As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, 2005, the 50th day of the 2005 Regular Session, 1,362 bills have been introduced in the House of Delegates. Of those, 100 have been passed by the House since March 23rd and sent to the Senate for its consideration. These include:
House Bill 2866 would allow members of the West Virginia National Guard who are receiving payments for tuition and fees and are discharged from the military service because of wounds or injuries received in the line of duty, to continue to receive these payments as if he/she were still a member of the West Virginia National Guard.
House Bill 2816 would create the Healthy Lifestyles Office that would be a part the Department of Health and Human Resources. This office would establish physical activity goals in schools and encourage the use of healthy beverages in the vending machines that are located on school property. This bill also would create the Healthy Lifestyles Fund. This special revenue account would consist of all appropriations made by the Legislature for the Healthy Lifestyles Office and would be an interest bearing account.
House Bill 2852 would create the Office of the Pharmaceutical Advocate. This office would have the sole responsibility of purchasing prescription drugs for all state entities and agencies that pay for prescription drugs. This bill also would transfer most of the responsibilities of the West Virginia Pharmaceutical Cost Council to the Office of the Pharmaceutical Advocate. The Pharmaceutical Advocate would negotiate prescription drug cost with pharmaceutical companies in line with the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), which provides an initial 30 percent discount. This bill also would require pharmaceutical companies to report their yearly advertising cost to ensure that cost of prescription drugs are not high due to elevated advertising costs.
House Bill 2492 would establish a funding mechanism for teen court programs throughout the state. Teen courts are alternative sentencing programs based on the philosophy that a youthful offender does not continue to offend when a peer jury decides punishment. The teen court program has pilot programs throughout the state. This bill would authorize counties to adopt a mandatory fee when a county elects to institute a teen court program.
House Bill 2950 would require electronic voting machines to generate a paper copy record of an individual’s vote when cast during an election. The paper records would be stored and used for recounts if an election is contested or to check the accuracy of the machine. Paper records of votes cast would be automatically kept within a storage container that is locked and closely attached to the electronic voting machine. The voter could examine the paper copy visually. If visually impaired, the voter would be provided with headphones for an audio read out of the vote. Voters would then have the power to accept or reject the printed copy.
House Bill 2111 would allow paramedics to assist in hospital emergency rooms. This would only take place under the supervision of a registered professional nurse.
House Bill 2184 would create criminal penalties against individuals who wound or kill a person or persons while hunting under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
