As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, February 18th, 2004, the 36th day of the 2004 Regular Session, 561 bills have been introduced in and 47 Senate Bills have been passed by the Senate. Of those, the following 12 bills have been passed by this body since February 12th and are currently under consideration in the House of Delegates:
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 71 relates to verifying the legal employment status of state workers. Within the legislative findings of this measure, it is stated that employers have the responsibility to verify the legal status of all employed individuals and report their employment to the appropriate governmental agencies. The purpose of this legislation is to make technical corrections to bring current state law into conformity with federal law.
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 125 would permit the solicitation of certain state employees for contributions to campaigns for or against ballot issues in county or local elections. The bill also amends current law by removing the cap on campaign contributions in national elections.
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 240 would provide that a governing body with seven or less members would not be required to have a second to any motion presented to the board unless the governing body adopts procedural rules requiring them.
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 261 would allow for a supplemental assessment by an assessor of personal property when this property has been removed from the record books.
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 271 would require racial profiling data be collected by law-enforcement officers and agencies each time a motorist is stopped for an alleged violation of the law. Among other information, a law-enforcement officer would report the identifying characteristics of the driver; the location and duration of the stop; and, if a warning or citation was issued.
Senate Bill 276 would establish a marriage license discount for applicants who complete approved premarital counseling. This discount would be enacted for those couples completing courses consisting of at least four hours of instruction regarding conflict management, communication skills, financial responsibilities and parenting responsibilities.
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 425 would designate English as the official language of West Virginia. Upon passage of this bill, no state agency or political subdivision would be required to provide or prohibited from providing foreign language versions of any written materials.
Senate Bill 479 relates to the licensing of foreign insurers. Under this legislation, a foreign insurer licensed to operate in this state would be permitted to conduct insurance business in West Virginia without securing the certificate of authority from the Secretary of State. Senate Bill 501 would add the West Virginia State Police, the Teachers’ Defined Contribution and the Deputy Sheriff retirement systems to the definition of “retirement plan” pertaining to benefit disqualification because of less than honorable service. In addition, the bill also extends the time frame for a termination of benefits notice from one to two years following a conviction.
Senate Bill 509 would permit the person or persons who owned property sold at a sheriff’s sale to receive any surplus from the sale upon filing a proper claim.
Senate Bill 524 relates to the Council for Community and Technical College Education and the PROMISE Scholarship Board of Control. Under this legislation, the process of appointing members to these boards would be brought into conformity with a recent West Virginia Supreme Court ruling.
Senate Bill 526 would make supplemental appropriation of public moneys from an unappropriated surplus balance in the general revenue to the Division of Rehabilitation Services for Fiscal Year 2004.
