hdj2004-01-26-13

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Monday, January 26, 2004

     The House of Delegates met at 1:00 p.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 Friday, January 23, 2004, being the first order of business, when the further reading thereof was dispensed with and the same approved.
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. 4055, Creating a compact between states for the protection and return of juvenile offenders, runaways and other juveniles,
     And,
     H. B. 4108, Authorizing sun screening devices that exceed statutory limits to be used in law-enforcement K-9 and other emergency vehicles that haul animals,
     And reports the same back, by unanimous vote of the Committee, with the recommendation that they each do pass.
     Having been reported from committee with no dissenting vote, and in accordance with the provisions of House Rule 70a, the foregoing bills (H. B. 4055 and H. B. 4108) will be placed on the Consent Calendar.
Messages from the Executive
     Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the annual report of the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission's Medical Fee Schedule, in accordance with section three, article four, chapter twenty-three of the code; which was filed in the Clerk's Office.
     Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the annual report of the West Virginia Board of Medicine, in accordance with section twelve, article one, chapter thirty of the code; which was filed in the Clerk's Office.
     Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the annual report of the West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, in accordance with the provisions of the code; which was filed in the Clerk's Office.
     Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the annual report of the West Virginia Motorcycle Safety Program, in accordance with section eight, article one-d, chapter seventeen-b of the code; which was filed in the Clerk's Office.
     Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, presented the annual report of the James "Tiger" Morton Catastrophic Illness Commission, in accordance with section two, article five-q, 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 and requested the concurrence of the House of Delegates in the passage of
     S. B. 10 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §17-2C-6 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to extending the time period for the study of the state system of orphan roads and bridges"; which was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.
     A message from the Senate, by
     The Clerk of the Senate, announced the adoption by the Senate and requested the concurrence of the House of Delegates in the adoption of the following concurrent resolution, which was read by its title and referred to the Committee on Rules:
     S. C. R. 12 - "Designating the month of December, 2004, as Legislators Back to School Month."
     Whereas, West Virginia was created as a representative democracy in which all governmental power is inherent in the people who exercise that power through the legislative, executive and judicial branches; and
     Whereas, In recent years, citizen interest in government and knowledge of the political system has declined in part due to a weakening belief in, and a lack of understanding of, the virtues and knowledge needed for a successful republican form of government; and
     Whereas, Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, stated, "There is but one method of rendering a republican form of government durable and that is by disseminating the seeds of virtue and knowledge through every part of the state by means of proper places and modes of education and this can be done effectively only by the aid of the legislature"; and
     Whereas, The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has passed a resolution which states that the operation of the state legislatures and the roles of individual legislators are often little understood by citizens and that public understanding of the institutions and processes of the government is critical to building public trust and confidence; and
     Whereas, The NCSL resolution also states that state legislatures need to bring about better understanding of the concept of representative democracy and should emphasize the importance of compromise and the difficulty of resolving competing interests in a diverse society; and
     Whereas, Civic education is a vital tool to promote greater understanding of the legislative institution and the role of legislators in representative democracy; and
     Whereas, NCSL urges state legislatures to promote civic education about representative democracy; and
     Whereas, NCSL has established the America's Legislators Back to School program, a national event in which state legislators across the nation visit schools and classrooms to talk about the legislature and to observe activities in the schools; therefore, be it
     Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     That the Legislature hereby designates the month of December, 2004, as America's Legislators Back to School Month; and, be it
     Further Resolved, That the Legislature supports civic education to promote greater understanding of the legislative institution and the role of legislators in a representative democracy; and, be it
     Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
     A message from the Senate, by
     The Clerk of the Senate, announced that the Senate had passed, without amendment, a bill of the House of Delegates as follows:
     H. B. 4111, Relating to education generally.
Petitions
     Delegate Susman presented a resolution adopted by the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, composed of over six hundred business members representing over 20,000 people, asking Governor Bob Wise and the West Virginia Legislature to include a Shady Spring Interchange in the proposed plans to raise bonding for the West Virginia Turnpike; which was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation.
     Delegate Hamilton presented a petition, signed by thirty-three residents of Ten Mile, West Virginia, requesting that the Division of Highways make safety improvements to the newly constructed bridge in their community; which was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation.
     Delegates Hamilton and Poling presented a petition, signed by ninety-eight residents of Upshur and Barbour counties, requesting that the Division of Highways upgrade and pave Route 151 East; which was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation.
     Delegates Hamilton and Poling presented a petition, signed by two hundred thirty-nine residents of the Swamp Run community of Upshur County, petitioning the Division of Highways to widen the road from the end of Mt. Nebo Road to Audra State Park; which was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation.
Bills Introduced
     On motions for leave, bills were introduced, read by their titles, and severally referred as follows:
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Varner, Stemple, Pethtel, Campbell, Kominar and Leach:

