From the Well | April 10, 2021

Both the House and Senate will start floor sessions at 11 am. Each chamber will gavel out of the regular session at midnight tonight.

The Senate Confirmations Committee will have a meeting to consider two board or commission nominations by the Governor at 1 p.m.

The Senate received the bill on March 30. After much debate and changes on the Senate floor, the bill passed 18-16. The House received the message today, refusing to concur.

Chairman of the House Finance Committee Eric Householder read a litany of items that would have been taxed under the Senate’s revision. Two weeks ago, the House passed Chairman Householder’s plan to phase out personal income tax by freezing government spending instead of w raising consumer sales taxes.

After the chairman finished reading the list of items that would be taxed as a result of the Senate’s changes, Delegate Tony Paynter, R-Wyoming said, “They did miss taxing oxygen, that’s the only thing they missed.”

In addition to HB3300, the House rejected Senate Bill 569 after passing an amendment to the bill. The amendment struck the entirety of the bill and inserted a version that limited medical monitoring. The amendment passed 50-49. After being amended, the bill was rejected 38-62.

Several Resolutions and Bills passed during the morning session, including:

Senate Bill 334 establishes a license application process for syringe exchange programs. Delegates described this bill as a compromise and the first step to a comprehensive program for addicts. Last year, after Charleston’s syringe program, the city had one less HIV case than New York City. Delegates stressed the importance of syringe exchange programs The programs can help prevent another epidemic.

Senate Bill 464 requires any compost products sold must comply with the West Virginia Fertilizer Law.

Senate Bill 542 requires all public electric utilities to maintain a contract for a 30-day aggregate fuel supply for the remainder of the life of existing coal-fired plants. It also requires that public electric utilities provide advance notice of retirement, shutdown, or sale of electricity-generating units.

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2002 – Relating to Broadband

Eng. H. B. 2029 – Relating to teacher preparation clinical experience programs

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2145 – Relating to student aide class titles

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2221 – Relating to the establishment of an insurance innovation process – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2266 – Relating to expanding certain insurance coverages for pregnant women

Eng. H. B. 2379 – Make criminal invasion of privacy a felony – (Com. amend. pending) – (With right to amend)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2573 – Relating generally to the transparency and accountability of state grants to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2720 – Creating a Merit-Based Personnel System within DOT – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2794 – To extend the Neighborhood Investment Program Act to July 1, 2026

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2884 – To make changes to the FOIA law to protect public utility customer databases from disclosure, with exceptions

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2927 – Adding Caregiving expenses to campaign finance expense – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2953 – To clarify that counties can hire fire fighters as paid staff and to modify the existing procedures to include a procedure of public hearing to commission a vote – (Com. title amend. pending) – (With right to amend)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 2962 – Relating generally to dental practice

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 3002 – Update road abandonment process – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. H. B. 3078 – Relating to powers and duties of the parole board – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. H. B. 3129 – Relating to the Consumer Price Index rate increase – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. H. B. 3132 – Relating to motor carrier inspectors

Eng. H. B. 3133 – Relating to motor carrier rates – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. H. B. 3177 – Removing expired, outdated, inoperative and antiquated provisions and report requirements in education – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 3215 – Amending the requirements to become an elected prosecutor – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 3266 – Providing for termination of extracurricular contact upon retirement

Eng. H. B. 3299 – Authorizing Higher Education Rules

Eng. H. B. 3301 – Relating generally to property tax increment financing districts – (Com title amend. pending)

Eng. H. B. 3304 – Authorizing the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a Reentry and Transitional Housing Program – (Com. title amend. pending)

Eng. H. B. 3308 – Relating to increasing number of limited video lottery terminals

Eng. H. B. 3311 – Relating to the cost of medical records

The following bills were laid over to today bringing the total to 31 bills on third reading today.

Eng. H. B. 2500 – Create an act for Statewide Uniformity for Auxiliary Container Regulations – (Com. amend. and title amend. pending) – (With right to amend)

Eng. H. B. 2915 – Relating to public records management and preservation

The Governor was joined for the event by West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair, Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, Senator Charles Trump, Senator Eric Tarr, along with other dignitaries joining virtually.

The first bill signed by Gov. Justice Friday, SB 275, creates an Intermediate Court of Appeals in West Virginia.

The second, HB 2024, expands health care practitioners eligible to provide telehealth and permits health care providers in other states to practice telehealth in West Virginia, provided they register with the appropriate board and comply with state laws and standards.

HB 2499, provides tax credits for firearm and ammunition manufacturers while also removing the sales tax on these items as well. And the fourth signed by Gov. Justice, HB 2793, permits individuals who live out-of-state to obtain a concealed carry permit in West Virginia.

The legislation is intended to produce a broadband availability map, and speed up development of rights of way, requires internet providers to credit subscribers for service interruptions of more than 24 hours and defines what it means to be unserved.

Later Friday evening, prior to the vote on third reading, a motion was made to reconsider the morning’s amendment and this time the amendment failed. The Senate then passed the bill. It now goes back to the House.

If the House concurs in the Senate’s changes the bill will go to the Governor for his signature. If the House does not concur, the bill we be assigned to a conference committee where the two sides will try to hammer out their differences. As Saturday is the last day, the conference committee would need to complete its work by around 8 p.m.

The House will have to concur in the Senate amendment in order for the bill to head to the Governor’s desk for his signature. The bill was born out of changes made to how consumers were able to access alcoholic beverages through emergency orders.

However, the budget bill and supplemental appropriations bills must be acted upon by the governor within five days regardless of when they are received. If the governor does not act within these time limits, bills automatically become law without his signature

If the Legislature is still in session when the governor vetoes a bill, a simple majority vote of the members of both legislative bodies is necessary to override the veto. In cases when a budget bill or supplemental appropriation bill is vetoed, a two-thirds vote of the members of both houses is needed to override the veto.

The closure was announced last December when the merger between Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Upjohn was complete and the company- Viatris was formed. If the plant closes on the scheduled date of July 31 an estimated 1,500 jobs would lost including the jobs of about 850 members of the United Steelworkers Union.

Read the full story here.

The measure would have given exemptions to certain sized tanks along waterways in West Virginia, even in the “zones of critical concern.” Those are areas where the tanks were located in close proximity to a drinking water in-take source.

The full story can be read here.

The governor says he is calling upon West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw to require Delegate Jeffries to make a public apology to Senator Trump, Senator Clements, Senator Stephen Baldwin and all of the senators for an incident that occurred during a conference committee.

Read more here.