The House reconvened this afternoon at 3 p.m. and sent 14 bills to the Governor for further consideration.

The House completed action on Senate Bill 574, which will declare December 7 a special memorial day, known as Pearl Harbor Day to honor all West Virginians who fought in World War II.

Members also sent Senate Bill 627 to the Governor’s desk. It will increase criminal penalties for littering. Fines will increase from $50 to between $100 and $1,000 at the discretion of courts. For amounts greater than 100 pounds, fines will increase to a minimum of $1,000, but no more than $2,000.

Additionally, the House passed 13 bills that have been sent to the Senate for consideration. They also appointed Conference committees for Senate Bill 218, which would provide for early parole eligibility for inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses who complete an advanced rehabilitation treatment program, and House Bill 4207, which would make it unlawful to send obscene, anonymous, harassing and threatening communications by computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, or other mobile device.

The House will reconvene this evening at 8 p.m.

UPDATE

The House reconvened at 8 p.m. to pass 20 bills including House Bill 4177, which would dedicated five percent of coal severance tax to the county of origin, House Bill 4130 which would create the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Public Campaign Financing Pilot Program, and House Bill 4531, which would mandate that the shackling of pregnant women who are incarcerated is not allowed except in extraordinary circumstances.

The House is in recess until 10:30 p.m.

The House reconvened today at 11 a.m. for the last day of the 2010 Regular Session. Fifteen bills completed legislative action during this morning’s session.

House Bill 4223 has been sent to the Governor for further consideration. The bill will increase the safety of children on school busses by creating harsher penalties for failing to stop a motor vehicle before reaching a school bus. The minimum fine has been increased from between $50 and $200 to between $150 and $500.

House Bill 4652 also completed action. It will establish school calendar committees for each county school board of education. The committee will be comprised of teachers, administrators, service personnel and parents. The committee will vote on at least two proposed calendar options for the county.

The House also created Conference Committees for further consideration of bills. Conference Committee bills included Senate Bill 480, which would create “FACTS for Higher Education” by establishing Fair, Accountable, Credible, Transparent and Systematic mechanisms to determine classification status and compensation for classified employees in public higher education organizations. They also included House Bill 4593, which would increase the minimum age for ending compulsory school attendance from 16 to 17 years old. It will also reduce the number of days of unexcused absences from 10 to five.

There will also be a Conference Committee for Senate Bill 230, also known as the Optometry Bill, which would allow Optometrists to perform certain laser eye surgeries.

The following committees will meet today:
Conference Committee on SB230- 2 p.m.- President’s Conference Room
Rules- 2:45 p.m.- Speaker’s Office

The House will reconvene this afternoon at 3 p.m.

The House reconvened today at 11 a.m. and completed legislative action on six bills, as well as passing six bills with amendments.

Senate Bill 611 completed action and has been sent to the Governor for consideration. It will remove the requirement that the 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, West Virginia. The offices will have to remain located in Kanawha County.

The House passed Senate Bill 230, also known as the Optometry Bill, with an amendment. The amendment discards previous lines of the bill that would allow optometrist to perform laser surgeries. It preserves the optometrists rights to prescribe medications and administer epinephrin by injection in case of an emergency.

House members also passed Senate Bill 597, which would require all women seeking an elective abortion to be given the opportunity to see an ultrasound of the fetus before the procedure is performed.

The following committees will meet today:
Rules- 3:15 p.m. Speaker’s Office

The House will reconvene this afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

Members of the Senate reconvened this evening passed nine bills and advanced 18 bills third reading and 17 to second reading. Bills on third reading included House Bill 4397 which would require the Superintendent of the State Police to implement a plan to increase the number of state troopers.

Senators also received the conference report regarding Senate Bill 611, which would remove the location requirement for certain higher education offices. Upon receiving the report Senate members passed the bill and sent it to the House for their concurrence.

Bills on second reading included House Bill 2663 which would expand the power of municipal parking authority officers and House Bill 4034 which would authorize any municipality to enact by ordinance a vacant property registration program.

The following committees will meet tomorrow:
Finance-9 a.m. 451M
Transportation-10 a.m. 451M
Rules-10:45 a.m. President’s Conference Room
Government Organization-2 p.m. 208W

The Senate will reconvene tomorrow at 11 a.m.

House Bill 4352, known as the “business courts” bill, completed legislative action when voted unanimously in the House this afternoon. The House also passed 22 other bills, as well as advanced 48 bills to third reading.

House Bill 4352 will allow the state Supreme Court to establish “business courts” to handle business cases, just as juvenile courts handle children. The bill was written to make the West Virginia court system more efficient and make the state friendlier to businesses.

Other bills that completed legislative action included House Bill 3110, House Bill 4176, House Bill 4425, and Senate Bill 651.

House Bill 3110 will rename conservation officers “natural resources police officers”, House Bill 4176 will create a state-wide credentialing system for health care practitioners, House Bill 4425 will develop a pilot program for unlicensed personnel to administer medication in nursing homes, and Senate Bill 651 will put a preference on current license and permit holders who bid on contacts.

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