The House reconvened this morning and passed three bills concerning West Virginia workers, as well as four other bills.

The worker bills passed this morning were House Bill 4387, House Bill 4459 and House Bill 4214.

House Bill 4387 would create the Flexible Leave Act, which would enable employees to use paid leave in order to care for a member of their immediate family. House Bill 4459 would allow dependents of deceased workers to collect workers compensation benefits up to two years after the death. West Virginia Code currently allows dependents to wait up to one year. Lastly, House Bill 4214 would require the Office of Judges review all workers compensation claims.

The following committee will meet today:
Judiciary-1 p.m. 410M

The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Veterans Affairs-9 a.m. 460M
Health and Human Resources-9:15 a.m. 215E
Banking and Insurance-10 a.m. 215E
Health and Human Resources-4 p.m. 215E

The House will reconvene at 2 p.m. today.

The House reconvened this afternoon and passed six bills and advanced five bills to third reading.

The most debated bill was House Bill 4646, which passed 61 to 34. The legislation would require corporations to allow shareholders to vote on financially supporting political causes.

The House also passed House Bill 4211, House Bill 4534, House Bill 4615, House Bill 4623 and House Bill 4647.

House Bill 4534 would increase the criminal penalty for those who fail to give aid after a motor vehicle accident and House Bill 4623 would add six members to the Equal Pay Commission.

The House advanced five bills to third reading including House Bill 4373, House Bill 4387, House Bill 4459, House Bill 4460 and House Bill 4486.

House Bill 4373 would remove a provision from state code designating that children who received insurance under an employer sponsored insurance plan must wait 12 months before being eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. House Bill 4373 and the other four bills on second reading will be up for vote tomorrow.

Ten Senate bills were introduced to the House as well.

The following committee will meet today:

Health and Human Resources-4 p.m. 215E

The following committee will meet tomorrow:

Rules-10:45 a.m. Speaker’s Office

The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

The House reconvened this morning and passed nine bills, including the heavily debated school calendar committee bill.

House Bill 4652 would establish a school calendar committee in every county. The bill designates that the committee would have administrators, teachers and service personnel on the 6 – 10 member committee. The bill would go into effect July 1, 2010.

House Bill 4038 passed the House today and would allow municipalities and counties to place a hold on insurance proceeds in order to ensure that debris resulting from fire damage is cleaned up.

House Bill 4161 passed this morning and would establish the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs within the office of the governor. The office would be responsible for making recommendations for minority activities throughout the state. It would also create a “Minority Affairs Fund” which would be used when determined by the legislature.

The following committees will meet today:

Finance-12:30 p.m. 460M
Education-2 p.m. 434M
Health and Human Resources-4 p.m. 215E

The House will reconvene at 2:30 p.m. today.

It was a busy morning in the House today as they adopted one resolution, passed 16 bills and advanced 17 bills to third reading.

Senate Bill 548 completed legislative action and will continue to the governor’s desk. It extends the time the Boone County Board of Education can meet to determine a renewal for the county’s school excess levees.

Other passed bills included Senate Bill 477, which would require that all reports given to the legislative librarian be given in electronic form and House Bill 4182, which would make changes to the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act.
The bills read on second reading include House Bill 4161, which would create a Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, House Bill 4623, which would add six additional members to the Equal Pay Commission, and House Bill 4652, which would establish a school calender committee for each county.

The West Virginia State Grange was honored today as the oldest agriculture and rural organization in West Virginia with the adoption of House Resolution 24.

The following committees will meet today:
Judiciary-12:30 p.m. 410M
Finance-12:30 p.m. 460M

The House will reconvene at 3 p.m. today.

UPDATE: The House reconvened at 3 p.m. and received several committee reports. The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. Monday.

The House reconvened today and passed two bills and read 24 bills on second reading.

The first bill passed was Senate Bill 611. This bill would remove the requirement that offices of the Higher Education Policy Commission, the Vice Chancellor for Administration and the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education be located in Charleston. The House adopted a title change and the bill will return to the Senate for approval.

The next bill passed was House Bill 4524, which would revise the definition for “all-terrain vehicle” as well as include a definition for utility terrain vehicles.

The House also read 24 bills on second reading. Among these bills was House Bill 4521, which would create a sales tax holiday for purchases of guns and ammunition. House Bill 4328 was amended into Senate Bill 477, which also advanced.

The following committees will meet today:
Judiciary-1:30 p.m. 410M
Finance-2 p.m. 460M
Government Organization-2:30 p.m. 215E
Education-3 p.m. 434M

The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Judiciary-9 a.m. 410M
Finance-9:30 a.m. 460M
Rules-10:45 a.m. Speakers Office

The House will reconvene tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Members of the House reconvened this evening at 5:30 p.m. and presented 24 bills for first reading.

Bills on first reading included House Bill 4137 which would use voter registration to determine the placement of political parties on the general election ballot and House Bill 4162 which would provide a tax credit for obtaining certain certifications by the United States Green Building Council Leadership. Also, House Bill 4185 which would allow deputy sheriffs to work past the mandatory retirement age of 65 with written consent from the county sheriff.

The following committees will meet tomorrow:

Finance-9 a.m. 460M
Rules-10:45 a.m. Speakers Office
Government Organization-2:30 p.m. 215E

The House will reconvene tomorrow at 11 a.m.