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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

FOURTEENTH DAY

[Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, in the Chair]



The House of Delegates met at 11:00 a.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 Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of Monday, January 25, 2010, being the first order of business, when the further reading thereof was dispensed with and the same approved.
Committee Reports

Chairman Perdue, from the Committee on Health and Human Resources, submitted the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on Health and Human Resources has had under consideration:
H. B. 4099, Health and Human Resources, grade "A" pasteurized milk,

And,
H. B. 4102, Health and Human Resources, nurse aide abuse registry,
And reports the same back with the recommendation that they each do pass, but that they first be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
In accordance with the former direction of the Speaker, the bills (H. B. 4099 and H. B. 4102) were each referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Chairman Perdue, from the Committee on Health and Human Resources, submitted the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on Health and Human Resources has had under consideration:
H. B. 4153, Creating an Office for Oral Health under the Bureau for Public Health,
And reports the same back, with amendment, with the recommendation that it do pass, as amended, but that it first be referred to the Committee on Government Organization.
At the request of Delegate Boggs, and by unanimous consent, reference of the bill (H. B. 4153) to the committee on Government Organization was dispensed with.
In the absence of objection, the bill was then referred to the Committee on Finance.
Resolutions Introduced

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, and Delegate Armstead [By Request of the Executive] offered the following resolution, which was read by its title and referred to the Committee on Rules:
H. C. R. 13 - "Expressing the will of the Legislature to oppose the adoption of a national cap and trade program for carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions that is unduly burdensome to the State of West Virginia and to support measures that encourage investments in technology to address carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, and requesting that West Virginia's Congressional Delegation resist and oppose efforts to adopt a national cap and trade program that is detrimental to our State."
Whereas, The adoption of a national cap and trade program for carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions would have serious financial and economic implications for the State of West Virginia; and
Whereas, House Resolution 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, hereinafter referred to as the Act, is pending approval in Congress; and
Whereas, The Act calls for the establishment of a national cap and trade program that, if effected, would reduce West Virginia's gross domestic product by an estimated $750 million by 2020 and by an estimated $1.75 billion by 2030; and
Whereas, West Virginia would lose up to 10,000 jobs by 2020 and up to 22,000 jobs by 2030 if the proposed cap and trade program is enacted; and
Whereas, The industries that would be most affected by the proposed cap and trade program include mining, retail trade and health care; and
Whereas, West Virginia is investing heavily in technology designed to limit carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, including a $100 million investment by American Electric Power in carbon sequestration and capture technology at its Mountaineer Plant in Mason County, a state-of- the-art facility that is the first of its kind in the world; and
Whereas, Globally, more coal is being used than ever, and demand is projected to rise to even greater levels as more coal-fired power plants are built in other countries; and
Whereas, Coal will continue to be a primary energy source to meet these additional demands and therefore the United States should lead the way in advancing cleaner coal technology; and
Whereas, Additional investments are needed to address carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the current energy supply; and
Whereas, The Legislature, with the leadership and support of the Governor, enacted laws to reduce, within reasonable limits, carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions in this state by adopting an alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard and a regulatory framework for carbon capture and sequestration projects; and
Whereas, For the sake of those individuals and families who depend upon the industries that would be affected by a national cap and trade program, the House of Delegates, the Senate, the Governor and West Virginia's Congressional Delegation must work together to ensure that any proposal to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions includes reasonable provisions intended to safeguard the security of this nation and West Virginia; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature of West Virginia is opposed to the adoption of a national cap and trade program for carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions if it creates unnecessary volatility in the energy market, fails to address the energy and security needs of this country, threatens the jobs of hardworking men and women, raises energy costs to an unacceptable amount, fails to provide for additional investments in technology or is otherwise unduly burdensome to the State of West Virginia; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Legislature of West Virginia supports measures that encourage investments in technology to address carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Legislature of West Virginia requests that West Virginia's Congressional Delegation resist and oppose efforts to adopt a national cap and trade program that is detrimental to our State; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a certified copy of this resolution to United States Senators Robert C. Byrd and John D. Rockefeller IV and Representatives Nick J. Rahall, Alan B. Mollohan and Shelley M. Capito.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, offered the following resolution, which was read it title, as follows:
