The Senate body convened Saturday morning for a brief floor session to conduct daily order of business.
The Senate completed legislation on two Senate bills that were reported from the House of Delegates yesterday.
Senate Bill 518 would prohibit a person from knowingly or willfully selling or trading a finished drug product containing any quantity of dextromethorphan to a person under the age of 18. A person found guilty of violating these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $100 to $250. The House Committee on Health amended the bill adding more language to it to clarify the age requirements.
Senate Bill 545 would eliminate outdated HIV testing protocols to be used by insurers. The House Committee on Health adopted a strike and insert amendment to the bill for cleanup and technical purposes.
Both bills will be reported to Governor Justice to be signed into law or vetoed.
The Senate also discussed five bills that were on third reading and up for passage.
House Bill 2547 would reconcile a section of state code making it a misdemeanor to remain within a certain distance of a polling place during elections. In 2018, the Legislature enacted a bill to reduce the electioneering prohibition zone around polling places, during elections, from 300 feet to 100 feet. One section remained within 300 feet of a polling place. This bill would correct that error, and the Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill to move the distance from 100 feet to 200 feet.
House Bill 2691 relates to concealed carry licenses. Current law has concealed carry licensees good for five years from issuance. The House Bill would have licenses expire on one’s birthday. The Judiciary Committee’s strike and insert amendment deals with current licenses by saying that licenses in effect on the bill’s effective date are good for 5 years or until a licensee’s birthday in the 5th year, whichever is later. New licenses and renewals would run five years, birthday to birthday.
Other bills on third reading included:
- House Bill 2359: Relating to exemptions to the commercial driver’s license requirements
- House Bill 2476: Relating to the valuation of a motor vehicle involved in an insurance claim
- House Bill 2813: Relating generally to collection of use tax
All bills were passed by the Senate, and will be reported to the House of Delegates.
The Senate is adjourned until Monday, March 4 at 11 a.m.
The following committees will meet today:
Finance at 10:30 a.m. in 451M
Judiciary at 10:30 a.m. in 208W
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