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Monday, February 9, 2004


     The House of Delegates met at 1:00 p.m., and was called to order by the Speaker.
     Prayer was offered and in lieu of the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem was sung.
     The Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of Friday, February 6, 2004, being the first order of business, when the further reading thereof was dispensed with and the same approved.
Committee Reports

     Chairman Beane, from the Committee on Government Organization, submitted the following report, which was received:
     Your Committee on Government Organization has had under consideration:
     H. B. 4143, Creating a West Virginia center for nursing to establish a statewide strategic plan to address the nursing shortage in the state and to facilitate recruitment and retention of nurses,
     And reports back a committee substitute therefor, by unanimous vote of the Committee, with the same title, as follows:
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4143 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-7-8a; to further amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-7A-7a; and to further amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §30-7B-1, §30-7B-2, §30-7B-3, §30-7B-4, §30-7B-5 and §30-7B-6, all relating to recruiting and retaining nurses; authorizing supplemental nursing licensure and renewal fee; creating a center for nursing; establishing purpose; providing for board of directors; setting forth powers and duties; permitting expense reimbursement; establishing special revenue account; authorizing rules and limiting continuation,"
     With the recommendation that the committee substitute do pass, and with the recommendation that second reference of the bill to the Committee on Finance be dispensed with.
     In the absence of objection, reference of the bill (Com. Sub. for H. B. 4143) to the Committee on Finance was abrogated.
     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. 4143) will be placed on the Consent Calendar.
     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. 2200, Creating the felony offense of destruction of property,
    And reports back a committee substitute therefor, by unanimous vote of the Committee, with the same title, as follows:
    Com. Sub. for H. B. 2200 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §61-3-30 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to creating the felony offense of injury, defacing or destruction of property causing damage, destruction or diminution in value of twenty-five hundred dollars or more; and providing penalties,"
    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. 2200) will be placed on the Consent Calendar.
Resolutions Introduced

    Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Boggs, Brown, Browning, Cann, Caputo, Crosier, DeLong, Ellem, Ennis, Fleischauer, Foster, Fragale, Hamilton, Hartman, Hatfield, Houston, Hrutkay, Kuhn, Leggett, Louisos, Mahan, Manchin, Manuel, Martin, Palumbo, Paxton, Perdue, Perry, Pethtel, Pino, Poling, Proudfoot, Renner, Romine, Shaver, Spencer, Stalnaker, Staton, Stemple, Sumner, Susman, Swartzmiller, Talbott, R. Thompson, R. M. Thompson, Tucker, Varner, Warner, Webb, Webster, Wright, Yeager and Yost offered the following resolution, which was read by its title and referred to the Committee on Rules:
    H. C. R. 24 - "Requesting the State of West Virginia to prohibit the use of Remote Control Locomotive technology in switching operations until such time as a thorough, risk assessment study of Remote Control Locomotive operations can be completed."
    Whereas, Helping secure a safe workplace for all West Virginia workers is a primary goal of the State of West Virginia; and
    Whereas, The State of West Virginia has Class I railroads involved in the transportation of hazardous materials by rail; and
    Whereas, A significant amount of these hazardous chemicals, including radioactive and biohazardous waste, are transported through West Virginia communities and neighborhoods and in close proximity to our homes, schools, places of work, and hospitals; and
    Whereas, Hazardous materials are subject to uncontrolled release if their container is ruptured during a railroad derailment or collision; and
    Whereas, Heretofore all railroads have manned their locomotives with employees who are rigorously certified and fully qualified by standards established by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); and
    Whereas, The Federal Railroad Administration has issued nonbinding guidelines to govern the day-to-day operational practices involving Remote Control Locomotives; and
    Whereas, The railroads have failed to adopt all the provisions of these minimal Federal Railroad Administration guidelines for operational practices; and
    Whereas, Railroads are conducting remote control operations with employees who receive as little as two weeks of training; therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
    