H. R. 6 - "Authorizing the Committee on Rules to arrange a Special Calendar and providing for making public the vote on certain questions in connection with the preparation thereof."
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That beginning on Thursday, February 11, 2010, and for the remainder of this regular session of the Legislature, the Committee on Rules is hereby authorized to arrange a Special Calendar as provided by House Rule 70. Daily after the eighth order of business shall have been passed, the Special Calendar shall be called, and until this calendar is disposed of each day, no item of business on the regular House Calendar shall be considered or take precedence over any item of business on the Special Calendar, except by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting.
No bill or resolution shall be placed upon the Special Calendar except by the Committee on Rules. In making up the Calendar, the Committee on Rules may hear any Delegate or other person in behalf of any resolution or bill he may desire placed upon such calendar and the committee shall give due consideration to the merits of bills and resolutions pending in the House of Delegates, and take cognizance of measures which affect the public interest generally; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the committee shall cause to be kept a record of all roll call votes on all questions pertaining to preparation of the Special Calendar and removing the same therefrom. This record of votes shall show those voting in the affirmative or those voting in the negative, whichever shall be the smaller number, and those absent and not voting. These vote records shall be prepared and following the adjournment of each meeting made available to House members and to the public.
At the request of Delegate Boggs, and by unanimous consent, reference of the resolution (H. R. 6) to a committee was dispensed with, and it was taken up for immediate consideration and adopted.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, offered the following resolution, which was read by its title as follows:
H. R. 7 - "Authorizing printing and distribution of Acts of the Legislature and Journals of the House of Delegates."
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That under authority of section thirteen, article one, chapter four of the Code of West Virginia, the Clerk of the House of Delegates is hereby authorized to have printed not to exceed 200 copies of the Acts of the 2010 regular session of the Legislature, bound in buckram, and to include therein the Acts of any extraordinary session which may not have been printed.
The Clerk of the House shall provide copies of said Acts for distribution as provided by section six, article eight, chapter fifty-one of the code insofar as such distribution is practicable.
The Clerk of the House of Delegates is also authorized to publish not to exceed 150 copies of the Journal of the House of Delegates for the second regular session of the 79th Legislature and to include therein the unpublished Journals of any extraordinary sessions. In addition, there shall be printed twelve official copies of any Journal published, properly bound and designated. A copy of the Journal and five copies of said Acts shall be furnished to each member of the Legislature, upon request of each such member. The Clerk shall retain sufficient copies of the buckram bound Acts to supply legislative offices and the remaining copies shall be retained by the Clerk, for sale by his department.
For the work required in indexing, printing and distributing said Acts and in the publication of said Journal of the House of Delegates and for completing other work of the session, the Speaker is hereby authorized to appoint such persons as he may deem necessary to perform technical, clerical, stenographic, custodial and other services required by the House of Delegates.
The Speaker shall certify a list of persons entitled to compensation under authority of this resolution to the Clerk of the House of Delegates, and the Clerk shall draw his requisition in favor of such persons at per diems or at monthly salaries, which shall be paid from the Per Diem of Officers and Employees Fund or the Contingent Fund of the House of Delegates.
At the request of Delegate Boggs, and by unanimous consent, reference of the resolution (H. R. 7) to a committee was dispensed with, and it was taken up for immediate consideration and adopted.
Bills Introduced

On motions for leave, bills were introduced, read by their titles, and severally referred as follows:
By Delegate Morgan:

H. B. 4173 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §61-3-30 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to injury or destruction of property; increasing the penalty for a misdemeanor offense; and lowering the threshold for a felony offense"; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Delegates Martin, Klempa, Barker, Cann, Ferro, Guthrie, Kominar, Shook, Stephens, Swartzmiller and J. Miller:

H. B. 4174 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §31-15D-1, §31-15D-2, §31-15D-3, §31-15D-4, §31-15D-5, §31- 15D-6, §31-15D-7, §31-15D-8, §31-15D-9 and §31-15D-10, all relating to establishment of the West Virginia Transportation Finance Commission; creating a governing board of the commission; setting forth appointment, terms, qualifications, compensation and expenses of board members; setting forth the powers and duties of the commission; creating the West Virginia Transportation Finance Commission Fund; setting forth requirements for deposits, contributions, appropriations, capitalization, disbursements, subaccounts, loans and other financial assistance from the fund; setting forth requirements for applications for loans and other financial assistance, approval of qualified projects, finance agreements, payments and repayments of loans and withholding of defaulted payments from funds allotted or payable to a defaulting government unit; setting forth the rights of qualified borrowers from the fund; requiring annual reports to the Governor, the Legislature and appropriate federal agencies; requiring the commission to perform annual audits; requiring the Department of Transportation to assist the board; and making legislative findings and defining terms"; to the Committee on Government Organization then Finance.
By Delegates Miley, Wooton, Barker, Moore, Shook, Ferro, Ellem and Schoen:

