As of 4 p.m. Feb. 16, 2004, the eighth day of the Regular Session, 449 bills have been introduced in the House of Delegates. Of those, four have passed the House and will now go to the Senate for its consideration.
House Bill 2015 would provide employer immunity from civil liability for job-related information disclosed regarding former employees. It also would provide that information given is presumed to be in good faith. However, if the employer provides information that is knowingly false, deliberately misleading or malicious, then the employer immunity is lost. Too, all information provided must adhere to job-related activities.
House Bill 2102 would make tongue splitting a crime unless performed by a licensed physician or osteopath. Tongue splitting is the cutting of a human tongue so it is no longer one continuous piece but rather split into two or more connected segments. Any person guilty of violating the proposed law would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and if convicted, would be fined $50 to $500 or would spend not more than one year in jail, or both.
House Bill 2128 would authorize the Executive Director of the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority to establish an inmate furlough program-a program that allows a prisoner temporary leaves of absence from the prison. The leaves of absence are granted for reasons such as attending funerals or hospital visits to terminally ill family members. The Executive Director would have the authority to determine which inmates are not a risk to public safety.
House Bill 2129 would create a misdemeanor offense for unlawfully using a recording device to record a motion picture in a motion picture theater. A person in violation of this law would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and if convicted, the person would be fined $100 to $500 for each offense. Other provisions in the measure would authorize the theater owner to detain an offender without liability until a law enforcement officer arrives upon the scene. Exemptions to this law would include security, personnel protective services or any investigative agency.
Bills Introduced In the House
House Bill 2008 would increase the rate of tax on cigarettes from 55 cents to $1.55 and reduce the consumer sales tax on food sold for home consumption from six percent to three percent. The bill also states that the first $5 million collected from the cigarette tax is to be given to the Department of Agriculture for crop transition programs.
House Bill 2009, also known as the West Virginia Residents’ Tax Relief Act of 2005, would eliminate the consumer sales tax on clothing and footwear. This does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands or belt buckles.The state Tax Commissioner would have the authority to propose further rules related to the bill.
House Bill 2047 would prohibit insurers from increasing motor vehicle insurance rates or adding surcharges to those policies for simple minor traffic violations.
House Bill 2134 would provide a two-tiered personal income tax credit to parents or legal guardians who provide home or private, primary or secondary education for their children. The tax credit would be available at a rate per child of $500 for home schooling and $1,000 for private schooling.
House Bill 2165 would give an employee the right to decline to work more than 40 hours in a workweek. However, an employee could work more than 40 hours in a workweek as long as compensation is received for employment in excess of 40 hours per week at a rate of at least one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.
House Bill 2194 relates to the ethical standards of public officials and employees. The bill would modify the confidentiality provisions relating to proceedings before the Ethics Commission. The bill says that all investigations, complaints, reports, records, proceedings and other information received by the Commission and related to complaints made to the Commission or investigations conducted by the Commission are confidential and may not be knowingly and improperly disclosed by any current or former member or employee of the Commission or the Review Board. Any person in violation of these requirements is subject to public reprimand, cease and desist orders, orders of restitution, fines not to exceed $5,000 per violation or reimbursement to the Ethics Commission for the actual costs of investigating and prosecuting a violation. Any money collected by the Commission for this reimbursement must be deposited into a special revenue account. The Commission may also recommend to the appropriate governmental body that a respondent be terminated from employment or removed from office. Finally, the Commission may institute civil proceedings in the circuit court of the county in which a violation occurred for the enforcement of sanctions.
House Bill 2214 would require county school boards to train all school personnel in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and blood precaution. Blood precaution is training in techniques and measures designed to avoid and prevent the transmission of or contamination by blood-born pathogens.
House Bill 2233 would provide a tax credit to small businesses that have an annual payroll of less than $1.5 million or annual gross sales of less than $5 million. The tax credit would be equal to any guaranty fee the business pays to the Small Business Administration in order to obtain SBA financing, or, as an alternative, a tax credit equal to two percent of any loan received by the small business from any other financial institution authorized to make business loans in West Virginia. The tax credit would be a one-time credit.
House Bill 2234 would provide that all taxpayers paying a state income tax would receive a reduction of five percent across the board in their income tax rates. The Legislature included findings in the bill that declared tax policy is a legitimate instrument to utilize in efforts to stimulate small business; that the level of poverty in this state is among the highest in the country while per capita income is the lowest and reducing the personal income tax would serve to reverse those troubling statistical trends; that any reduction in income taxes must be accompanied with a commensurate reduction in the state budget; and, that the cutoff of five percent would significantly stimulate the growth of small business, help toward the creation of jobs and render relief to those citizens of this state who are in need of financial relief.
House Bill 2238 would provide a criminal penalty for transmitting bulk electronic mail messages which are unsolicited. Anyone in violation of the law would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and if convicted, would have to pay a fine of $300 to $600.
House Bill 2242 would establish a Child Internet Protection Act that aims to protect children from obscenity, child pornography and other harmful materials. The act would give public schools and libraries the authority to establish and enforce Internet-use policies.
House Bill 2322 would create an income tax deduction for taxpayers who volunteer 200 or more hours to a charitable organization. The amount of hours worked would have to be verified in writing by the organization to the Department of Tax and Revenue. Those guilty of violating the proposed bill would be liable for a civil fine of $1,000 or less.
House Bill 2326 would create a forensic dental office to provide an authoritative resource to identify unknown individuals by means of dental records. The director of the office must be licensed to practice dentistry and have advanced knowledge about forensic dentistry. The director of the office would be appointed by the Governor.
House Bill 2334 would prohibit out-of-state placements of juvenile offenders unless out-of-state treatment or service is in the best interests of the child or that the needed treatment or service is not available in the state.
