WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
SENATE JOURNAL
SEVENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION, 2004
SEVENTH DAY
____________
Charleston, W. Va., Tuesday, January 20, 2004
The Senate met at 11 a.m.
(Senator Tomblin, Mr. President, in the Chair.)
Prayer was offered by the Honorable Larry L. Rowe, a senator
from the seventeenth district.
Pending the reading of the Journal of Monday, January 19,
2004,
On motion of Senator Jenkins, the Journal was approved and the
further reading thereof dispensed with.
The Senate proceeded to the second order of business and the
introduction of guests.
The Senate then proceeded to the fourth order of business.
Senator Ross, from the Committee on Transportation, submitted
the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on Transportation has had under consideration
Senate Bill No. 10, Extending time for study of orphan roads
and bridges.
And reports the same back with the recommendation that it do
pass.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ross,
Chair.
Senator Ross, from the Committee on Transportation, submitted
the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on Transportation has had under consideration
Senate Bill No. 130, Authorizing special license plates for
Knights of Pythias and Pythian Sisters; eliminating annual fee for
9/11 plates.
And reports the same back with the recommendation that it do
pass; but under the original double committee reference first be
referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ross,
Chair.
The bill, under the original double committee reference, was
then referred to the Committee on Finance.
Senator Kessler, from the Committee on the Judiciary,
submitted the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on the Judiciary has had under consideration
Senate Bill No. 190,
Relating to filing fee for certain United
States candidates.
And reports the same back with the recommendation that it do
pass.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey V. Kessler,
Chair.
Senator Ross, from the Committee on Transportation, submitted
the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on Transportation has had under consideration
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1, Requesting Division of
Highways name Beckley Harper Road Bridge and Interchange in honor
of Lewis N. McManus, former Speaker of the House of Delegates.
And reports the same back with the recommendation that it be
adopted.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ross,
Chair.
The Senate proceeded to the sixth order of business.
On motions for leave, severally made, the following bills and
joint resolutions were introduced, read by their titles, and
referred to the appropriate committees:
By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President), Chafin, McCabe, Facemyer,
Rowe, White, Unger, Fanning, Ross, Dempsey, Sharpe, Caldwell,
Edgell, Plymale, Snyder and Jenkins:
Senate Bill No. 221--A Bill to amend the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article,
designated §17-2D-1, §17-2D-2, §17-2D-3, §17-2D-4, §17-2D-5,
§17-2D-6, §17-2D-7, §17-2D-8, §17-2D-9, §17-2D-10, §17-2D-11,
§17-2D-12, §17-2D-13, §17-2D-14, §17-2D-15, §17-2D-16, §17-2D-17,
§17-2D-18, §17-2D-19 and §17-2D-20, all relating to establishment
of the public-private transportation act of two thousand four;
setting forth legislative findings and purposes; setting forth definitions; providing prerequisites for development of a
transportation facility; providing for the creation of a
public-private transportation oversight committee and its
membership; setting forth the powers and duties of the committee;
providing for the submission of proposals and approval by the
committee; providing for service contracts; providing for the
dedication of public property; setting forth the powers and duties
of a developer; requiring a comprehensive agreement; providing for
federal, state and local assistance; addressing material default
and remedies; prohibiting governmental entities from pledging full
faith and credit; providing for the exercise of condemnation;
addressing utility crossings; addressing dedication of assets;
providing for an exemption from purchasing rules; addressing
severability; qualifying transportation facilities as public
improvements; setting forth a termination date; and addressing
construction.
Referred to the Committee on Economic Development; and then to
the Committee on Finance.
By Senator Hunter:
Senate Bill No. 222--A Bill to amend the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated §50-6-4, relating to requiring judgment debtors to make
monthly reports to magistrate court concerning whether the judgment
debt is being paid or has been wholly satisfied.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Senators Hunter, Ross, Minard, Rowe, Caldwell, Unger and Snyder:
Senate Bill No. 223--A Bill to amend and reenact §46A-6A-2 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to consumer
protection and new motor vehicle warranties; and changing the
definition of passenger "motor vehicle" to include vehicles
weighing over eight thousand pounds.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Senators Hunter, Minard, Rowe, Caldwell, Love, Unger,
Snyder, McCabe and White:
Senate Bill No. 224--A Bill to amend and reenact §49-6E-5 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to correcting
an erroneous reference to an article concerning adoption of an
abandoned child.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Senators Unger, Caldwell, Hunter, Rowe, Prezioso, Dempsey,
Love, Kessler, McKenzie and Sharpe:
Senate Bill No. 225--A Bill to amend and reenact §15-2-5 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to an
increase in the annual base salary of all sworn state police
personnel by eighteen percent effective on the first day of July,
two thousand four.
