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January 9, 2003
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 January 8, 2003, being the first order of business,
when the further reading thereof was dispensed with and the same approved.
At the request of Delegate Staton, and by unanimous consent, the applicable provisions of
House Rule 136, relating to privileges of the floor, were suspended to permit legislative interns
privileges of the floor.
Committee Reports
Chairman Amores, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following report,
which was received:
Your Committee on the Judiciary has had under consideration:
H. B. 2001, Restricting public access to military discharge forms recorded in the county
clerks office,
And reports back a committee substitute therefor, with the same title, as follows:
Com. Sub. for H. B. 2001 -- "A Bill to amend article one, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated section three-ll, relating to restricting public access to military discharge forms recorded
in the county clerks office",
With the recommendation that the committee substitute do pass.
Having been reported from committee with no dissenting vote, and in accordance with the
provisions of House Rule 70a, the foregoing bill (Com. Sub. for H. B. 2001) will be placed on the
Consent Calendar.
Bills Introduced
On motions for leave, bills were introduced, read by their titles, and severally referred as
follows:
By Delegate Armstead:
H. B. 2061 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section six, article five-p, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections ten-a and ten-b, all relating to the
'senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program'; clarifying the duties of the commissioner of
health and human resources as executive and administrative head of the bureau of senior services;
requiring the bureau for senior services to administer the program; providing a voluntary check-off
designation of personal income tax forms upon which taxpayers may designate that a certain portion
of any refund be donated to the fund; and requiring transfer of those funds into a special account for
the program"; to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then Government Organization.
By Delegate Azinger:
H. B. 2062 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section twelve, article twenty-one, chapter eleven
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing
income deduction for tax purposes for gifts to West Virginia charities"; to the Committee on
Finance.
By Delegate Beach:
H. B. 2063 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section nine, article fifteen, chapter eleven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to exempting
services of licensed certified commercial pilots and licensed certified aircraft mechanics from
consumers sales and service tax and use tax"; to the Committee on Finance.
By Delegate Browning:
H. B. 2064 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section twenty-five, article seven-a, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating
to state teachers retirement system; eligibility for retirement allowance by allowing eligibility for
retirement, with full pension rights, when a member's age plus years of contributing service equals
or exceeds eighty"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegates Butcher, Caputo and Kuhn:
H. B. 2065 - "A Bill to amend article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated section twelve-f, relating to providing an exemption from gross income for certain
members of volunteer fire departments, for state personal income tax purposes"; to the Committee
on Finance.
By Delegates Butcher, Kominar and Coleman:
H. B. 2066 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section one hundred seven, article six, chapter
forty-six-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating
to the prohibition of disclaimers of certain warranties and remedies with respect to certain consumer
transactions; providing for certain exceptions with respect to the sale of used motor vehicles by
licensed used and new motor vehicle dealers"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Delegate Caputo:
H. B. 2067 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section seven, article four, chapter seventeen-c
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
law-enforcement officers investigating motor vehicle accidents to include in the written report the
estimated weights of commercial motor vehicles involved in accidents"; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
By Delegates Caputo, Coleman and Butcher:
H. B. 2068 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crediting
deceased teachers' surviving spouses with accumulated sick leave for purposes of extending
insurance coverage; and, providing that if the spouse or other dependents are not covered by public
employees' insurance, the spouse or other dependents receive the monetary value of the accumulated
sick leave"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegates Caputo and Kuhn:
H. B. 2069 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section ten, article six, chapter twenty-nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the civil service commission; and requiring the state personnel board to consider public employees' levels
of seniority as a factor when awarding benefits or withdrawing benefits under the classified
services"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegates Coleman, Caputo, Yeager and Butcher:
H. B. 2070 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section nine, article three, chapter eleven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to removing tax
exemption status for nonprofit hospitals that generate more than one million dollars annually in
profit and dedicating the income generated thereby to the expense fund of the West Virginia public
employees insurance act"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegate Evans:
H. B. 2071 - "A Bill to amend article three, chapter twenty-two-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated section four-a, relating to water use generally; defining the term reasonable use; providing
for the proposal of legislative rules regarding reasonable use; and providing that the
environmental quality board implement a procedure to record and monitor water use by volume and
by user"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegates Fleischauer, Beach, Hrutkay, Leach and Perdue:
H. B. 2072 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section eight, article nine-a, chapter sixteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to prohibiting
a retailer from displaying cigarettes or other tobacco products in a manner that allows a purchaser
direct access to the products; penalties; and exceptions"; to the Committee on Health and Human
Resources then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Fleischauer, Manuel and Coleman:
H. B. 2073 - "A Bill to amend and reenact sections two and nineteen, article three-a, chapter
twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all
relating to providing coverage for municipal firefighters under the occupational safety and health
act"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.
By Delegate Frederick:
H. B. 2074 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section four, article twenty-four, chapter eleven
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to reducing
the corporation net income tax"; to the Committee on Finance.