     H. B. 4127 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-4D-5, relating to permitting paid and volunteer fire departments to place automated external defibrillators on fire trucks and other fire apparatus and providing that in emergency situations, trained firefighters may use an automated external defibrillator when no licensed emergency personnel are present"; to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Faircloth and Frich:
     H. B. 4128 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §55-7-21, relating to defense of self, others and property; and providing limited immunity from civil liability"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Hamilton, Schoen, Leggett, Duke, Poling, Romine and Crosier:
     H. B. 4129 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §20-2-31 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to hunting and fishing licenses and prohibiting requirement that social security numbers be included on license"; to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Mezzatesta, Stalnaker, Beach, Crosier, Tabb, Williams and Michael:
     H. B. 4130 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18A-5-4 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to condition precedent to required attendance by teachers at meetings or professional development functions held by or at direction of state department of education"; to the Committee on Education then Finance.
     By Delegates Mezzatesta, Cann, Frederick, Stalnaker, Sumner and Walters:
     H. B. 4131 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18B-3D-2, of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the workforce development initiative program; updating terms; and requiring certain reporting to the legislative oversight commission on workforce investment for economic development"; to the Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business then Finance.
     By Delegates Mezzatesta, Cann, Frederick, Stalnaker, Sumner and Walters:
     H. B. 4132 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5B-2D-2, §5B-2D-3, §5B-2D-4, §5B-2D-5, §5B-2D-6 and §5B-2D-7 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the West Virginia guaranteed work force program; updating terms; requiring certain reporting and increasing the maximum amount that may be spent on certain training"; to the Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business then Finance.
     By Delegate Paxton:
     H. B. 4133 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18-2-25 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to directing the West Virginia secondary school activities commission to promulgate rules to provide oversight of secondary school athletic directors"; to the Committee on Education then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Pethtel, Varner, Stemple, Ennis, Schadler and Beane:
     H. B. 4134 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5A-1A-2 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to deleting reference to the secretary of the department of commerce, labor and environmental services as a member of the employee suggestion award program and replacing the reference with the governor's chief technology officer; and increasing membership in the program by one Senator and one Delegate"; to the Committee on Government Organization.
     By Delegates Shelton, Stalnaker, Long and Stemple:
     H. B. 4135 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §24A-2-7, relating to regulation of motor carriers transporting construction materials and equipment; defining certain terms; and, limiting hours of service of drivers"; to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Swartzmiller, Kominar, Boggs, Stemple, Williams, Mezzatesta and Ennis:
     H. B. 4136 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §20-2-28 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing that active military personnel stationed in this state need not obtain a hunting, fishing or trapping permit"; to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance.
     By Delegates Trump, Caruth, G. White, Frich, Sobonya, Anderson and Hamilton:
     H. B. 4137 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §3-1-16 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §3-4A-11 and §3-4A-11a of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §3-5-6a; to amend and reenact §3-5-7, §3-5-13 and §3-5-13a of said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §3-6-2a, all relating to the nonpartisan election of justices of the supreme court of appeals; timing and frequency of election; ballot design and printing; separation from partisan ballot; nonpartisan election of justices; filing announcement of candidacies; withdrawal of announcement of candidacies; refund of paid filing fees; and ballot content and form"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Webster, Mahan, Kominar, Stemple and Michael:
     H. B. 4138 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §61-5-27a of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to impersonation of a public official, employee or tribunal; and providing criminal penalties"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Consent Calendar
Second Reading
     The following bills on second reading, coming up in regular order, were each read a second time and ordered to engrossment and third reading:
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 3096, Authorizing cooperation of campus police and rangers employed by the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority with other law-enforcement agencies,
     H. B. 4020, Protecting personal information maintained by the state from inappropriate disclosure,
     And,
     H. B. 4021, Preventing the disclosure of personal information of state employees and officers, and their dependents.
     H. B. 4068, Allowing the hunting of coyotes by use of amber colored artificial light with certain restrictions; on second reading, coming up in regular order, was read a second time.
     The Clerk announced that, pursuant to House Rule 70a, Delegate Trump had requested H. B. 4068 be removed from the Consent Calendar and be placed upon the House Calendar.
     Unanimous consent having been obtained, the bill was advanced to third reading and the rule was suspended to permit the offering and consideration of an amendment by Delegate Trump to the bill on third reading.
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4081, Requiring county school boards to post the position of county superintendent prior to making an appointment; on second reading, coming up in regular order, was read a second time and ordered to engrossment and third reading.
First Reading
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4037, Providing for safe schools through alternative education programs and providing certain juvenile justice records to public school officials; on first reading, coming up in regular order, was read a first time and ordered to second reading.
Miscellaneous Business
     Delegate Michael asked and obtained unanimous consent that the remarks of Delegate Mezzatesta regarding education be printed in the Appendix to the Journal.
     At 1:31 p.m., on motion of Delegate Staton, the House of Delegates adjourned until 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 27, 2004.