Investigations within a prompt period.

The Committee unanimously approved the bill, and will be reported to the Committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 412 would to establish the Katherine Johnson Fair Pay Act of 2019. The proposed legislation would make it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to prohibit an employee from disclosing information about his or her wages, benefits, or other compensation.

Senate Bill 600 would establish procedures for the preservation and disposal of biological evidence.

Senate Bill 657 would provide consumer protection for consumers of self-propelled agricultural equipment.

The Committee approved the other bills, and will be reported to the full Senate to be voted upon.

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Judiciary Committee Rejects Barking Dog Bill

Senate Committee

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February 22, 2019

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The Judiciary Committee unanimously rejected a bill that would have created a misdemeanor offense of disturbing the peace for barking or howling dogs.

House Bill 2894 would have created new code to provide that it is an unlawful disturbing of the peace, quiet and comfort of any neighborhood to keep, harbor or have custody of any dog that barks, howls, or makes noises by day or night which disturbs the peace and quiet of any person or family within the neighborhood.

The bill set forth penalties for each violation. For the first offense, a person could have been found guilty of a misdemeanor and faced a $1,000 fine and/or a jail sentence up to six months.

For a second offense, a person could have faced up to a $2,000 fine and a jail sentence up to a year. A person convicted of a second violation would also have risked seizure of animals that caused the disturbance.

The bill was unanimously rejected by the committee.

The committee advanced House Bill 2014, which relates to the West Virginia Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets Act. The purpose of this bill is to create the West Virginia Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets Act. The bill provides criminal, injunctive and civil protections against the misappropriation of intellectual property and trade secrets.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee also passed an originating bill which relates to requirements for making consumer loans in West Virginia. The purpose of this bill is to adjust limits on consumer loans in West Virginia where certain finance charges may be imposed and clarify that a person must first obtain a license from the Division of Financial Institutions before engaging in the business of consumer loans.

Current code provides that a person must first obtain a license from the Commissioner of Banking authorizing him or her to make regulated consumer loans before engaging in the business of making regulated consumer loans.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee committed to a study resolution House Bill 2321, which allows workers compensation benefits for first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The purpose of this bill is to allow workers compensation benefits for first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from an event that occurred during their employment.

The committee organized a work group to further investigate the bill.

The committee advanced House Bill 2931, which clarifies that the State Lottery Commission has no authority over non-lottery games. This bill exempts casino night fundraising events from licensure, and providing that casino night themed fundraisers are not subject to criminal penalty.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee also advanced House Bill 2895, which allows victims of certain crimes to get a restraining order. This bill allows victims of certain crimes from get a restraining order prohibiting convicted persons from contacting or living in proximity to the victim, upon a finding that this has caused or will cause the victim emotional distress.

The bill will be reported to the House.

The committee additionally advanced House Bill 2597, which creates a hunting permit to safely accommodate visually impaired hunters. This bill adds a new code section to create a new Class Six hunting permit to allow permittees to hunt with assistance from a person who does not have a visual impairment.

After lengthy debate, the committee advanced the bill to the House floor.

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House Education Committee Advances Community College Bill

House Committee

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February 22, 2019

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The House Education Committee met at 9 a.m. and then again at 3 p.m. on the 45th day of the legislative session on Friday, Feb. 22 to consider legislation. Four bills were advanced to the House floor on this day, and the buzzworthy Senate Bill 1 was advanced to the House Finance Committee for a second reference.

Senate Bill 1 would create the Advanced Career Education (ACE) Program with the intention of fostering a connection between state high schools and community colleges, and it would also create the WV Invests Fund. The WV Invests Fund would fund the community college tuition of select WV students who qualify.

The House Education proposed a strike and insert amendment to the version of Senate Bill 1 on Wednesday that made several key changes to Senate Bill 1. These changes would include the requirement of the WV Chamber of Commerce to research and prepare a list of underserved industries in the state to ensure the proper programs are facilitated, and the addition of public baccalaureate institutions that offer associate programs.

Delegate Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, spoke in favor of Senate Bill 1’s passage. He spoke on the fact that the legislation was modeled after a similar program in Tennessee, saying that the creation of the ACE Program and the WV Invests Fund would most likely provide similar levels of economic development.

“This is our first step toward having a more detailed workforce in West Virginia,” Rohrbach said.

Other delegates had concerns about the lack of a means test for the proposed grants and the nature of the funding mechanism. Delegate Jim Butler, R-Mason, was one of such delegates.

“This is not something we need to put on the backs of West Virginia’s taxpayers,” Butler said.

After a lengthy discussion occurring over three committee meetings, the House Education committee voted to advance the committee’s strike-and-insert amendment to Senate Bill 1 to the House Finance Committee with the recommendation that it pass.

The House Education Committee also had a consideration of and advanced four bills to the House floor.

House Bill 2397 would increase the ratio for licensed psychologists to students in a given WV classroom. The bill would increase the ratio of these licensed professionals by 2021 to be 1 psychologist to every 500 students. There are currently 126 certified psychologists serving the state of WV’s schools, and the bill would require the hiring of 266 more to fulfill the desired ratio.

Several delegates were concerned about the lack of professionals in the state that could fill these roles, but the bill was ultimately advanced by the committee.

