As of Friday, January 17, 2020, there have been 971 bills introduced in the House and 11 bills have been passed and now are before the Senate.
House Bill 3039 removes language from the current state code that limits the priority preference of children to ages 14 and older in family courts. The purpose of this bill is to expand the court’s consideration to children of all ages that meet the maturity requirement.
House Bill 4004 would create the West Virginia Sentencing Commission and specify its powers and duties. The commission would be responsible for fulfilling needs for fair and uniform sentencing, a fair operation of the criminal justice system, established priorities regarding the severity of criminal offenses and the use of limited resources to fulfill the goal of criminal punishment. The purpose of this bill is to promote a better understanding of the state’s criminal justice sentencing system.
House Bill 4007 is known as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The purpose of this bill is to require a physician to use reasonable medical judgment if a child is born alive when an abortion is performed.
House Bill 4022 is meant to clarify that the Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission may also serve simultaneously as the Chancellor of the Council for Community and Technical College Education, to retitle the Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences as Senior Director of Health Sciences, and to abolish the statutory position of Vice Chancellor for State Colleges.
House Bill 4103 is meant to clarify the organizational structure of the Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) within the Department of Health Human Resources. The goals outlined for ODCP within the bill are meant to create a plan reduce state-wide alcohol, tobacco and drug use.
House Bill 2922 would change the requirements for discharge for the possession of a controlled substance, specifically opiates or opioids. This bill would require a defendant, pleading or found guilty for the possession of such substances, to participate in a court-ordered drug court or drug treatment program under the court’s authorization.
House Bill 2679 would permit the issuance of a state issued identification card without a photo. This would be based on the certification that taking photographs violates a religious belief.
House Bill 2602 includes possession of known stolen property in the offense of receiving or transferring stolen property. This bill provides an exception for certain purchasers of scrap metal.
House Bill 2924 permits the West Virginia Tourism Office to contract with the Division of Highways to sell advertising space on the WV511 website to promote in state tourism. This will permit 50 percent of the funds from sales to be deposited in the Tourism Promotion Fund; and requiring 50 percent of the funds from such sale be remitted to the Division of Highways.
House Bill 4010 changes the licensing requirement for certain casino employees from a licensure to a registration.
House Bill 4042 requires agencies exempt from some or all of state purchasing requirements to adopt procedural rules establishing their purchasing procedures.
House Bill 2696 creates a naming convention to records lands owned by the state in an index system for easy cross-reference to county indexes.
House Bill 4062 reduces the cost of prescription drugs by requiring a pharmacy benefit manager to pass through to the consumer certain compensation received from a pharmaceutical manufacturer, developer or labeler to be used for benefit of covered persons.
House Bill 4091 House Bill 4091 has the purpose to allow for expedited oil and gas well permitting upon payment of expedited fees. This bill encourages the development of a faster process for horizontal wells.
House Bill 4096 requires candidates to live in the state or local election district for the office for which they are seeking to be elected. The definition of “principal residence” is considered as the residence where the candidate has a physical residency with proof of intent to remain in the state, district, county, or municipality.
House Bill 4017 establishes country roads accountability and transparency to the public. The bill directs the State Auditor to develop and maintain a website for the public to search (without cost) ongoing expenditures and locations for state and public road work.
House Bill 4020 removes authority of municipalities to require occupational licensure if licensure for the occupation is required by the state. This creates a uniform licensure process authorized by the state to avoid extra fees and paperwork.
House Bill 4108 streamlines the certificate on need exemption process in the healthcare industry.
House Bill 4130 provides that contracts for construction projects due to declared states of emergency may be bid on an open-ended basis and may utilize a multiple contract award approach. This also prohibits the award of contracts to debarred contractors.
House Bill 4141 requires the Department of Administration to publish its annual financial report by the end of December of the year from which the fiscal year reported upon ended.
