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Wednesday, February 23, 2005
The House of Delegates met at 11:00 a.m., and was called to order by the Speaker.
Prayer was offered and the House was led in recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of Tuesday, February 22, 2005, being the first order
of business, when the further reading thereof was dispensed with and the same approved.
Committee Reports
On motion for leave, a bill was introduced (Originating in the Committee on Government
Organization and reported by unanimous vote of the Committee, with the recommendation that it
do pass), which was read by its title, as follows:
By Delegates Beane, Ennis, Argento and Frich:
H. B.2623 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §20-1A-9 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to continuation of the Public Land Corporation."
Having been reported from committee with no dissenting vote, and in accordance with the
provisions of House Rule 70a, the foregoing bill (H. B. 2623) will be placed on the Consent
Calendar.
Messages from the Executive
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the 2003-2004 annual report of the West Virginia
Department of Human Resources, regarding the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer
Diagnostic and Treatment Fund, in accordance with section seven, article thirty-three, chapter sixteen
of the code; which was filed in the Clerk's Office.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the 2003-2004 report of the Office of Maternal, Child and
Family Health's Newborn Hearing Screening Project, in accordance with section one, article twenty-
two-a, chapter sixteen of the code; which was filed in the Clerk's Office.
Messages from the Senate
A message from the Senate, by
The Clerk of the Senate, announced the passage by the Senate, to take effect July 1, 2005,
and requested the concurrence of the House of Delegates in the passage of
S. B. 213 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §16-41-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to continuation of the Oral Health Program"; which was referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.
A message from the Senate, by
The Clerk of the Senate, announced the passage by the Senate, to take effect July 1, 2005,
and requested the concurrence of the House of Delegates in the passage of
S. B. 214 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto
a new section, designated §30-36-20, relating to the continuation of the West Virginia Acupuncture
Board"; which was referred to the Committee on Government Organization.
A message from the Senate, by
The Clerk of the Senate, announced the passage by the Senate, to take effect July 1, 2005,
and requested the concurrence of the House of Delegates in the passage of
S. B. 215 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §30-9-32 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to continuation of the West Virginia Board of Accountancy"; which was referred
to the Committee on Government Organization.
Petitions
Delegates Campbell, Canterbury and Amores presented a petition, signed by four hundred
twenty residents of Greenbrier County, requesting the Legislature to enact strict and more
enforceable laws pertaining to juvenile offenders; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Bills Introduced
On motions for leave, bills were introduced, read by their titles, and severally referred as
follows:
By Delegates Overington, Howard, Sobonya, Blair, Roberts, Duke and Rowan:
H. B. 2594 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto a new section, designated §17C-5-6b, relating to requiring mandatory blood tests be taken
from drivers involved in motor vehicle accidents that result in the death or bodily injury to any
person, when a law-enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to suspect a driver is under the
influence of drugs, alcohol or both"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Delegates Williams, Canterbury, H. White, Romine, Paxton, Stalnaker and G.
White:
H. B. 2595 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §50-1-8 and §50-1-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to increasing salaries for magistrate clerks, magistrate
assistants and magistrate deputy clerks"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegates Overington, Schadler, Wakim, Blair, Stevens, Porter and Barker:
H. B. 2596 - "A Bill to repeal §61-11-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;
to repeal §62-3-15 of said code; to amend and reenact §61-2-2 of said code; to further amend said
code by adding thereto seven new sections, designated §61-2-2a, §61-2-2b, §61-2-2c, §61-2-2d, §61-
2-2e, §61-2-2f and §61-2-2g; and to further amend said code by adding thereto four new sections,
designated §62-7-4, §62-7-5, §62-7-6 and §62-7-6a, all relating to death penalty for first degree
murder; procedures, standards and findings applicable to imposition thereof in certain instances
including aggravating and mitigating circumstances; sentencing; providing for automatic review of
the death penalty by the Supreme Court of Appeals; providing for forensic deoxyribonucleic acid
('DNA') testing of biological material in death penalty cases; providing for execution of the death
sentence by lethal injection; providing for delivery of sentence of death to officer retaining custody
of person so sentenced; providing for transmission of indictment, order of conviction, sentence and
judgment entered thereon to the warden of the state correctional facility; transfer of person sentenced
to death to the state correctional facility; execution; providing presence of certain persons be
requested for the execution; providing for certification that sentence of death has been executed; and
providing for disposition of the body"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegate Swartzmiller:
H. B. 2597 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §7-14-17a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to increasing the accrual rate of vacation time for deputy sheriffs with twenty
and twenty-five years of service and increasing from thirty to forty-five days the number of vacation days a deputy sheriff may carry from one calendar year to the next"; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
By Delegates Perry, Stemple, Howard and Pino:
H. B. 2598 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §61-2-9a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to creating the misdemeanor crime of stalking correctional officers by former
inmates; and criminal penalty"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Delegates Beane and Staton:
H. B. 2599 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §44-5-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to who may be accepted as surety on a fiduciary bond"; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Varner, Kominar, Stemple, Beach, Leach and
Perry:
H. B. 2600 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §8-19-21 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to municipal and county waterworks systems; specifications for water mains; and
requiring the installation of fire hydrants at intervals of not more than every one thousand feet in all
upgrades of water mains and all new installation of water mains"; to the Committee on Political
Subdivisions then Finance.
