hdj2011-08-02-02
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
SECOND DAY
[Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, in the Chair]
The House of Delegates met at 3:00 p.m., and was called to order by the Honorable Richard
Thompson, Speaker.
Prayer was offered and the House was led in recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
The roll being called
(Roll No. 509), and 100 members having answered to their names, the
Speaker declared the presence of a quorum.
The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of Monday, August 1, 2011, being the first order of
business, when the further reading thereof was dispensed with and the same approved.
Committee Reports
On motion for leave, bills were introduced (Originating in the Committee on Finance and
reported with the recommendation that they each do pass), which was read by their titles, as follows:
By Delegates White, T. Campbell, Doyle, Williams, Perdue, Mahan, Guthrie, M. Poling, D. Poling, Marshall and Ashley:
H. B. 104 - "A Bill making a supplementary appropriation of public moneys out of the
Treasury from the balance of moneys remaining as an unappropriated surplus balance in the State
Fund, General Revenue, to the Department of Agriculture, fund 0131, fiscal year 2012, organization
1400, to the Department of Education, State Department of Education, fund 0313, fiscal year 2012,
organization 0402, to the Department of Education and the Arts, Department of Education and the
Arts - Office of the Secretary, fund 0294, fiscal year 2012, organization 0431, to the Department of
Environmental Protection, Division of Environmental Protection, fund 0273, fiscal year 2012,
organization 0313, to the Department of Health and Human Resources, Division of Health - Central
Office, fund 0407, fiscal year 2012, organization 0506, to the Department of Health and Human
Resources, Consolidated Medical Service Fund, fund 0525, fiscal year 2012, organization 0506, to
the Department of Health and Human Resources, Division of Human Services, fund 0403, fiscal year
2012, organization 0511, and to the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, West Virginia
State Police, fund 0453, fiscal year 2012, organization 0612, by supplementing and amending the
appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012,"
And,
By Delegates White, T. Campbell, Marshall, Mahan, Guthrie, Doyle, Stowers, D.
Poling, Evans, Carmichael and Walters:
H. B. 105 - "A Bill supplementing, amending, and increasing items of the existing
appropriations from the State Road Fund to the Department of Transportation - Division of
Highways, fund 9017, fiscal year 2012, organization 0803, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012."
Select Committee Reports
On motion for leave, a bill was introduced (Originating in the Select Committee on
Redistricting and reported with the recommendation that it do pass), which was read by its title, as
follows:
By Delegates Boggs, Caputo, White, Swartzmiller, Fragale, Staggers and Reynolds:
H. B. 106 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §1-2-2 and §1-2-2b of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, all relating to the apportionment of membership of the House of Delegates; and
requiring incidental precinct boundary changes."
Accompanying the report of the Select Committee was a Minority Report, signed by Delegate
Carmichael and submitted pursuant to House Rule 88, as follows:
Minority Report
Pursuant to Rule 88, the Minority offers the following as its recommended report regarding H.
B. 106.
The Minority finds that:
Legislative representation has been an issue of long-standing concern to West Virginians, even,
most importantly, serving as a major reason for our nation's war of independence from Great Britain and,
also, for our State's separation from Virginia; and
The single-member legislative districts are the most efficient and most fitting mechanism for
ensuring the proper and equitable representation of the people of West Virginia, as
Single-member districts allow a Delegate to be more responsive to the citizens he or she
represents as those delegates will, of necessity, live in the same community as their constituents and be
close to the interests of those they represent; and
Single-member districts allow a Delegate to be more easily held accountable for the votes he
or she casts and the positions he or she takes; Delegates must run one-on-one against another candidate
who can better question that candidate about the record of their public service; and
Single-member districts reduce the funds required to run a successful race, as rather than
running in a large, multi-member district that requires a greater budget, candidates are able to run a more
issue-oriented campaign at a smaller cost; and
Single-member districts more clearly live up to the test of one man, one vote; and
Whereas, only two other states have delegate districts with more than two members.
Therefore, in light of the preceding findings, the minority moves that:
The Legislature recess to allow time for members to take the current plan back to their districts
to have open and informed discussion with local persons to ascertain their interests and to throughly
digest the proposed redistricting plans for the House, Senate and United States House of Representatives;
and
That the legislative staffs are directed to draw a redistricting plan which provides for 100 single
member delegate districts; and
That such districts are based upon objective criteria; and
That the plan keep intact, insofar as is possible, political subdivisions; and
That the staff be required to design the districts contained within that plan to maximize their
compactness, their geographic and social contiguousness, the predicted growth of the area, and the
common interest of the persons resident therein, rather than any political advantage.
Respectfully submitted,
Mitch Carmichael
12th Delegate District
At 3:06 p.m., the House of Delegates adjourned until 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 3,
2011.
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