From the Well | March 7, 2024

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86th West Virginia Legislature

State Capitol

March 7, 2024

West Virginia News Headlines

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58TH DAY: The West Virginia Legislature heads toward the 60th and final day of its annual session.

·     SB219 (Relating to Uniform Controlled Substances Act) — conference committee appointed

·     HB4190 (Relating to the establishment of an alert system for missing cognitively impaired persons) — passed

·     HB5609 (Relating to confidentiality of child-care records and the Foster Care Ombudsman) — moved to Rules

·     HB4552 (To ensure party affiliation is consistent with candidate’s voter registration) — passed

·     HB4851 (To allow for public and private schools in West Virginia to employ security personnel.) — passed

·     HB4867 (Require pornography websites to utilize age verification methods to prevent minors from accessing content) — passed

·     HB4880 (Relating to personal income tax Social Security exemption) — lie over one day

·     HB4188 (Relating to requiring a parolee or probationer found to have suffered with addiction to participate in a support service) — passed

·     HB5338 (Relating to Safe Harbor for Cybersecurity Programs) — passed

·     HB5257 (Relating generally to allowing the Supreme Court of Appeals discretion to create uniform pay scales for all levels of judicial support staff) — lie over one day

·     HB5604 (Relating to procurement by state spending units) — passed

·     HJR21 (Amending the Constitution to prohibit persons not United States citizens from voting in any election held within this state) — lie over one day

·     HB4292 (Providing for enhanced damages for non-payment of royalties due from oil, natural gas, or natural gas liquids production) — Moved to third with right to amend

·     HB4998 (Modifying penalties for third-offense shoplifting)

·     HB5091 (West Virginia Critical Infrastructure Protection Act)

·     HB5151 (Relating to defining term fictive kin)

·     HB5662 (Relating to adding “person in a position of trust” to certain crimes)

SECOND READING

The House suspended the rules and passed:

·     SB217 (Authorizing state and subdivisions to negotiate price for construction when all bids received exceed maximum budget)

·     SB533 (Allowing EMS agencies to triage, treat, or transport patients to alternate destinations)

·     SB751 (Creating online charitable raffles)

·     SB791 (Modifying membership requirements of Medical Services Fund Advisory Council)

·     SB 874 (Relating to WV Division of Multimodal Transportation)

The following were advanced to third reading with the right to amend:

·     SB741 (Prohibiting creation, production, distribution or possession of artificially generated child pornography)

·     SB190 (Modifying definition of sexual contact)

·     SB841 (Setting amount of unemployment taxes and benefits)

THIRD READING

The following bills were considered on third reading and passed:

·     SB2 (Authorizing DEP to promulgate rules)

·     SB36 (Authorizing Department of Homeland Security to promulgate legislative rules)

·     SB50 (Authorizing Department of Revenue to promulgate legislative rules)

·     SB155 (Creating Violent Crime Prevention Act)

·     SB166 (Updating contested elections procedures)

·     SB170 (Relating to compensable diseases of certain firefighters covered by workers’ compensation)

·     SB445 (Reducing certification periods and renewal fees for EMS personnel)

·     SB587 (Enabling State Fire Commission to propose legislative rules)

·     SB632 (Relating to Dangerousness Assessment Advisory Board multi-disciplinary study group)

·     SB687 (Clarifying Legislative Auditor’s scope of authority)

·     SB 732 (Requiring cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and military authorities)

Action on the following was postponed for one day:

·     SB587 (Enabling State Fire Commission to propose legislative rules)

·     SB875 (Relating to certain insurance coverage provided by BRIM)

All other bills were advanced to third reading.

WVMetr0News published a story (click here) that touches on several bills.