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Varner, Pethtel, Kominar, Stemple, Beach,
Leach and Perry:
H. B. 2601 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §24-2A-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to electric utilities generally; and providing for equivalent residential rates for
certain community organizations"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Stalnaker, Beane and Azinger:
H. B. 2602 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §8-15-10a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to providing municipalities and members of municipal fire departments an
alternative to statutory prescriptions concerning holiday remuneration and compensation if they are
able to agree to other terms than as set forth by statute"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions
then Finance.
By Delegates Campbell, Williams, Perry and Beach:
H. B. 2603 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18A-3-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to reimbursement of tuition, registration and other required fees for course work
completed by teachers; correcting references to rule making authority; removing obsolete language;
and allowing reimbursement to qualified applicants from funds remaining available for that purpose
after certain conditions are met"; to the Committee on Education then Finance.
By Delegates Susman, Hrutkay, Martin and Staton:
H. B. 2604 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18-5-22 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to requiring county boards of education to employ one school nurse for every one
thousand pupils based upon net enrollment in all grades"; to the Committee on Education then
Finance.
By Delegates Craig, Morgan, Leach and Stephens:
H. B. 2605 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5-5-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to the eligibility of faculty members at state institutions of higher education for
certain incremental pay; and making them eligible for the annual experience increment for state
employees"; to the Committee on Education then Finance.
By Delegates Beach, Morgan, Long and Howard:
H. B. 2606 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18B-10-14 of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to college and university bookstores and prohibiting governing boards of state
institutions of higher education from requiring students to purchase textbook packages"; to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Leach, Ron Thompson, Boggs and Houston:
H. B. 2607 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §16-22-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to the expansion of newborn testing to include sickle cell anemia and congenital
adrenal hyperplasia"; to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.
By Delegates Perry, Beach, Hrutkay, Stalnaker, Stemple and Martin:
H. B. 2608 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5-10-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to the vesting of retirement benefits for those members of the Armed Forces
accumulating nine or more years of credited service who are called from participation employment
to compulsory military service or armed conflict and who die or become totally and permanently
disabled during or as a result of compulsory active service and prior to resumption of participating
employment"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegates Rick Thompson, Swartzmiller, Ennis and Caputo:
H. B. 2609 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto two new sections, designated §5A-3-37b and §5A-3-37c, all relating to prohibiting foreign
professional service contracts with the State; creating the 'Keep Jobs In West Virginia Act';
declaring that state officials do not have authority to bind the State under the government
procurement rules of an international trade agreement; providing the State is not bound by the government procurement rules of any international trade agreement; requiring the State Attorney
General to notify the United States Trade Representative as well as the Congress of this state's
position not to be bound by the government procurement rules of any international trade agreements;
prohibiting the State to enter into foreign procurement contracts; and setting forth an effective date
for the proposed legislation"; to the Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and
Small Business then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Walters and Armstead:
H. B. 2610 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §11-21-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to personal income tax and increasing the low income exclusion"; to the
Committee on Finance.
By Delegates Williams, Beach and Perry:
H. B. 2611 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §11-21-4e of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to volunteer emergency workers receiving a tax exemption for responding to
at least twenty-five percent of all calls during the year"; to the Committee on Finance.
By Delegates Williams, Stemple, Stalnaker and Butcher:
H. B. 2612 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §17C-14-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to clarifying that a person may start a motor vehicle on private property for the
purpose of warming the engine and leave the vehicle unattended for a reasonable period of time";
to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Susman, Martin, Ennis and Perdue:
H. B. 2613 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto a new section, designated §33-16-18, relating to providing insurance coverage for osteoporosis screening and treatment"; to the Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance.
By Delegates Susman, Crosier and Houston:
H. B. 2614 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §33-6A-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to preventing insurers from failing to renew automobile liability and property
damage policies based on acts of God"; to the Committee on Banking and Insurance then the
Judiciary.
By Delegates Beach and Perry:
H. B. 2615 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §20-2-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; and to amend and reenact §61-3B-1 of said code, all relating to posting of property to
prohibit hunting or trespassing, and to allow posting by clearly visible paint markings"; to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Perry, Beach, Morgan, Howard, Sobonya:
H. B. 2616 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18-7A-13a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, relating to employment of members of the teachers defined benefit retirement system
by institutions of higher education following the retirement of the member"; to the Committee on
Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegates Michael, Doyle, Anderson, Frederick and Cann:
H. B. 2617 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §4-11A-1, §4-11A-2 and §4-11A-3 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to legislative appropriation of tobacco settlement
funds and strategic contribution funds"; to the Committee on Finance.
