The Senate Committee on Government Organization convened today at 2:00 PM to discuss five bills.
The first bill presented was SB 96, which would prohibit municipalities from placing limitations on the right to purchase, transfer, possess, sell or carry deadly weapons or pepper spray in any way that conflicts with state laws. The bill would also restrict the award of reasonable attorney costs to petitioners seeking redress under this law, to only those who succeed. After Council explained the bill and received questions regarding the technicalities of the bill and concerns were expressed regarding the bill’s role in public safety, a citizen from Kanawha County spoke in favor of the bill.
There was much debate over this bill during the committee meeting, some questioning the constitutional consistency of the bill while others debated that it was well within the rights of the state to issue the bill. Though the committee was divided in its support for the bill, the motion was adopted to report the bill to the full Senate for passage.
Another bill to be discussed was SB 307, which corrects technical errors to the WV State Code. The bill will be reported to the full Senate for passage.
The committee also addressed SB 322, which would allow services to be bought on state contracts through prequalification agreements with vendors. The bill will be reported to the full Senate with recommendation for passage.