That the State of West Virginia admonishes the Federal Railroad Administration to develop comprehensive safety regulation for the use of remote control locomotives, and that those regulations ensure the highest level of skill and qualifications; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the State of West Virginia consider prohibiting the use of Remote Control Locomotive technology in switching operations until such time as: (1) A thorough risk assessment study of Remote Control Locomotive operations has been made and published by a third party; (2) a Federal Railroad Administration regulation governing Remote Control Locomotive Operations is promulgated; and (3) the railroad companies in West Virginia give proper notice to all city, county, municipal and State Emergency Services/Homeland Security of their operations and specify the locations where those operations will take place; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to provide a copy of this resolution to Mr. Allan Rutter, FRA Administrator.
    Delegates Webster, Manuel and Schoen offered the following resolution, which was read by its title and referred to the Committee on Rules:
    H. C. R. 25 - "Requesting the three branches of state government to cooperate and encourage leaders of the state, county and municipal governments to identify and affirmatively address the racial disparities in the areas of civil rights, health, education, housing, social issues, employment, economic development and criminal and juvenile justice systems in West Virginia in the interest of equality."
    Whereas, House Concurrent Resolution 76, passed by the West Virginia Legislature in 2002, recognizes and outlines a number of employment, social, health, educational, criminal justice and economic problems confronting African Americans and their communities in this state; and
    Whereas, Select Committee B on Minority Issues was created by the Joint Committee on Government and Finance as part of the 2003 legislative interims to consider HCR 76 and to study and make recommendations and offer solutions to address problems identified in HCR 76; and
    Whereas, According to the 2000 Census, African Americans comprise approximately 3.2% of the state's population and more than 5% of the population in seven counties; and
    Whereas, The West Virginia Legislature should be committed to connecting communities, exploring strategies for racial and social equality and taking proactive steps to remedy the effects of past discrimination on African American children, adults and families; and
    Whereas, Prevention of discrimination in civil rights, the justice system, education, health care, economic development, employment, business development, housing, community and family services is preferable to attempting to remedy the consequences of discrimination; and
    Whereas, There is a wide disparity between African American and Caucasian public school students in West Virginia with regard to standardized testing scores, indicating a significant achievement gap which widens with tragic consequences for a number of African American students as they progress in school; and
    Whereas, On the 2003 ACT college entrance examination, which is used by the Promise scholarship program to determine eligibility for college scholarships, African American students' success rate was significantly lower than that of Caucasian students; and
    Whereas, African American children have been over represented in special education programs in schools in Kanawha County, the only area of the state for which statistics were provided to the Committee, and under represented in advanced education programs and programs for performing or gifted students, but the Kanawha County Board of Education has established programs better to identify and include all qualified students, without regard to race, in special programs to enhance performance and to address the academic achievement gap between African American and Caucasian children at early stages of the public education process; and
    Whereas, The percentage of African American teachers and educational professionals in many of the state's public schools is disproportionately lower than the African American student population, to some degree depriving minority students of important African American role models and advocates in educational settings; and
    Whereas, Training assistance and education programs with affirmative outreach to African Americans combine to help prevent racial discrimination; and
    Whereas, African Americans in West Virginia experience a disproportionately higher incidence of health risk and mortality from cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and HIV; African American women tend to be diagnosed with breast cancer at later stages than Caucasian women; and the teen birth rate and the infant mortality rate among African Americans is twice that of Caucasians; and
    Whereas, The percentage of African American children in the care and/or custody of the Bureau of Children and Families in 2003 was more than twice the percentage of African Americans in the general West Virginia population; and
    Whereas, Business ownership among African Americans in Charleston, West Virginia, the only area of the state for which statistics were provided to the Committee, is proportionately less than minority business ownership nationwide; and
    Whereas, The unemployment rate of African Americans recently has been about twice the unemployment rate for Caucasians and significantly higher in some counties with a greater concentration of African American population; and
    Whereas, Statistics provided by the State Equal Employment Opportunity Office indicate that the percentage of minority employees among the full-time state government employees under the control of the Department of Administration is approximately the same as the percentage of African Americans in the state's population as a whole; and
    Whereas, The West Virginia Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights has found continuing reports of racial discrimination in hiring, tension between law enforcement officers and African American citizens, and hate crimes and violence against minorities, including reported incidents of harassment of racial and ethnic minorities in schools; and
   Whereas, The West Virginia Human Rights Commission reports that two-thirds of the hate crimes reported between 1992 and 2000 were racially motivated; and
    Whereas, The West Virginia Legislative Auditor's Performance Evaluation and Research Division (PERD) reports there is a scarcity of minority and female state troopers, especially in upper ranks, with only 16 (2.6%) of 606 troopers being female and only 3 (1.3%) of 606 troopers being African American; that the percentages of female and African American officers in county sheriff's departments are even lower; and that the state's 10 largest cities employ, on average, only 4.6% female officers and 3.9% African American officers, even though most of those cities have significantly greater populations of African Americans; and
    Whereas, The West Virginia State Police have voluntarily sought to determine and monitor their own efforts relating to racial profiling sensitivity during routine traffic stops; and
    Whereas, According to data voluntarily collected and provided by the West Virginia State Police, between October 2002 and March 2003, motor vehicles operated by minority drivers were stopped by state troopers at a rate roughly comparable to the percentage of minorities in the general state population. After being stopped, 63% of minority drivers were ticketed or arrested, compared to 51% of Caucasian drivers, and warnings were issued to 37% of all minority drivers, compared to 49% of Caucasian drivers; and
    Whereas, West Virginia enjoys both a low juvenile crime rate and one of the nation's lowest juvenile detention rates, yet the percentage of minority youth in the West Virginia juvenile justice system exceeds the national rates of minority youths in the juvenile justice system; and
    Whereas, In West Virginia, African Americans make up only 3.2% of the general population, but account for one third (1/3) of the adult prison population, one fifth (1/5) of the juveniles placed in detention and admitted to correctional facilities, and over one half (½) of the juveniles transferred to adult jurisdiction for major felonies; and
    Whereas, There is a great and immediate need for comprehensive data collection and analysis on a multi-year basis and for continuing examination and review of solutions with regard to racial disparities in the areas of civil rights, health, education, housing, social issues, employment, economic development and criminal and juvenile justice systems; therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
