As of 4 p.m., Friday, January 18, 2019, the tenth day of the first regular session of the 84th Legislature, 522 bills have been introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Of those bills, eight have passed and have been sent to the Senate for further consideration.
House Bill 2164 would establish that each party heard in a West Virginia lower court would have the right to be heard and receive a document based on merits of appeal. This bill would require The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to provide the option for heard parties to receive a written, meaningful review of merits.
House Bill 2351 aims to streamline PEIA authorization documents. House Bill 2351 would establish an objective guideline for forms and deadlines that PEIA, managed care organizations, and private commercial insurers would abide by when it comes to prior authorization.
House Joint Resolution 5 would make it possible in the state of West Virginia to list manufacturing equipment as a tax exemption.
House Bill 2028 would limit supervision of laying lines on state rights-of-way. Currently, it is required that a state engineer must be present when a public service district lays water or sewer lines on state rights-of-way. Under the proposed bill, an engineer would not be required to be present for the full construction time. They would just be involved with initial and periodic inspections as well as inspection upon conclusion of the project.
House Bill 2038 relates to the procedure to determine if an occupation or profession should be regulated. This bill says that if an unregulated occupation or profession in this state is regulated in less than 25 other states the proposal to regulated should be prohibited unless it is demonstrated that West Virginia is unique should be regulated. This bill also provides that the Legislative Auditor review the licensing of professions or occupations every 5 years and recommend sun setting the regulation if fewer than 25 states in the United States license and regulate that occupation or profession, unless it is demonstrated that the State of West Virginia is unique and should be regulated.
House Bill 2128 would allow state employees to take paid leave to attend parent-teacher conference for their children. Employees are eligible each year for less than four hours of paid leave during normal work hours and no more than two mutually-scheduled conferences per child. The time taken will not be stricken against an employee’s annual or sick leave benefits.
House Bill 2183 would clarify where a charge of DUI may be brought against an individual. Currently a DUI can be, statutorily, enforced against individuals operating a vehicle upon the roads of the state. This bill adds language that clarifies that DUIs may only be assessed against individuals operating a vehicle upon public highway or private road. It also adds that “private road” does not include private roads in any circumstances where the operator or driver is operating the vehicle on his or her own property and has not left, or does not intend to leave, said property to drive upon any public highway. This is intended to allow a driver to be arrested for a DUI if he or she has entered a parking lot or driveway or is about to leave a parking lot or driveway, but not under any other circumstances.
House Bill 2185 relates to the removal of animals left unattended in motor vehicles. This bill allows an officer or “agent” to remove an animal from a vehicle with proper cause if they believe the animal is serious, life threatening danger or is in extreme suffering, physical injury, or deceased. The agent must leave a written notice in a secure and easily seen location on or in the vehicle bearing the officers name, title, and the address of the location where the animal may be retrieved. The owner may only retrieve it after all charges that have accrued for the maintenance, care, medical treatment, and impoundment have been paid or a payment plan have been made.
House Bill 2307 relates to creating a provisional license for practicing barbering and cosmetology. This would remove the requirements to take an examination for a license to practice barbering and cosmetology in this state, by an applicant with a valid license from another state. The bill provides the board may issue a provisional license to an applicant with an expired license and authorizes the board to set the applicable fees for a provisional license and shall not exceed half the cost of a full license.
House Bill 2203 would move the administration and registration process for contractors from the West Virginia Division of Labor to the jurisdiction of Chapter 30 of the Code of West Virginia. This would put West Virginia contractors under the same umbrella as other licensed state professionals such as architects and physicians. Contractors in West Virginia, under this bill, would have to follow licensing procedure similar to that of the forty-one occupations covered under Chapter 30 of the code. Contractors would be required to annually renew their licenses, report to an executive board, and have a certificate with a seal displayed openly in order to be a licensed contractor within the state.
House Bill 2077 would establish penalties in the state of West Virginia for smoking in a vehicle with a child under the age of eight present. This bill would make smoking with a child present a secondary offense, punishable by a fine of up to $25.
House Bill 2319 is a proposed new section to the Code of West Virginia that would permit the Bureau for Medical Services to create a wholesale importation program, where the state of West Virginia would be able to import more affordable pharmaceuticals from Canada available to West Virginia citizens for purchase.
House Bill 2347 would require the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources to either improve significantly or build new facilities at two hospitals in West Virginia. Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta, WV, and Jackie Withrow Hospital in Beckley, WV, would be improved upon or added to under this bill. They would be made better equipped to provide long term care and substance abuse treatment to those in the state in need.
House Bill 2311 is a proposed revision to how West Virginia citizens with short term licenses would have to report to the State Tax Commission. Currently, people in the state who receive a short term merchant license to sell beer, fireworks, or other miscellaneous merchandise can get a short term, 90-day license to sell these items. After their license has expired, these temporary merchants have to fill out tax information for the remainder of the fiscal year. This bill would stop requiring short-term licensees to fill out tax paperwork after their term is over and after they’ve paid all of their required fees.
House Bill 2346 revises the licensure requirements for state casino workers. This bill would allow certain casino workers, such as service workers, to opt for a registration rather than a license.
House Bill 2036 would allow vehicles with disabled veterans’ special registration plates park in spaces reserved for people with mobility impairments. This would allow those with disabled veterans’ stickers or plates to use those stickers and plates as an equivalent to the usual blue handicap signs.
House Bill 2209 is a bill that would allow military veterans who have certain qualifications to qualify for examination for licensure as an emergency medical technician. If a service member obtains a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in a field related to that of emergency medical technician or combat medic, they can apply to test for an emergency medical technician license in the state of West Virginia. If they pass the examination, these individuals would not have to go through additional state training.
House Bill 2223 would allow military personnel stationed in the state of West Virginia to be recognized as citizens of the state in order to obtain a concealed carry permit. Current statute requires those in the state of West Virginia to be citizens of West Virginia, and this bill would allow those stationed in the state to be recognized under this.
House Bill 2330 is similar to House Bill 2209, but the occupations it would work to legislate for differ. If a service member obtains a MOS related to the fields of plumbing, HVAC operation, or fire safety installation, they can also opt to take the examination for state licensure without going through additional state training.
