As of 4 p.m., Wednesday, February 25th, 2009, the 15th day of the 79th Legislature’s 1st Regular Session, 831 bills have been introduced in the House of Delegates. Of those, 6 have passed and have been sent to the Senate for its consideration. Some of those bills passed were:
House Bill 2069 would increase the faculty senate allotment for classroom teachers and librarians from $50 to $100 to be spent on academic materials, supplies or equipment to contribute to the improvement of teaching. The funds would be used in programs that enhance student behavior, increase academic achievement and address the problems of at-risk students.
House Bill 2419 would authorize the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority to grant time off of the sentence for certain convicted inmates in a regional jail who have completed educational and rehabilitation programs. It would allow inmates who have been sentenced to prison terms for more than six months to be granted one day of good time for the successful completion of these programs.
House Bill 2504 would establish the Silver Alert System for cognitively impaired persons. Mirroring the Amber Alert System, the Silver Alert would use public alerts to aid in the finding of a missing cognitively impaired adult who has a deficiency in short-term or long-term memory, orientation as to person, place, and time, deductive or abstract reasoning or judgement as it relates to safety.
A Sampling of Bills Introduced In the House
House Bill 2662 would require election officials, poll clerks and poll workers to vote in the precincts where they are registered.
House Bill 2678 would provide payment of unemployment compensation when a person misses work due to domestic violence. The proposal notes the employer is not responsible to pay for benefits when the worker is unable to work due to domestic violence. Instead, the benefits are paid from the General Unemployment Compensation Fund.
House Bill 2682 would establish a minimum alternative and renewable energy portfolio. By the year 2025, at least 25 percent of the electric energy sold to retail customers in West Virginia should be generated from alternative and renewable energy resources including advanced coal technologies, wind, solar and other nontraditional sources of energy. The bill would require the Public Service Commission to establish a credit system to monitor and track the generation of electricity by these technologies.
House Bill 2689 would dedicate a new surcharge on the policyholder of any fire insurance policy or casualty insurance policy issued in West Virginia to defray costs incurred by qualified volunteer and part-time volunteer fire companies and departments that provide benefits to their members under a qualified Length of Service Awards Program. The new surcharge would be 0.20 percent.
House Bill 2695 would impose criminal penalties on hunters who fail to render aid to a person the hunter negligently shoots while hunting. A hunter who discharges a firearm or arrow and injures or kills another person will have to immediately give his or her name to the injured person, administer first aid, obtain medical or hospital care and immediately report the injury or death to the sheriff of the county in which the shooting took place.
House Bill 2696 would authorize persons who are emergency medical technician-paramedics with a minimum of five years active service in West Virginia, and are also licensed as practical nurses, to apply to obtain a license to practice registered professional nursing.
House Bill 2713 would authorize a study and investigation by the Department of Administration on the likelihood, implementation, effects and related issues with regard to creating a pilot program for state-operated child day care centers.
Some of the intended purposes of this bill would be to help ensure the safety, health, education and development of the attending children and to make sure management and staff personnel are adequately educated, trained and compensated, (including healthcare insurance and other benefits). The bill also calls for the operation of these facilities to be financially effective.
House Bill 2732 would require county boards of education to employ a certified library media specialist in each county school. The professional standards and salary of the library media specialist would be determined by the West Virginia Board of Education.
House Bill 2736 would authorize the use of motors exceeding nine horsepower in the operation of motorboats on lakes if they are operating according to navigation rules including observance of existing 100ft no-wake zones.
House Bill 2772 would increase penalties for exposing children to methamphetamine manufacturing. Any person 18 years of age or older who knowingly causes or permits a minor to be present in a location where methamphetamine is manufactured or attempted to be manufactured would go to prison for five to 30 years and would be fined up to $10,000. If the child suffers bodily harm as a result of this action, the guilty party would go to prison for 10-30 years and would be fined up to $25,000.
House Bill 2784 would establish prevailing hourly rates to be used in connection with the construction of public improvements. This bill would require the Commissioner of Labor to base the determination of prevailing rates on statistics made available by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and to provide county commissions with the authority to review the determination.