    That the three branches of state government should cooperate and encourage leaders of the state to identify and affirmatively address the racial disparities in the areas of civil rights, health, education, housing, social issues, employment, economic development and criminal and juvenile justice systems; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That county boards of education should be encouraged to recruit aggressively minority teachers and other professionals to work in the public school system; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Department of Education and county boards of education be given greater flexibility to employ teachers who are trained or experienced in working with African American children and parents; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature should provide funding for professional development to improve teachers' effectiveness with African American students and parents; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature should provide more funding for academic enrichment programs in locations where there are concentrations of poor and minority students, including more early pre-school programs and after-school programs; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Department of Health and Human Resources should increase access to education in welfare-to-work programs and evaluate placement and referral policies; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Governor continue the mission of the Governor's Minority Students' Strategies Council to collect and analyze information from other states and organizations regarding effective policies and strategies for closing the academic achievement gap between Caucasian and minority students and to prepare an annual report for the Governor, the State Board of Education, the Higher Education Policy Commission, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Educational Accountability and the public, outlining issues, recommendations, and strategies to close the academic achievement gap; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Department of Education be required to review its Policy No. 2421, 126 CSR 18, (1996), governing peer harassment and violence against minority students, to study the extent to which the Policy has been implemented in public schools throughout the state and to take necessary steps to insure complete implementation of the Policy in all public schools as soon as reasonably possible; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Department of Education and county boards of education themselves, with the input of the local communities, should provide hate crime prevention and response programs in schools and anti-bias training and education for students and teachers, including mechanisms to insure harassment is reported before problems escalate and that there are appropriate responses to incidents of harassment when they do occur; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature should direct resources to support community-level partnership and innovation to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That all governmental agencies, institutions and corporate bodies at state and local levels should be encouraged to regularly collect, analyze and report to the Department of Administration data relating to racial disparities among children, adults and families in West Virginia; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Department of Administration should review and, if necessary, establish or reform state procurement policies and practices to assure that they meet federal and state requirements and that they effectively encourage meaningful participation of African Americans and other minorities in the process of competing for and awarding of state contracts for goods and services; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the State should continue to support and expand small business incubator programs like the one in place at Bluefield State College to encourage new and minority small business development; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the State should undertake initiatives to encourage African American business ownership similar to those efforts used to encourage greater rates of business ownership among women; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the State should assist community and economic development corporations to provide effective technical and business advisory services to minority-owned and - operated enterprises; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Governor and the Legislature should encourage industry, banks and other private businesses to hire African Americans and to encourage businesses to be more aggressive in establishing diversity-conscious practices as employers and for their operations; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the State should encourage traditional and nontraditional lending institutions to be more creative and favorable to lending in minority communities and to minority persons, especially for business enterprises; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature should encourage small business start-up and expansion and provide funding to assist African American and other minority vendors to meet bid bonding requirements; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That workforce investment boards should be accountable for educating poor and minority persons for jobs better than low-paying service jobs; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the West Virginia State Police and local law enforcement officers should be trained and required to collect data regarding stops of motor vehicle operators which affect all persons' precious right of privacy in their motor vehicles, which data should include information on the stops and arrests of African Americans; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the West Virginia State Police and local law enforcement agencies be required to provide diversity training for officers, including training to recognize and report hate crimes; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the West Virginia State Police be required to develop, in writing, goals for increasing the number of women and African American for all grades of officers and staff and to report annually as to its efforts and success in meeting those goals, and be encouraged to employ African American and other minority persons as recruiting officers; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature, the Governor and the Supreme Court should increase support for criminal justice research and for the development, maintenance and continued assessment of data related to the effectiveness of the court system in the areas of criminal sentencing, juvenile adjudication, and community-based corrections; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature should protect and maintain the confidentiality of juvenile records pending a study on the adverse impact of the release of such records on the employment and higher education opportunities of minority youth; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals should continue to study issues related to minority youth, including the highly disproportionate number of minority youth transferred from juvenile to adult jurisdiction in the criminal justice system, through its Task Force to Study Perceived Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System and to study and develop similar research projects with data collection in regard to adult offenders; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That state agencies should study racial disparities in a number of areas to reduce gaps in educational achievement and in the over representation of African Americans in adult prisons and juvenile facilities and encourage all participants in the educational and justice systems, including teachers, principals, and other educational personnel, probation officers, juvenile referees, judges, justices, prosecutors, attorneys, law enforcement officers, detention and correctional officers, caseworkers, social service providers, agency staff, and members of the community, to join in the study and development of policies and programs to address racial disparities; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature, the Governor and the Supreme Court should take immediate steps to develop, implement and fund a collaborative and comprehensive community- based plan to study and correct over representation of minority children and adults in the state's criminal and juvenile justice systems, with particular attention to prevention of juvenile crime through mentoring, diversion, recidivism-reduction strategies, in-school and after-school programs, entrepreneurial education, job training and placement alternatives, community-based sentencing for non-violent offenders, and transition and reentry programs for offenders upon completion of their sentences; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That state agencies and the Legislature should be encouraged to propose specific legislative proposals where appropriate to facilitate these recommendations; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Legislature should continue to study racial disparity issues in 2004; and, be it
    Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor of West Virginia, the Justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the President of the West Virginia Senate and the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates.
    On motion for leave, a Joint Resolution was introduced, read by its title and referred as follows:
    By Delegate Carmichael:
    