House Bill 2853 was also passed unanimously. This bill would require the Library Commission to establish the West Virginia Program for Open Education Resources to encourage and facilitate the use of open education resource materials in both higher education and public schools. This bill would permit the creation of a database where educators could make their educational materials more easily accessible for students across the state.

House Bill 2568 was made into a Study Resolution to be researched thoroughly during Interims and taken up again by the committee next year. This bill would have required certain WV community and technical college or career and technical education centers to offer training for students to become firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

An originating bill was also considered by the committee and advanced to the House floor on this day. This bill would amend the Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholarship. The new version of the award would focus on students studying to teach math and science in the state. The scholarship would be given to the students providing that they agree to work in an underserved area of the state for five years.

House Bill 3020 was also considered and advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass. This bill would provide access for educational materials around the state. 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.

House Legislation Feb. 18-22

Tyler Hilbert

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February 22, 2019

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As of 3 p.m. on Friday, February 22nd, the House of Delegates has introduced 1,134 bills. Of those bills, 143 have been passed.

House Bill 2768 was passed unanimously. This bill would make technical changes to the 2018 Opioid Reduction Act passed by the WV Legislature last year, as well as address inconsistencies with how therapy services in the state administer Schedule II opioid drugs. The bill would also ensure compliance with federal code.

House Bill 2834 was also passed in the House on this day. This bill would modernize the minimum spacing provisions for the drilling of state horizontal deep wells. The bill would impose limitations for what the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission can do as far as regulation of these horizontal oil and gas wells.

House Bill 2849 would define the scope in which a nuclear pharmacy technician can operate. It defines the nuclear pharmacy technician’s certificate and specifies the duties each category of pharmacy technician is permitted to perform under supervision of a licensed pharmacist. This bill was also passed and advanced.

House Bill 2486 would remove barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records who seek licensure or certification in an occupation. This bill could be used to help West Virginians seek employment, providing that their criminal conviction is not directly relevant to the job that they are seeking licensure for, and that the criminal conviction is not sexual or violent in nature.

House Bill 2975 was also passed on this day. This bill would update current statute to include employees and contract employees of a day report center to those prohibited from engaging in sexual acts with prisoners, those persons under their supervision. Currently, correctional officers and guards are prohibited from engaging in sexual acts with prisoners or subordinates. This bill would just add day report center employees to that list.

House Bill 2730 would issue a pay raise to the state police, WV K-12 school teachers, and WV school personnel starting this fiscal year. The raise would be five percent more than the aggregate salary of these state employees.

Senate Bill 444 would increase supplemental appropriations to the Department of Health and Human (DHHR) Resources Laboratory Services Fund by $885,554. It would also increase the supplemental appropriations to the DHHR’s West Virginia Birth-to-Three Fund by $885,554.

Senate Bill 443 would apply to federal block grants in terms of how the state of West Virginia uses them for DHHR’s provided mental health services, childcare, and other miscellaneous items.

Senate Bill 442 was another supplemental appropriations bill that involves the WV Department of Revenue. This bill would allow the Insurance Commissioner to utilize federal block grant money.

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.

House Bill 2532 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.

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 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, but 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.

House Bill 2901 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.

Bills Being Considered in the House

House Bill 2452 would establish a cyber security framework within certain state agencies. This bill would allow the West Virginia Office of Technology to establish a Cybersecurity Office within their department to facilitate a software program to strengthen the cyber security checks within state agency devices. This bill would be applied to all state agencies except for institutions of higher education, the county board of education, the WV Legislature, and the WV Judiciary. Agencies would be subject to cyber security risk assessment, adherence to enterprise standards, and plans of action in the event of a cyber-attack.

House Bill 3132 would provide that medical providers serving no more than 30 patients would not need to comply with certain legislative rules and only attest to services being provided. House Bill 3132 would also mandate that licensed behavioral health centers providing office-based medication-assisted treatment are exempt from the separate registration process for other office-based medication-assisted treatment programs, and instead only have to attest to their services.

House Bill 2079 would increase the maximum number of cannabis grower, processor and dispensary permits. The bill would also remove the requirements that licenses be limited in regions of the state. The bill would increase the maximum number of state cannabis growers and processors from 10 to 50. It would increase the increase the maximum number of cannabis dispensers to 165 in the state.

House Bill 2433 would mandate that schools in the state of West Virginia would start no earlier than Labor Day and end no later than Memorial Day.

Senate Bill 1 would increase access to state community and technical schools by providing financial aid and payment tuition for West Virginia individuals who qualify. The bill would require the WV Chamber of Commerce to research underserved fields in the state that need more employees in order to ensure that the state’s community and technical schools have applicable programs. The bill would also create the WV Grant Program and create the WV Invests Fund.

House Bill 2397 would increase the ratio for licensed psychologists to students in a given WV classroom. The bill would increase the ratio of these licensed professionals by 2021 to be 1 psychologist to every 500 students.

House Bill 2853 would require the Library Commission to establish the West Virginia Program for Open Education Resources to encourage and facilitate the use of open education resource materials in both higher education and public schools.

House Bill 3127 would allow homeschooled and private school students to participate in public school extracurricular activities that are within their district.