H. B. 4175 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §15-12-2 and §15-12-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §62-12-3 of said code, all relating to amending the community notification and disclosure provisions of the Sex Offender Registration Act; development of a risk assessment scale; establishment of end-of-confinement review committees; determining risk of reoffending; defining risk levels; community notification for various risk levels; timing of notification; length of community notification; communicating the risk level determination; other information communicated to law enforcement; notice of an offender's release; reassessment of the risk level determination; administrative review of risk level assessment; and offender request for reassessment of risk level"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegates Perdue, Border, Hatfield, Staggers, Moore, Moye and Rodighiero:

H. B. 4176 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §16-1A-1, §16-1A-2, §16-1A-3 and §16-1A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, and to amend said code by adding thereto five new sections, designated §16-1A-6, §16-1A-7, §16-1A-8, §16-1A-9 and §16-1A-10, all relating to credentialing of health care practitioners; establishing a single statewide credentialing verification organization; setting forth legislative findings, defining key terms; providing for contracting authority; setting forth an application process; providing for the confidentiality of information; setting forth legislative rulemaking authority; and providing for the establishment of fees and penalties and granting immunity to credentialing entity for reliance upon information provide by the statewide credentialing verification organization"; to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.
By Delegates Stowers, Stephens, Eldridge, Butcher, Phillips, Hall, Barker and White:

H. B. 4177 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §11-13A-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to dedicating five percent of coal severance tax to the county of origin and providing permissible uses for the moneys"; to the Committee on Finance.
By Delegates D. Walker, Stowers, Shaver, Paxton, Cann, Hall and Perry:

H. B. 4178 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5-16-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting the Finance Board of the Public Employees Insurance Agency from increasing costs to retirees"; to the Committee on Senior Citizen Issues then Finance.
By Delegates Mahan, Klempa and Fleischauer:

H. B. 4179 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §21-5E-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to removing the termination date of the Equal Pay Commission"; to the Committee on Government Organization.
By Delegate Spencer:

H. B. 4180 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §7-14D-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the authority of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board to determine the participating employer contribution rate for the Deputy Sheriff Retirement System"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegate Spencer:

H. B. 4181 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §5-10-25 and §18-7A-25 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to qualifying for total and permanent disability retirement in the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Delegate Spencer:

H. B. 4182 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §16-5V-2, §16-5V-6, §16-5V-7, §16-5V-8, §16- 5V-18, §16-5V-19, §16-5V-20 and §16-5V-21 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the emergency medical services retirement system act; modifying definitions; making technical changes; procedures for the transfer of contributions; clarifying actuarial valuation period; clarifying employer contribution amount; specifying procedures for the correction of errors; providing onset date for receipt of disability benefits; and providing for the termination of disability benefits when a retirant refuses to submit to a medical examination or provide certification from a physician of continued disability"; to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, and Delegate Armstead

[By Request of the Executive]:
H. B. 4183 - "A Bill to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-13B-19, relating to requiring a study of the telecommunications tax; authorizing the Tax Commissioner to order the disclosure of certain information; exempting certain information received by the Tax Commissioner from the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act; prohibiting the disclosure of certain information received by the Tax Commissioner; providing for criminal and civil penalties; defining terms; and authorizing the Tax Commissioner to promulgate rules and emergency rules"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
By Delegates Moore, Guthrie, Lawrence, Marshall and Shott:

H. B. 4184 - "A Bill to amend and reenact §30-29-3 and §30-29-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to mandatory anti-racial profiling training for certain law- enforcement officers"; to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
House Calendar

Second Reading

H. B. 4144, Relating to the board of veterinary medicine; on second reading, coming up in regular order, was read a second time and ordered to engrossment and third reading.
At 11:14 a.m., the House of Delegates adjourned until 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 27, 2010.