H. J. R. 104 - "Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending article VI 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"; to the Committee on Constitutional Revision then Finance.
Bills Introduced

    On motions for leave, bills were introduced, read by their titles, and severally referred as follows:
    By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss:
    
H. B. 4352 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §19-25-5 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to limitations on private landowner liability for public recreation activities and including certain commercial hunting, fishing and wildlife watching activities within the definition of recreational purposes for which landowner liability is limited"; to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the Judiciary.
    By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss (By Request):
    
H. B. 4353 - "
A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-9-4, relating to making it a crime to permit a child to ride a horse at a public for-profit riding facility without wearing a riding helmet"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Susman:
     
H. B. 4354 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §7-1-3oo, relating to authorizing county commissions to adopt ordinances to reduce false alarms"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.
     By Delegate Beane:
     
H. B. 4355 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §12-4-14 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring state agencies administering funds or grants to notify a grantee of certain audit reporting requirements; and grantees not complying with reporting requirements are barred from subsequently receiving funds or grants"; to the Committee on Government Organization.
     By Delegates Campbell and Canterbury:
     
H. B. 4356 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §7-18-14 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing counties and municipalities to expend proceeds from the hotel occupancy tax for the construction, operation or maintenance of recreation facilities (including land acquisition) for recreation facilities owned by nonprofit corporations which qualify for the receipt of county and municipal funds under current law"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.
     By Delegates Doyle, Tabb, Michael, Manuel, Stalnaker, Campbell and Duke:
     
