The Senate convened Tuesday for an extensive floor session that began with honoring a former member of the Senate Body.
John Franklin Deem (R – Harrisville, W.Va.), West Virginia politician, served in both the House of Delegates and the West Virginia Senate over the span of seven decades – starting in 1955 and ending in 2018. He died on October 10, 2018 at Camden Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg, W.Va.
Deem was born in Harrisville, W.Va. in 1928, and he dedicated his life to serving the state and the country. Deem served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was the proud business owner of Frank Deem’s Market in Harrisville, Frank Deem Chevrolet in St. Mary’s, and the owner/operator of JF Deem Oil and Gas for more than 50 years.
The Senate unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 68, Memorializing the life of Honorable John Franklin Deem, and presented the Resolution to Deem’s wife, Rebecca and other family members.
Following the presentation of the Resolution, the Senate completed legislation on 14 bills that will be sent to Governor Justice to signed into law or vetoed.
House Bill 2538 would provide banking services for services provided under the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The proposed legislation is believed to be the final step into implementing medical cannabis into West Virginia Healthcare. The bill would do the following:
- Provide that the Treasurer shall select by competitive bid one or more financial institutions to provide banking services for the fees, penalties and taxes collected under the Medical Cannabis Act.
- Authorize the Medical Cannabis Program Fund to receive civil penalties.
- Permit the Treasurer to charge fees for providing banking services.
- Indemnifies officials and employees against legal costs due to complying with the Medical Cannabis Act.
Senate Bill 3 would establish the West Virginia Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. It pre-empts the manner in which an authority may prohibit, regulate, or charge for the collocation of small wireless facilities. The House of Delegates added three provisions to the bill which the Senate concurred with and include the following:
- Providing for mandated salvage valuation for property tax purposes of tangible personal property directly used in certain wireless technology businesses.
- Would allow for West Virginia to take charge of the regulation of pole attachment.
- Would empower the conduct of a feasibility study by electrical power providers to determine the likelihood and effectiveness of the installation of broadband fiber within the “hot zone” of the electrical provider.
Senate Bill 72 would create the Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights. The rights provided in the proposed legislation include the following:
- The right to a personal representative, of the victim’s choosing, to attend police interviews, medical treatment, court proceedings, etc.
- The right to receive a forensic medical examination.
- The right to have a sexual assault evidence collection kit tested and preserved.
- The right to be informed of the results of a forensic medical examination, unless such disclosure would compromise or impede an ongoing investigation.
- The right to receive notification of the evidence no fewer than 60 days prior to the intended destruction of the evidence.
- The right to have said evidence preserved for an additional period not to exceed 10 years after a written request.
The House Committee on the Judiciary implemented a strike and insert amendment to clarify definitions within the bill, and for technical cleanup. The Senate also concurred with the House Amendments.
Other bills that completed legislation include:
- Senate Bill 393: Protecting right to farm
- Senate Bill 520: Requiring entities report drug overdoses
- Senate Bill 668: Relating to physician assistants collaborating with physicians in hospitals
- House Bill 2359: Relating to exemptions to the commercial driver’s license requirements
- House Bill 2439: Relating to fire service equipment and training funds for volunteer and part-volunteer fire companies
- House Bill 2547: Relating to the election prohibition zone
- House Bill 2734: Relating to reduced rates for low-income residential customers of privately owned sewer and combined water and sewer utilities
- House Bill 3007: Authorizing the Commissioner of Agriculture to require background checks
- House Bill 3021: Relating to the disposition of permit fees, registration fees and civil penalties imposed against thoroughbred horse racing licensees
- House Bill 3045: Exempting certain complimentary hotel rooms from hotel occupancy tax
- House Bill 3095: Establishing a minimum monthly retirement annuity for certain retirants
Governor Justice vetoed Senate Bill 61, adding certain crimes for which prosecutor may apply for wiretap, because the title of the proposed legislation didn’t relate to the contents of the bill. The Senate quickly amended the title, and passed it once again to fix the Governor’s concerns.
The Senate also passed eight bills that were on third reading, and will be reported to the House for concurrence. The eight bills include:
- House Bill 2311: Exempting short-term license holders to submit information to the State Tax Commission once the term of the permit has expired
- House Bill 2362: Ardala Miller Memorial Act
- House Bill 2405: Imposing a healthcare related provider tax on certain health care organizations
- House Bill 2509: Clarifying that theft of a controlled substance is a felony
- House Bill 2525: Tobacco Cessation Therapy Access Act
- House Bill 2600: Relating to publication of sample ballots
- House Bill 2872: Authorizing law-enforcement officers to assist the State Fire Marshal
- House Bill 2958: Authorizing the State Auditor to conduct regular financial examinations or audits of all volunteer fire companies
Senate Bill 150, the Budget Bill, was also on third reading with a right to amend the bill.
The Senate is currently in recess until 6 p.m.
The following committees will meet today:
Health at 2 p.m. in 451M
Energy at 2 p.m. in 208W
Education at 3 p.m. in 451M
Gov. Org. at 3 p.m. in 208W
Finance at 4 p.m. in 451M
Judiciary at 4 p.m. in 208W
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