As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 18th, 2009, the 36th day of the Regular Session, 1229 bills have been introduced in the House of Delegates. Of those, 46 have passed and have been sent to the Senate for its consideration. Some bills passed this week were:
House Bill 2423 would update laws relating to the board of medical imaging and radiation therapy technology. Among changes included, the board members would now be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate.
House Bill 2444 would establish a Legislative Oversight Commission on Long-Term Care with the purpose of reviewing the long-term care system and making recommendations for improvement. Some powers and duties of the commission would include: investigating, studying and reviewing the practices, policies and procedures of the long-term care system in West Virginia; establishing the roles of the public, private and private nonprofit sectors in providing long-term care and barriers that exist in meeting those needs; and review and study the implications of the increasing percentage of elderly and disabled in the state and their impact on the long-term care system.
House Bill 2913 would clarify that all council members of the West Virginia Independent Living Council would be appointed by the governor from among the group of nominations by representative organizations as well as subjecting council members to term limits to comply with federal law.
House Bill 2950 would create the Neighborhood Housing and Economic Stabilization Program with the intended purpose of providing loans, grants and forgivable loans to support and carry out local economic and housing initiatives. These initiatives would revitalize and stimulate economic development in low-income neighborhoods with high minority problems, which typically have high levels of unemployment and include a large number of distressed properties.
House Bill 2969 would require firefighters and all personnel engaged in hazardous substance emergency response activities to enroll in an annual hazardous materials training program approved by the state fire marshal.
Sampling of Bills Introduced in the House
House Bill 3081 would provide tax incentives for the first operational coal-to-liquid fuel plant to be built in the state. Among other provisions the plant would be exempt from corporation income tax and the business franchise tax for four years from the date operations begin, and the state is required to purchase all necessary gasoline and diesel fuel to operate state vehicles from the plant during those four years.
House Bill 3141 would place the theft of copper ground wires or cables from communications towers under crimes against property.
House Bill 3144 would require the Lottery Commission to establish an instant lottery scratch-off game designated as the State Road Benefit Game. The state treasurer would deposit all net profits received from the sale of State Road Benefit Game lottery tickets, materials and games into the State Road Fund.
House Bill 3147 would allow the legal sale of liquor and wine on Sunday to be the same hours as for the sale of beer on Sunday.
House Bill 3150 would require school boards to set and maintain reliable bussing schedules for bussing students and to limit the duration of travel for the students based upon their age group.
House Bill 3156 would create the West Virginia Voluntary Employee Retirement Accounts Program, a voluntary tax-deferred retirement plan for nongovernmental employers and employees in the State of West Virginia who are without a retirement plan. The bill would specifically exempt the state and the Treasurer from liability for any losses or change in value.
House Bill 3161 would authorize officers of the Division of Protective Services to possess the same powers of arrest and law enforcement throughout the entire state as members of the West Virginia State Police.
House Bill 3166 would provide tax credits to those people paying for qualified medical expenses, health insurance or both medical expenses and health insurance.
House Bill 3168 would change the Martinsburg Public Library to the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library, create a library board with the power to operate the public library and provide a stable method of financing the operation.
House Bill 3173 would set compensation standards for classified employees who work overtime on weekends or holidays.
House Bill 3183 would require all state boards, commissions, committees or councils to be gender balanced and to have proportionate representation of minorities.
House Bill 3191 would require public and private institutions of higher learning to present plans to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance that involve making their campuses more military or veteran friendly. Some of these changes would include lowering the barriers facing veterans in enrollment, re-enrollment, financial aid and the transition into the educational process, designing one or more areas on campus for veterans to congregate and discuss shared concerns, developing programs to ease the transition from military life into higher education and assisting veterans in gaining knowledge and applying for all benefits available to them.
