We’ve got a long list of bills we are following that still have a chance of passing this session. Read on to check out what has survived Crossover Day, and what hurdles these bills still have to get through to be passed into law by March 14.
We’re just highlighting a few bills that have caught our eye this session. We’re not including bills that we’ve talked about before – we’ll check in on those next week. If you’re interested in seeing the whole list of bills that are still in process, you can find it at the Legislature’s website.
House of Delegates
The House chamber closed Wednesday night with 177 bills passed, out of 1019 that were introduced this session. Those 177 bills are now headed to the Senate for final passage. We’ve got our eye on:
- HB 2571 – Creation of private pothole repair fund
- Creates a special fund for pothole repair that can take private contributions
- Passed the House on Feb. 26 and referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Currently in that committee.
- HB 2626 – Use of Abandoned Mine Land Fund
- Bill removes the cap on use of Abandoned Mine Land funds for waterline projects and increases the percentage of funds that can go into the set-aside program, bringing the state program into compliance with changes to the federal law
- Passed the House on Feb. 20 and referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Will be discussed and possibly voted on in that committee Wednesday evening.
- HB 2646 – Legalizing fireworks sales
- Legalizes and regulates the sale of fireworks in WV
- Passed the House on Feb. 20 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Currently in that committee.
- HB 2829 – Defining midwife/midwifery
- Defines midwifery and provides procedures for midwives to report their activities to the Bureau of Public Health
- Passed the House on March 2. Referred to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources. Currently in that committee.
- HB 2880 – Addiction treatment pilot program
- Creating a pilot addiction treatment program to be run by the Supreme Court for offenders in the Drug Court System.
- Passed the House on March 3 and referred to the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee. Will be discussed and possibly voted on in that committee on March 5.
- HB 2968 – Exempting certain nonprofits from property tax
- Also known as the “Boy Scouts Bill.” This bill exempts nonprofits that own real property built at a cost of $100 million from certain taxes, including property taxes. This is the follow up bill from the Boy Scouts proposal that was on the November ballot.
- Passed the House on March 4. Senate committee assignments not yet known.
State Senate
By the end of the day Wednesday, the Senate had passed 199 out of the 585 total bills introduced in that Chamber. Those 199 bills now have to be passed by the House to become law. We’re keeping an eye on a number of those bills, including:
- SB 42 – Brunch Liquor Sales
- Permits sale of alcohol on Sundays at 10 a.m. and later.
- Passed Senate on Feb. 19. Referred to House Judiciary and Finance Committees. Currently in House Judiciary Committee.
- SB 109 – Indoor Smoking Prohibitions
- Exempts veteran organizations from local indoor smoking prohibitions and allows for establishments to apply for exemption from local indoor smoking prohibitions.
- Passed the Senate on Feb. 25. Referred to House Health and Human Resources and House Judiciary Committees. Currently in House Health and Human Resources Committee.
- SB 249 – Prohibiting Straight Party Voting
- Eliminates straight party voting in general elections
- Passed Senate on Feb. 3. Referred to House Judiciary. Currently in House Judiciary.
- SB 384 – Permitting wine sales by speciality shops in dry counties or districts
- Allows speciality shops to sell wine in dry counties, magisterial districts and municipalities
- Passed the Senate on Feb. 20. Referred to House Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee and House Government Organization Committee. Currently in House Small Business Committee.
- SB 488 – Reestablishing and modifying broadband deployment council
- Re-establishes the Broadband Deployment Council and transfers funds from former Broadband Deployment Council to this council
- Passed the Senate on Feb. 28. Referred to House Government Organization Committee. Currently in that committee.
- SB 499 – Creating Tourist-Oriented Directional Signs programs
- Creates program to make signs on state highways for tourist destinations in rural parts of the state that are not located on a state highway.
- Passed the Senate on March 2. Referred to House Transportation and Finance Committees. Currently in House Transportation Committee.
- SB 584 – Transferring Cedar Lakes Camp and Conference Center
- Transfers Cedar Lake Camp and Conference Center from the State Board of Education to a private non-profit corporation.
- Passed the Senate on March 4. House committee assignments not yet known.