By Delegates Hatfield and Susman:
H. B. 2075 - "A Bill to amend chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article
twenty-five-f, relating to establishing a managed care policy board to oversee and monitor the
development, implementation, and regulation of managed care plans licensed by the state;
composition of board; directing the board to review and comment on all matters of planning, policy,
development, program design and evaluation involving managed care plans in the state; financing
operations of managed care policy board by a one half of one percent assessment against premiums
paid for coverage; requiring board to recommend additions, deletions and revisions to the standards
used to license managed care plans; requiring the board to recommend strategies and new initiatives
for existing state-sponsored health information, ombudsmen and external quality review programs;
requiring the board to conduct managed care policy studies; requiring the board to meet at least four
times every year and to elect officers, etc.; and, requiring the board to prepare and send to the governor and the Legislature an annual report"; to the Committee on Government Organization then
Finance.
By Delegates Hrutkay, Manuel, Pino, Spencer and Faircloth:
H. B. 2076 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section three, article one, chapter twenty-two-b
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
general powers and duties of the environmental boards; and authorizing the environmental boards
to hire in-house counsel"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr Speaker, Mr. Kiss:
H. B. 2077 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section one-b, article two, chapter twenty-seven
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
removing the requirement that the Joint Committee on Government and Finance be given reports on
the Colin Anderson closure and relocation of patients"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Delegate Mahan:
H. B. 2078 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section fourteen, article one, chapter twenty-two
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
deposits from various sources, that are authorized but not mandatory under current law, be made in
the stream restoration fund"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegate Mahan (By Request):
H. B. 2079 - "A Bill to amend article twenty-seven, chapter eleven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated section thirty-seven, relating to eliminating the health care provider tax on nonprofit
behavioral health care centers"; to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.
By Delegate Manchin:
H. B. 2080 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section two, article four, chapter nine of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section eleven, article five of said chapter, all relating to providing for the payment of prescription
drug services for senior citizens unable to pay the full cost of prescription drug services"; to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.
By Delegate Mezzatesta:
H. B. 2081 - "A Bill to amend article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated section sixteen-a, relating to personal income taxation; and providing a one-time personal
income tax credit for certain state residents who obtain a general education diploma"; to the
Committee on Finance.
By Delegates Mezzatesta and Williams:
H. B. 2082 - "A Bill to amend and reenact sections two and five, article one-b, chapter
eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all
relating to education; higher education; the higher education policy commission; commission
membership; the chancellor for higher education; commission staff; and compensation"; to the
Committee on Education then Finance.
By Delegates Mezzatesta, Stemple and Williams:
H. B. 2083 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section thirteen, article five, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of said code, all relating to county boards of education generally and expanding job sharing arrangements to include employees who are not
professional employees"; to the Committee on Education then Finance.
By Delegates Overington, Webb and Azinger:
H. B. 2084 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section four, article twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-
nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
limiting the number of authorized video lottery games to two thousand at each race track"; to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegate Stalnaker:
H. B. 2085 - "A Bill to amend article two-a, chapter seventeen-d of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
designated section ten, relating to providing for seizure of motor vehicle and license plates upon
arrest for third offense of failure to maintain proper security upon motor vehicle; return of motor
vehicle to rightful owner; providing for forfeiture of motor vehicle and subsequent disposition upon
conviction after appeal, if any; disposition of proceeds; cooperation of prosecuting attorneys; and
arrest procedures"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Delegate Webster:
H. B. 2086 - "A Bill to amend and reenact section thirty-seven, article two, chapter fifteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing
certain former state police to resubscribe to the retirement system"; to the Committee on Pensions
and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegates Amores and Faircloth:
H. B. 2087 - "A Bill to amend article fifteen, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto two new sections, designated
sections twenty-six and twenty-seven, all relating to requiring cooperation among state agencies in
verifying eligibility for public housing programs"; to the Committee on Government Organization.
By Delegates Amores and Faircloth:
H. B. 2088 - "A Bill to amend article four, chapter sixty-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
four hundred eleven, relating to prohibiting the manufacture, distribution, dispensation or possession
of a controlled substance, marijuana or counterfeit substance within one thousand feet of a park or
housing project; providing criminal penalties; providing that a conviction under this section may not
merge with a conviction under any other section; providing that a map of a park or housing area
produced by any municipal agency and certified as a true copy by the custodian shall be prima facie
evidence of the boundaries of the park or housing project; authorizing regulations requiring the
posting of signs designating the areas within one thousand feet of parks and housing projects; and
providing affirmative defenses to a violation of this section"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Miscellaneous Business
Delegate Talbott asked and obtained unanimous consent that his remarks he made on
yesterday regarding his grandfather, W. T. Talbott, who served three terms in the Legislature
beginning in 1897, be printed in the Appendix to the Journal.
At 11:31 a.m., on motion of Delegate Staton, the House of Delegates adjourned until 11:00
a.m., Friday, January 10, 2003.