Referred to the Committee on Finance.
By Senator Rowe:
Senate Bill No. 226--A Bill to amend and reenact §17B-1-1 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact
§17B-3-9 of said code; to amend and reenact §17B-4-3 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§17C-1-67; to amend and reenact §17C-5-2, §17C-5-6a and §17C-5-8 of
said code; to amend and reenact §17C-5A-1, §17C-5A-1a, §17C-5A-2,
§17C-5A-2a and §17C-5A-3a of said code; to amend and reenact
§20-7-18 and §20-7-18b of said code; and to amend and reenact
§33-6A-1 of said code, all relating to driving or operating a
motorboat or other vessel under the influence of alcohol,
controlled substances or drugs; reducing the allowable blood
alcohol content for driving under the influence from ten hundredths
to eight hundredths of one percent of body weight; increasing
reinstatement and hearing docket fees; defining the term
"conviction"; requiring the prosecuting attorney to submit in
writing a statement for the record if an inquiry has been made into
any prior convictions and if any prior convictions are found,
requiring the statement to identify the court entering the order of
the previous conviction and its date and the court action number
for each previous offense; increasing penalties; and mandatory
participation in the motor vehicle alcohol test and lock program
for repeat offenders.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the
Committee on Finance.
By Senator Bowman:
Senate Bill No. 227--A Bill to amend and reenact §18-10L-3 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to clarifying
certain statutory terms related to the Ron Yost personal assistance
services act.
Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources.
By Senators Rowe, White, McCabe, Caldwell, Fanning, Hunter,
Unger, Jenkins and Minard:
Senate Bill No. 228--A Bill to amend the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article,
designated §5B-2E-1, §5B-2E-2, §5B-2E-3, §5B-2E-4, §5B-2E-5,
§5B-2E-6, §5B-2E-7, §5B-2E-8 and §5B-2E-9; and to amend said code
by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-15-34, all relating
to the West Virginia tourism destination economic development act;
prescribing additional duties for the state development office;
setting forth additional powers of the state development office;
defining certain terms related to tourism destination development;
setting forth legislative findings; providing for evaluation
standards; providing for certain procedures in processing tourism
destination development project applications; providing for
consultation services related to project applications; providing
the state development office and the council for community and
economic development with authority to approve tourism destination
development projects; creating a tourism destination development
advisory board; providing for an effective and termination date;
and providing tourism destination development project refund of the
state sales tax.
Referred to the Committee on Economic Development; and then to
the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Jenkins, Plymale and Facemyer:
Senate Bill No. 229--A Bill to amend and reenact sections 1, 2 and 3, chapter 232, acts of the Legislature, regular session,
1997, all relating to expanding the counties covered by West
Virginia route 2 and interstate 68 authority to include Cabell,
Mason and Jackson counties; and increasing the number of members.
Referred to the Committee on Government Organization; and then
to the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Plymale, McCabe, Jenkins, Caldwell, Fanning,
Snyder and Rowe:
Senate Bill No. 230--A Bill to amend and reenact §33-1-10 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and
reenact §33-3-14 of said code, all relating to insurance generally;
defining the term "federal flood insurance"; diverting taxes
collected on federal flood insurance policies to a special revenue
fund in the state treasury for transfer to the office of emergency
services for enhancing flood plain management; and adding technical
staff and subgrants to local government units and eligible
entities.
Referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and then
to the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Plymale, McCabe, Jenkins, Rowe and White:
Senate Bill No. 231--A Bill to amend and reenact §7-1-3v of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to county
commissions generally; permitting county commissions to create a
flood plain enforcement agency to enforce building codes as are
necessary to comply with the requirements of the National Flood
Insurance Act; and including county commission-identified flood plain areas as areas within a county commission's building
regulation and enforcement authority.
Referred to the Committee on Government Organization.
By Senator Unger:
Senate Bill No. 232--A Bill to amend the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article,
designated §46A-6K-1 and §46A-6K-2, all relating to requiring
disclosure of known defects by sellers of real property; limiting
liability of real estate agents; and providing criminal penalties.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Senators Unger, Hunter, Snyder, Weeks, Harrison and Smith:
Senate Bill No. 233--A Bill to amend the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated §60-7-4b; and to amend and reenact §60-7-5 of said code,
all relating to requiring a public hearing prior to the issuance of
an initial license for a private club or upon the transfer of a
license to a private club at a new location.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the
Committee on Finance.
