As of 4 p.m., Friday, March 10, 2017, the 31st day of the regular session of the 83rd Legislature, 577 bills have been introduced in the West Virginia Senate. Of those bills, 22 have passed this week along with 2 bills from the House, all of which have been sent to the House for further consideration. Among those:
Senate Bill 173 would provide exemptions that would differentiate autocycles from having to adhere to motorcycle requirements.
Senate Bill 185 would allow spending units to designate the fund which the proceeds from the sale of surplus property must be deposited when the fund that was used to purchase the property is no longer in existence.
Senate Bill 190 would eliminate bidding preferences for vendors bidding on state contracts for commodities or printing.
Senate Bill 206 would expand the definition of kidnapping to including taking or gaining custody of, confining or concealing another person by force or threat of force or by duress, fraud, deceit misrepresentation or enticement.
Senate Bill 209 would define the term “veteran” as that term pertains to veteran-owned businesses.
Senate Bill 220 would create a new felony offense for a drug delivery that results in the death of another person and providing a felony criminal penalty.
Senate Bill 221 would change the experience requirements for members and reduce the number of members of the Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board.
Senate Bill 224 would repeal the requirement for an employer’s bond for wages and benefits for certain designated employers and related requirements.
Senate Bill 235 would provide that after its initial registration the annual registration fees of motorcycles are owed in the same month as the original registration. The bill provides that, in that way, motorcycles would be treated the same as other motor vehicles.
Senate Bill 236 would establish limits applicable to the award of damages for medical monitoring.
Senate Bill 239 would protect an employee’s wages or salaries from being withheld or diverted for political activities without the express, written authorization of the employee.
Senate Bill 259 would require administrators of intestate estates to give bond and take oath.
Senate Bill 263 would create an exemption from certain contract and common carrier laws for motor vehicles used by contract carriers exclusively for the transportation of railroad personnel.
Senate Bill 365 would maintain the solvency of the Unemployment Compensation Fund and extend the time period for borrowing funds from the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund for the Unemployment Compensation Fund to September 1, 2018.
Senate Bill 392 would add a definition for “vested” to Municipal Police and Fire Retirement System and clarify duty/nonduty disability.
Senate Bill 400 would eliminate an unnecessary and contradictory provision concerning appointments to the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council.
Senate Bill 429 would allow the Division of Corrections to monitor inmate electronic communications.
Senate Bill 436 would allow investigators from the Attorney General’s office to carry firearms in the course of their official duties under certain circumstances
Senate Bill 442 would modify the definitions of “assault” and “battery”, and “domestic assault” and “domestic battery” to conform with federal laws relating to firearms possession criminal offenses.
Senate Bill 445 would amend the definition of an “abused child” to include a child conceived as a result of an act of sexual assault.
Senate Bill 456 would correct a technical error in an original clause related to standards for termination of parental rights in child abuse and neglect case
Senate Bill 473 would clarify the circumstances in which naturally shed deer antlers may be lawfully collected, possessed and sold and to clarify that certain wildlife or parts thereof cannot be traded or bartered.
House Bill 2318 would strengthen and establish criminal offenses relating to human trafficking.
House Bill 2740 would expire funds to the surplus balance of General Revenue and supplement, amend, add, and increase any items of appropriation in the aforesaid accounts for the designated spending units for expenditure during the fiscal year 2017.
Additional Senate Bills
Senate Bill 2 would direct certain school funding to assist county boards of education with serving exceptional students with high-cost and/or high-acuity special needs.
Senate Bill 8 would require members of the Legislature to disclose contributions and fund-raising events while the Legislature is in session. The bill requires the information to be provide within 5 days of the event or receipt of contribution, and requires the Secretary of State to publish such information on the Secretary of State’s website within 1 day.
Senate Bill 11 would require that vacancies in certain elected offices are filled by a person of the same political party with which the previous officeholder was affiliated at the time of the preceding election.
Senate Bill 24 would repeal the article creating mandatory state inspections of motor vehicles.
Senate Bill 36 would allow school nurses to possess and administer opioid antagonists at school.
Senate Bill 55 would allow admission of evidence in a civil action of the use or nonuse of a safety belt on the issues of negligence, contributory negligence, comparative negligence and failure to mitigate damages.
Senate Bill 79 would provide judges with the flexibility to sentence controlled substance offenders to determinate sentences based on the severity of the offense.
Senate Bill 167 would allow law enforcement to obtain DNA samples, taken by buccal swab rather than drawing blood, from arrestees for certain criminal offenses. The bill also expands DNA sample collection to all those convicted of a felony offense.
Senate Bill 194 would increase the penalties for shoplifting.
Senate Bill 250 would establish a tax credit for physicians who are new graduates and locate in West Virginia to practice medicine for at least six years.
Senate Bill 256 would prohibit school personnel who have engaged in sexual misconduct with students or minors from being assisted to find new employment without having that misconduct reported to the appropriate authorities and investigated.
Senate Bill 285 would authorize the Commissioner of Highways or local authorities to establish minimum speed limits in certain congested areas and to assess fines for violating the minimum speed limit.
Senate Bill 309 would authorize counties to offer license plates customized to that particular county and the application procedures thereof.
Senate Bill 377 would create a fixed income tax credit for low income senior citizens.
Senate Bill 435 would prohibit mental health providers from engaging in, or referring a patient to, sexual orientation conversion therapy when such person is under eighteen years of age.
Senate Bill 479 would allow sales of liquor by retail licensees after 1 p.m. on Sundays. The bill would also transfer the authority to set the maximum wholesale markup percentage of all liquor, other than wine, from the commissioner to the Legislature.
Senate Bill 518 would help returning veterans and displaced coal miners to find meaningful employment through quality skills training using the apprenticeship model.
Senate Bill 524 would prohibit the implementation of Common Core academic standards in schools and require adoption and implementation of certain other academic standards to be effective for a minimum of five school years after the date of implementation.
Senate Bill 537 would provide exemptions from mandatory immunizations for certain students and employees.
Senate Bill 568 would make it a crime for doctors and lawyers to knowingly file a fraudulent claim for disability benefits or providing substantive information in support of a fraudulent claim.
