As of 4 p.m., on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011, the 36th day of the 80th Legislature’s 1st Regular Session, 1,163 bills have been introduced and 62 have passed. Of those, 17 passed this week and have been sent to the Senate for further consideration. The bills passed by the House this week include:
House Bill 2161 would create the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, establish the powers and duties of the office, provide for an executive director, staff and office, require annual reports to the Governor and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and create a Minority Affairs Fund.
House Bill 2164 would remove provisions for increasing counties’ local share responsibility for funding basic foundation education formula when property assessments are not at least 54 percent of market value as indicated by assessment ratio study. It would also revise definitions and make legislative findings with respect to the effect of under assessed property values on school funding and the obligations of assessors and Tax Commissioner.
House Bill 2248 would expand the list of federal law-enforcement officers who are extended the authority of state and local law-enforcement officers to enforce the laws of this state.
House Bill 2347 would increase the effective period for domestic violence protective orders in cases not involving aggravating factors from 90 days or six months to six months or one year and increase the effective period for a domestic violence protective order in cases where aggravating factors are proven from one year to two years.
House Bill 2533 would require the identities of signatories to a certificate for a person seeking ballot access to be made public and verified.
House Bill 2693 would require insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorder and would ensure any limitations to coverage does not conflict with other applicable law.
House Bill 2695 would clarify the Educational Broadcasting Authority’s power to engage in fundraising activities with certain private nonprofit corporations, to clarify the organizational structure of the authority, to exempt the names of private donors from disclosure, to delete outdated language and to make technical corrections.
House Bill 2709 would allow county school boards to enter into energy-saving contracts and allow these contracts to extend 15 years.
House Bill 2922 would establish the felony offense of causing serious bodily injury to another person by a person who is driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances and other drugs.
House Bill 2935 would repeal an outdated article of election code relating to voting systems no longer approved for use.
House Bill 2949 would simplify and consolidate senior citizen property tax relief programs, and make those programs available only to eligible “low income” homeowners.
House Bill 2989 would create a process by which the West Virginia Racing Commission may grant stay requests pending an appeals of orders by stewards or judges, permit the appointment of hearing examiners who must be licensed to practice law in the state. The bill would also provide that if the Racing Commission modifies or rejects a hearing examiner’s recommended decision, its order doing so must provide findings of fact, conclusions of law and set forth with specificity the reasons for the modification or rejection.
House Bill 2990 would change the renewal of Racing Commission-issued occupational permits from December 31 of each year to a schedule determined according to the applicant’s date of birth.
House Bill 3021 would add two new members to the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Commission. Also, the bill would require yearly reports to the Governor and Legislature and extends the life of the commission by another four years to 2015.