By Senator Facemyer:
Senate Bill No. 234--A Bill to amend and reenact §44-10-2,
§44-10-3, §44-10-4, §44-10-6, §44-10-8 and §44-10-9 of the code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to modifying
procedures allowing appointment of guardians for minor children;
and transferring duty of appointment from county commissions to
circuit courts except where parents agree to the appointment or where parent make appointment by last will and testament.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Senators Hunter, Caldwell and Love:
Senate Bill No. 235--A Bill to amend and reenact §17C-3-5 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing
that drivers of motor vehicles may, during certain times, treat red
lights as stop signs.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation.
By Senators Caldwell, Dempsey, Rowe, Hunter and White:
Senate Bill No. 236--A Bill to amend and reenact §18-5-18a of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to limiting
the total number of students a teacher is required to teach.
Referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the
Committee on Finance.
By Senators Jenkins, Ross and Plymale:
Senate Bill No. 237--A Bill to amend and reenact §11A-1-7 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and
reenact §11A-3-20 of said code, all relating to real and personal
property taxes; sheriff's tax on sale of real estate erroneously
assessed or nonexistent; modifying the method for a purchaser to
recover the purchase money; limiting the period of time for
demanding a refund; and requiring that delinquent personal property
taxes, just as real estate taxes, must be paid before current taxes
may be paid.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Senators Jenkins and Plymale:
Senate Bill No. 238--A Bill to amend and reenact §33-3-33 of
the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing
the surcharge on fire and casualty insurance by one percent to
benefit municipal police and firefighter retirement funds.
Referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and then
to the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Facemyer, Smith and Deem:
Senate Bill No. 239--
A Bill to amend the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated §9-5-11d, relating to requiring itemized statements of
services rendered to medicaid recipients; directing the department
of health and human resources to prescribe forms for itemized
statements; and providing for verification of the accuracy of same
or investigation by the department of health and human resources
into discrepancies.
Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources; and
then to the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Facemyer and Smith:
Senate Joint Resolution No. 4--Proposing an amendment to the
Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending article VI
thereof by adding thereto a new section, designated section 57,
relating to dedicating one percent of general revenue to the
division of natural resources to be used to fund activities
intended to promote and preserve the state's wildlife resources and
to fund law-enforcement activities involving the division of
natural resources; numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and providing a summarized statement of the purpose of
such proposed amendment.
Referred to the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Sharpe, Ross, Boley, Facemyer, Minear, Fanning,
Caldwell, Dempsey, Love, Minard and Weeks:
Senate Joint Resolution No. 5--Proposing an amendment to the
Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending section 51,
article VI thereof, relating to the judiciary; budget and
supplementary appropriation bills; authority of the Legislature to
increase or diminish the judiciary budget; numbering and
designating such proposed amendment; and providing a summarized
statement of the purpose of such proposed amendment.
Referred to the Committee on Finance.
The Senate proceeded to the seventh order of business.
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 5, Requesting Joint Committee
on Government and Finance study requiring certain insurance
carriers to provide credit counseling.
On unfinished business, coming up in regular order, was
reported by the Clerk and referred to the Committee on Rules.
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 7, Requesting Joint Committee
on Government and Finance study expanding appeal of Tamarack in
eastern United States.
On unfinished business, coming up in regular order, was
reported by the Clerk and referred to the Committee on Rules.
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 8, Requesting Joint Committee
on Government and Finance study protecting health and safety of student athletes.
On unfinished business, coming up in regular order, was
reported by the Clerk and referred to the Committee on Rules.
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9, Requesting Joint Committee
on Government and Finance study converting Teachers Defined
Contribution Retirement System to defined benefit retirement
system.
On unfinished business, coming up in regular order, was
reported by the Clerk and referred to the Committee on Rules.
The Senate proceeded to the ninth order of business.
Senate Bill No. 196, Allowing activities on school
instructional support and enhancement days to occur in any order.
On second reading, coming up in regular order, was read a
second time and ordered to engrossment and third reading.
The Senate proceeded to the eleventh order of business and the
introduction of guests.
Pending announcement of meetings of standing committees of the
Senate,
On motion of Senator Chafin, the Senate adjourned until
tomorrow, Wednesday, January 21, 2004, at 11 a.m.
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