By Delegates Brown, Hrutkay, Martin and Staton:
H. B. 2618 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §33-16E-1, §33-16E-2, §33-16E-3, §33-16E-4 and §33-16E-5, all
relating to requiring health insurance plans to cover the cost of contraceptives for its covered
people"; to the Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance.
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Varner, Pethtel, Kominar, Stemple, Ennis and
Leach:
H. B. 2619 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §8-15-8b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, relating to authorized expenditures from municipal pensions and protection funds and fire
protection funds; and providing that moneys from revenues allocated to volunteer and part volunteer
fire companies and departments may be expended for the payment of dues to national, state and
county associations"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.
By Delegates Stemple, Beach, Swartzmiller and Anderson:
H. B. 2620 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated §19-9B-1, §19-9B-2, §19-9B-3, §19-9B-4, §19-9B-5, §19-9B-6,
§19-9B-7, §19-9B-8 and §19-9B-9, all relating to regulating the possession and sale of domestic and
exotic animals; creating the Exotic and Domestic Animal Public Safety Board and the Exotic and
Domestic Animal Study Commission; establishing duties; providing rule-making authority; requiring
all sellers of animals to register; authorizing inspections; providing for testing, seizing and
quarantining animals; and establishing criminal penalties"; to the Committee on Government
Organization then Finance.
By Delegates Boggs, Browning, Louisos, Stemple, Swartzmiller, Armstead and Walters:
H. B. 2621 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated §29-29-1, §29-29-2, §29-29-3, §29-29-4, §29-29-5 and §29-29-6, all relating to state flood protection planning; providing legislative findings; defining terms;
establishing the State Flood Protection Planning Council and authorizing certain duties; establishing
State Flood Protection Planning Advisory Committee and setting forth its duties; and establishing
a Joint Legislative Oversight Commission of Flooding"; to the Committee on Government
Organization.
By Delegates Susman, Martin, Rick Thompson and Houston:
H. B. 2622 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §4-8-1, §4-8-4 and §4-8-5 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to adding the State Americans with Disabilities Act
coordinator as a member of the Capitol Building Commission; prohibiting any substantial physical
changes to the buildings and grounds of the State Capitol without the approval of the Commission;
requiring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and giving the Commission the
authority to hire employees, enter into contracts for studies and levy fines for violations"; to the
Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.
Consent Calendar
Third Calendar
H. B. 2534, Continuation of the Tourism Commission; on third reading, coming up in
regular order, was read a third time.
On the passage of the bill, the yeas and nays were taken (Roll No. 42), and there were--yeas
96, nays none, absent and not voting 4, with the absent and not voting being as follows:
Absent And Not Voting: Doyle, Duke, Ferrell and Frederick.
So, a majority of the members present and voting having voted in the affirmative, the Speaker
declared the bill (H. B. 2534) passed.
Ordered, That the Clerk of the House communicate to the Senate the action of the House of
Delegates on the Consent Calendar bill and request concurrence therein.
First Reading
The following bills on first reading, coming up in regular order, were each read a first time
and ordered to second reading:
Com. Sub. for H. B. 2176, Providing the offense of intimidating or harassing a judge or
magistrate are also applicable to times when the judge or magistrate are off duty,
And,
H. B. 2593, Relating to land use planning and removing the requirement of Board of Zoning
Appeals to pay attorneys' fees.
House Calendar
Third Reading
Com. Sub. for H. B. 2444 , Mandatory participation in the motor vehicle alcohol test and
lock program for repeat offenders; on third reading, coming up in regular order, was read a third
time.
The question being on the passage of the bill, the yeas and nays were taken (Roll No. 44),
and there were--yeas 90, nays 7, absent and not voting 3, with the nays and absent and not voting
being as follows:
Nays: Armstead, Ashley, Butcher, Lane, Trump, Wakim and Walters.
Absent And Not Voting: Duke, Ferrell and Frederick.
So, a majority of the members present and voting having voted in the affirmative, the Speaker
declared the bill (Com. Sub. for H. B. 2444) passed.
Ordered, That the Clerk of the House communicate to the Senate the action of the House of
Delegates and request concurrence therein.
First Reading
Com. Sub. for H. B. 2486, Creating a system for public funding of election campaigns;
on first reading, coming up in regular order, was read a first time and ordered to second reading.
Leaves of Absence
At the request of Delegate Staton, and by unanimous consent, leaves of absence for the day
were granted Delegates Duke, Ferrell and Frederick.
Delegate Doyle noted to the Clerk that he was absent when the vote was taken on Roll No.
42, and that had he been present, he would have voted "Yea" thereon.
At 11:33 a.m., on motion of Delegate Staton, the House of Delegates adjourned until 11:00
a.m., 11:00 a.m ., Thursday, February 24, 2005.