As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, January 31, 2007, the 22nd day of the 2007 Regular Session, 416 bills have been introduced in the State Senate. Of those, 14 have passed the Senate and will now go to the House for its consideration. Some of the bills passed in the Senate and sent to the House this week are:
Senate Bill 148 would provide that breast-feeding is not considered public indecency. Previously, there was no such exception; under the letter of the law, breast-feeding would have been considered indecent exposure, punishable by a 90-day jail sentence and/or up to a $250 fine.
Senate Bill 205 would clarify language relating to domestic protection orders. The bill would include as any unwanted, non-physical communication with a protected person or child a violation of a protective order. This definition would cover phone, voice mail, e-mail and any other means of communication.
Senate Bill 217 would extend the time for the Piedmont City Council to meet as a levying body. The bill would allow the council to meet as such a body from March 7 to 28 and from April 17 to May 31.
Senate Bill 218 would make supplementary appropriations of federal funds to various state entities. Specifically, this bill would make appropriations to the Secretary of State’s Election Fund ($2.5 million), the Division of Motor Vehicles ($2,334,857) and the Supreme Court of Appeals ($400,000).
A Sampling of Bills Introduced In the Senate
Senate Bill 215 would provide tax deductions for interest paid on student and automobile loans. One may use the amount paid in interest on a loan for higher education or an automobile for personal use to reduce their federal adjusted gross income.
Senate Bill 334 relates to the employment of athletic or extracurricular activities’ coaches. Persons employed in the public schools as athletic or extracurricular activities coaches, but who are not regular professional employees, would continue to be employed in the same position without the position being posted if they have served in the position for three years and received satisfactory evaluations.
Senate Bill 338 would expand the number of newborn disease screenings from eight to twenty-nine, which is recommended by the March of Dimes and America Academy of Pediatrics. This expansion would be phased in over a two-year period.
Senate Bill 340 relates to procedure for authorizing branch banks. The Board of Banking and Financial Institutions and the Commissioner of Banking would determine whether a bank has a significant supervisory concern or raises a significant legal or policy issue before making the decision to establish a bank branch. The West Virginia Board of Banking and Financial Institutions and the Commissioner of Banking must apply standards that are similar to federal bank regulators.
Senate Bill 344 would require employees who sell alcoholic beverages to take alcohol awareness courses. Any employee who is hired on or after July 1, 2007, would be required to participate in the education and alcohol management program (TEAM), or other similar alcohol awareness education programs provided or approved by the commissioner, within 60 days of employment and every three years thereafter. Employees already employed must participate in the program by July 1, 2008.
Senate Bill 348 relates to mine trip cars used to transport miners to a working section. These would have to be maintained at the working section and would have to have sufficient capacity to transport all miners out of the working section in the event of an emergency.
Senate Bill 353 would reduce state vehicles’ petroleum-based fuel consumption through improvements in fleet fuel efficiency, the use of alternative fuel vehicles and the use of alternative fuels. The bill would see a goal to reduce fuel consumption for state-owned vehicles to 80 percent of their 2006 level by 2010 and for state subdivisions to 80 percent of their 2007 levels by 2015.
Senate Bill 356 would require licensing of plumbers and fire protection workers. The intent is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public as well as public and private property by assuring that those who perform plumbing and fire protection are licensed by the State Fire Marshal.
Senate Bill 359 would allow public employees to have certain paid leave as a volunteer firefighter. State employees who are members of volunteer fire departments would receive paid leaves of absence during times when they are required to respond to emergencies during their regular work hours. The bill would allow up to 25 hours of paid leave in one calendar year.
Senate Bill 360 would extend the time that local levying bodies may meet. Each local levying body must hold a meeting or meetings between March 7th and 28th for business transactions. During the primary election, consideration for extending the meeting time will be on the ballot and will bill voted on.
Senate Bill 368 would enact the Food Security Act. This act would provide a tax credit for qualified donations, bargain sales of fee interest in real property or a conservation easement, located in West Virginia, by a landowner taxpayer to a public or private conservation agency.
Senate Bill 371 would exempt certain professional services from the consumer sales and service tax. These exemptions would apply to selling tangible personal property, custom software and the furnishing of all services, except professional and personal services.
Senate Bill 372 would provide automatic court-ordered transfers of marital property titles upon divorce. The court-ordered transfer would have to be filed with the county clerk who would then attach it to any applicable legal title to property.
Senate Bill 379 would establish criminal history checks for people applying to be a home state insurance producer. This bill would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to establish and collect fees and require applicants to submit fingerprints. The Insurance Commissioner could then transmit fingerprints to the State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Certain records would be kept confidential.
Senate Bill 388 would establish the procedures for allocating the costs of medical support between the responsible parties in a child support order. This bill also would provide guidelines for setting the medical support, including premium costs.
Senate Bill 390 would provide a criminal penalty for a parent who engages in the manufacture, possession or distribution of a controlled substance while a child is present in the home. Any person who engages in this activity would be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, would be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for 10 to 35 years.
Senate Bill 400 would create additional circuit judgeships consistent with recommendations from the National Center for State Courts. The judicial circuits that would be affected include: the 5th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th and 30th.
