As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, February 24, 2010, the forty-third day of the 79th Legislature’s 2nd Regular Session, 695 bills have been introduced in the Senate. Of those, 63 passed and have been sent to the House for consideration. The bills passed include:

Senate Bill 104 would require all employees of licensed private clubs and retail outlets selling alcoholic beverages, hired after July 1, 2010, to take an alcohol management course approved by the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner. The course would commence within 60 days of employment and renewed every three years after. Employees whose employment commenced prior to July 1, 2010 would be required to participate in an approved course before July 1, 2011, and every three years thereafter.

Senate Bill 122 would increase the age at which a child may refuse mental health in hospital treatment from12 to 18 years old. The bill also has language clarifying that the state is not obligated to pay for treatment.

Senate Bill 230 would allow optometrists with the proper training to perform three procedures using therapeutic lasers, but only in situations when the optometrist is working in collaboration with a West Virginia licensed ophthalmologist; the ophthalmologist must be within 40 miles of the optometrist performing the procedure.

Senate Bill 364 would add the State Medical Examiner to the list of people or entities with access to controlled substances monitoring data. This access can be used solely for the purpose of autopsies.

Senate Bill 376 would simplify the current process of collecting and publishing mortgage foreclosure information reported to county clerks by the trustees. Currently, the county clerks file the disclosure forms of deed of trust foreclosure sales quarterly with the Division. Under the bill the Division would calculate and publish the total number of foreclosure sales statewide and by county.

Senate Bill 385 would require banks to provide a bond or pledge assets to secure county deposits only where the amount of the deposits exceeds federal deposit insurance limits.

Senate Bill 387 would require regulated consumer lenders to provide notice of change in ownership or control to the West Virginia Division of Banking and to clarify that mortgage loan originators employed by such lenders must be registered or licensed with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.

Senate Bill 401 would reform and modernize procedures and time frames for assessments of real and personal property, notices of assessments, and appeals of assessments. It would provide special provisions for assessment of industrial and natural resources property. The bill would establish the local board of assessment appeals to meet in the fall of the tax year to which taxpayers may appeal as an alternative to the board of equalization and review which meets in February of the tax year.

Senate Bill 422 would limit liability for anticipated automatic external defibrillator users who are not health care providers. Accordingly, an anticipated operator who is not a health care provider would only be liable for damages if he or she acted with gross negligence. Gross negligence is a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm.

Senate Bill 511 would equalize the treatment of resident and nonresident trappers relating to tagging and checking beaver pelts. Currently, though it is permitted, there is no statute allowing nonresident beaver trapping.

Senate Bill 512 would require all traps for game or fur-bearing animals be marked with a durable plate or tag attached to the snare, trap, or trap chain bearing the name and address of the owner of the trap.

Senate Bill 517 would create the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. Under the proposed bill, any requirement of state law describing or requiring that a land record document be an original, on paper, or in writing would be satisfied by a document in electronic form. In addition, any requirement that the document contain a signature or acknowledgment would be satisfied by an electronic signature or acknowledgment.

Senate Bill 611 would provide an exception to 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 bill would permit the offices to be located outside Charleston if they are located “at a technology and research center.”