As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, January 31, 2007, the 22nd day of the 2007 Regular Session, 777 bills have been introduced in the House of Delegates. Of those, a total of 11 have passed the House and will now go to the Senate for its consideration. Bills passed this week include:
House Bill 2332 would clarify that magistrate courts have concurrent juvenile jurisdiction with the circuit court with regard to enforcement of laws prohibiting the possession or use of tobacco or tobacco products by minors. The bill would also give concurrent juvenile jurisdiction to municipal courts.
House Bill 2526 would allow acupuncturists to form professional limited liability companies (PLLCs). By code members of PLLCs are not liable for debts, acts, claims or omission of the PLLC or of the other members. The members must all be licensed professionals of the same or compatible practices, and the boards that license the members must promulgate a legislative rule to provide for procedures for the formation and approval of PLLCs.
House Bill 2698 would allow the Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists to increase fees for one year. No increased fee may exceed $100.
A Sampling of Bills Introduced In the House
House Bill 2435 would prohibit the possessing, importing, selling or offering of candy or fruit-flavored cigarettes in this state, provided the prohibition does not include menthol or regular tobacco cigarettes.
House Bill 2533 would create a Special Revenue Fund to be used for urban and rural mass transportation. The creation of the fund would increase the daily tax to be collected on rental cars, provided that 66 percent of the tax collected on rental cars would be deposited in the Special Revenue Fund.
House Bill 2541 would allow county commissions to adopt an ordinance to allow a single board of directors for emergency and fire services. The commission would have to determine the board of directors who would provide services in the best interest of the county citizens. The board would have all the powers, duties and responsibilities of providing fire and emergency medical services.
House Bill 2548 would authorize the Supreme Court of Appeals to promulgate rules to establish and implement a uniform bail schedule. If a person would utilize the uniform bail schedule to post bond and obtain a release, the person would have to appear before a magistrate on the next judicial day. Failure to appear before a magistrate will result in forfeiting the posted bond and other penalties prescribed by law.
House Bill 2549 would create the Purchasing Improvement Fund to receive a share of rebates received from purchasing card vendors. The fund would allow the use of purchasing cards for regular routine payments, travel and emergency purchases.
House Bill 2550 would ensure the members of the West Virginia State Police, who are called back to work when off-duty, are compensated for those hours, and would guarantee a minimum of two hours pay or actual hours worked pay, whichever is greater.
House Bill 2557 would provide a two-tiered personal income tax credit for parents who provide home or private schooling for their children. A tax credit would be placed against the parent’s personal income tax of $500 per child for providing home schooling and $1,000 per child for providing private schooling.
House Bill 2565 would prohibit the delivery or distribution of illegal drugs to students inside of or within 1,000 feet of a West Virginia school. Violators would be found guilty of a felony and may receive a one to five year sentence in a state correctional facility.
House Bill 2567 would allow a political candidate to place campaign signs within highway rights-of-way, provided the sign is in the candidate’s political district, temporary, light-weight and meets a certain measurement requirement. The sign would be displayed 45 days prior and seven days after an election.
House Bill 2572 would allow the Commissioner of Health to prohibit the establishment of new methadone treatment programs and clinics after July, 1 2007, except those operated by comprehensive community mental health centers.
House Bill 2584 would dedicate a portion of the receipts from the tax food products to be distributed equally to each district of the Division of Highways. Effective July 1, 2007, the bill would allow secondary road maintenance including but not limited to: road repair, tar, chipping, gravel replacement, ditch cleaning and brush removal.
House Bill 2699 would provide inspections of primary and secondary schools by local boards of health may be reported to the principal of the school, county superintendent and president of the county school board. The bill would also provide inspections be reported to people of like responsibility in the case a private, parochial or church school is inspected. Inspection standards would be established by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health.
House Bill 2700 would permit magistrates to carry concealed handguns without a permit. Under current code, circuit judges and prosecuting attorneys are allowed to carry concealed handguns without a permit.
House Bill 2718 would authorize table gaming activities in West Virginia at existing pari-mutuel racetracks if voted on and passed in local option elections.
House Bill 2756 would require any person incarcerated in jail to reimburse the county for costs incurred during the first five days of their jail stay.
House Bill 2764 would establish criminal history checks and fingerprint records for applicants of insurance producer licenses. The bill would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to establish fees, collect fees and submit applicant fingerprints to the State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Certain records would have to be kept confidential.
House Bill 2773 would establish a recycling program for beverage containers to reduce litter across the state. The bill would require a dealer who regularly sells beverages in a returnable container to collect a 10-cent deposit, and in turn submit the deposit to the Department of Environmental Protection on a monthly basis.
House Bill 2777 would provide a 2.5 percent pay increase for teachers and school service employees for the 2007-2008 school year. The bill would also increase the annual bonus paid to classroom teachers who are nationally board certified from $2,500 to $3,500. The pay increase for service personnel will only occur if the person was employed by a county board of education Jan. 1, 2007 and still employed by Sept. 30, 2007.