H. B. 4357 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §8-13-5b; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-10-11b, all relating to authorizing municipalities to impose an alternative one percent municipal sales and service tax on the privilege of selling tangible personal property or custom software and for the privilege of furnishing certain select services in the municipality in lieu of imposing a business and occupation tax"; to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.
     By Delegates Hamilton, Hrutkay, Wright, Talbott, Romine, Sobonya and Carmichael:
     
H. B. 4358 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §61-7-4 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to concealed weapons generally; restricting public access to concealed weapons permit records"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Leach, Michael, Perdue and Susman:
     
H. B. 4359 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §31-18D-5, §31-18D-6, §31-18D-7 and §31-18D-9 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to reducing the number of directors of the affordable housing trust fund from eleven to nine members; deleting certain members appointed from nonprofit organizations and the executive director of a public housing authority from board membership; adding members appointed to the board from the real estate and manufactured housing sectors; reducing the quorum and majority vote requirements; providing for the appointment of an advisory board; providing start-up funds for initial operational expenses of local government programs; and, eliminating certain restrictions on application procedures"; to the Committee on Government Organization.
     By Delegates Long, Foster, Hall, Frederick, Susman, Leach and Houston:
     
H. B. 4360 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §11-15-9 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to exempting sales of drugs to licensed physicians which are to be consumed in the performance of a professional service from the consumers sales and service tax"; to the Committee on Finance.
     By Delegate Perdue (By Request):
     
H. B. 4361 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-15g, relating to requiring the county school boards to train all school personnel in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and blood precaution"; to the Committee on Education.
     By Delegates Perdue, Hatfield and Border:
     
H. B. 4362 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §60A-2-204 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to banning the sale of ephedra by listing it under schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act per the recommendation of the Board of Pharmacy"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Perry, Stemple, Shaver, Crosier, Pino, Houston and Beach:
     
H. B. 4363 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §17A-3-23 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring registration plates issued to city and municipal police vehicles to include the word 'police' or other special designation to indicate the vehicle's status as a law-enforcement vehicle"; to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Stemple, Shaver and Perry:
     
H. B. 4364 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §61-2-10b of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to including division of forestry employees in the assault and battery statute with similar state personnel"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Tabb, Doyle, Manuel, Foster, Beach, Stemple and Fleischauer:
     
H. B. 4365 - "A Bill to amend and reenact 17C-5B-1 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring a preliminary breath analysis for the purpose of determining the blood alcohol content of a surviving driver"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates R. Thompson and Perdue (By Request):
     
H. B. 4366 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5-10-25 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to public employees retirement system; and preventing reduction of disability pensions at age sixty-five"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
     By Delegates Amores, Brown, Webster, Manchin, Ellem, Faircloth and Schadler:
     
H. B. 4367 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-29-11, relating to prohibiting law-enforcement surveillance of individuals and groups of individuals participating in constitutionally protected activities without a particularized suspicion of criminal activity unrelated to the protected activity"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Boggs, Renner and Stemple:
     
H. B. 4368 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §18B-1A-6 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to adding Glenville state college to those colleges which may meet the need for graduate education in its region"; to the Committee on Education.
     By Delegates Boggs, Trump and Talbott:
     
H. B. 4369 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §50-1-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to equalizing magistrate salaries for all magistrates"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
     By Delegates Kuhn and Long:
     
H. B. 4370 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §29-3B-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring government employees hired on or after the first day of July, two thousand four, performing electrical work on government property to be licensed"; to the Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Michael, Craig, Leach, Morgan and Perdue:
     
H. B. 4371 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §16-29F-1 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to extending the pilot program for the uninsured and underinsured from two thousand four to two thousand six"; to the Committee on Banking and Insurance then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Kuhn, Browning, Butcher, Iaquinta, Paxton, Poling and Wakim:
     
H. B. 4372 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §9A-5-1, §9A-5-2, §9A-5-3, §9A-5-4, §9A-5-5, all relating to voluntary veterans transportation check-off program; legislative intent; check-off designation; special fund; use of funds; report; and effective date"; to the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security then Finance.
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Iaquinta, Browning, Foster, Beane, Crosier and Varner:

     
H. B. 4373 - "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §17C-3-10, relating to making it a crime to alter a traffic-control device with an infrared or electronic device; and providing for penalties"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Kuhn, Butcher and Martin:
     
H. B. 4374 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §21-9-4, §21-9-11 and §21-9-12 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to manufacture housing construction and safety standards; removing out-dated language; providing for inspections and the payment of the costs of inspection; and authorizing the issuance of cease and desist orders and establishing penalties for violations of the article"; to the Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.
     By Delegates Schadler, Yeager, Trump, Boggs, Evans and Warner:
     
H. B. 4375 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §17A-3-14 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to issuing a special license plate honoring West Virginia farmers"; to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.
Consent Calendar

Third Reading

     The following bills on third reading, coming up in regular order, were each read a third time:
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 3083, Providing that magistrate court may be temporarily held in various locations throughout the county,
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4259, Revising the composition, powers and duties of the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Families,
     H. B. 4287, Eliminating the provision of law limiting seniority rights for classified employees when funding the annual salary increment results in employee layoffs,
     And,
     H. B. 4304, Continuing the children's health insurance board.
     On the passage of the bills, the yeas and nays were taken (Roll No. 88), and there were--yeas 97, nays none, absent and not voting 3, with the absent and not voting being as follows:
     Absent And Not Voting: Faircloth, Ferrell and Hatfield.
     So, a majority of the members present and voting having voted in the affirmative, the Speaker declared the bills (Com. Sub. for H. B. 3083, Com. Sub. for H. B. 4259, H. B. 4287 and H. B. 4304) passed.
     Delegate Staton moved that Com. Sub. for H. B. 4259 take effect from its passage.
     On this question, the yeas and nays were taken (Roll No. 93), and there were--yeas 98, nays none, absent and not voting 2, with the absent and not voting being as follows:
     Absent And Not Voting: Ferrell and Hatfield.
     So, two thirds of the members elected to the House of Delegates having voted in the affirmative, the Speaker declared that the bill (Com. Sub. for H. B. 4259) takes effect from its passage.
     Delegate Staton moved that H. B. 4287 take effect July 1, 2004.
     On this question, the yeas and nays were taken (Roll No. 94), and there were--yeas 98, nays none, absent and not voting 2, with the absent and not voting being as follows:
     Absent And Not Voting: Ferrell and Hatfield.
     So, two thirds of the members elected to the House of Delegates having voted in the affirmative, the Speaker declared the bill (H. B. 4287) takes effect July 1, 2004.
     Ordered, That the Clerk of the House communicate to the Senate the action of the House of Delegates on the Consent Calendar bills and request concurrence therein.
Second Reading

     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4096, Increasing the veterinary fee for each cat and dog vaccinated for rabies; on second reading, coming up in regular order, was read a second time and ordered to engrossment and third reading.
First Reading

     The following bills on first reading, coming up in regular order, were each read a first time and ordered to second reading:
     H. B. 3150, Barring state officers, agencies or entities from requiring that surety, payment, performance or bid bonds be obtained from any particular company,
     H. B. 4011, Bringing the West Virginia personal income tax act into conformity with the federal income tax,
     H. B. 4012, Bringing the West Virginia corporation net income tax act into conformity with federal income tax,
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4086, Including Gulf War and Afghanistan conflict veterans on the veterans' council,
     H. B. 4348, Expiring funds to the treasurer's office - banking services from the treasurer's office - unclaimed property trust fund,
     H. B. 4349, Relating generally to consumers sales and service tax,
     H. B. 4350, Continuing the West Virginia state police,
     And,
     H. B. 4351, Continuing the waste tire remediation program.
House Calendar

First Reading

     The following bills on first reading, coming up in regular order, were each read a first time and ordered to second reading:
     H. B. 4134, Substituting the governor's chief technology officer as a member of the employee suggestion award program,
     And,
     Com. Sub. for H. B. 4269, Establishing the offense of setting fires in a public right of way as arson in the fifth degree.
Leaves of Absence

 At the request of Delegate Staton, and by unanimous consent, leaves of absence for the day were granted Delegates Ferrell and Hatfield.
     At 1:47 p.m., on motion of Delegate Staton, the House of Delegates adjourned until 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2004.