House Resolution 1

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Armstead)

[January 14, 2015]

            “Adopting Rules of the House of Delegates.”

            Resolved by the House of Delegates:

            That the Rules of the House of Delegates in effect at the expiration of the 81st Legislature are hereby adopted and shall govern the proceedings of the regular sessions of the 82nd Legislature and any extraordinary sessions thereof insofar as applicable, subject to amendment as provided by Rule 133, except that Rules 77, 78, 91a and 108a be amended to read as follows:

“Jurisdiction of Committees

            77. In general and without limitation, standing committees shall have functions and jurisdiction of subjects and other matters as follows:

            1. Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources: (a) Agriculture generally, including agricultural production and marketing, animal industry and animal health, adulteration of seeds, commercial feeding stuffs and commercial fertilizer, processed foods, insect pests and pesticides, soil conservation, milk and milk products, meats and meat products, agricultural extension service, etomology and plant quarantine, poultry and poultry products, and human nutrition and home economics; (b) natural resources in general, including game and fish, forest and wildlife areas, parks and recreation, water resources and reclamation.

            2. Committee on Banking and Insurance: (a) Banks and banking, and financial institutions generally; (b) control and regulation of all types of insurance, including organization, qualification and licensing of insurers; and (c) securities and exchanges.

            3. Committee on Education: (a) Education generally; (b) boards of education, and administration and control of schools; (c) textbooks and school curricula; (d) vocational education and rehabilitation; (e) qualifications, employment and tenure of teachers; (f) libraries; and (g) public schools and institutions of higher education.

            4. Committee on Energy: (a) Mining and extraction of coal and other fossil fuels; (b) extraction and distribution of natural gas; (c) energy production employment, safety, local land use and community impacts; and (d) alternative energy development and efficiency measures.

            5. Committee on Finance: (a) Tax and revenue measures increasing or decreasing the revenue or fiscal liability of the State; (b) collection of taxes and other revenue; (c) annual Budget Bills and supplementary appropriation bills; (d) proposals reducing public expenditures; (e) proposals relating to the principal and interest of the public debt; and (f) claims against the State.

            6. Committee on Government Organization: (a) Legislation and proposals dealing with the Executive Department of state government with respect to creation, duties and functions; consolidation and abolition; and transfer, imposition and elimination of functions and duties of departments, commissions, boards, offices and agencies; and (b) measures relating to the Legislative Department, other than apportionment of representation and redistricting for the election of members of the two houses.

            7. Committee on Health and Human Resources: (a) Public health and public welfare generally; (b) mental health; (c) public and private hospitals and similar institutions; (d) prevention and control of communicable and infectious diseases; (e) pure food and drugs; (f) poison and narcotics; (g) correctional and penal institutions; and (h) public assistance and relief.

            8. Committee on Industry and Labor: (a) Employment and establishment of industry; (b) labor standards; (c) labor statistics; (d) mediation and arbitration of labor disputes; (e) wages and hours of labor; (f) child labor; (g) safety and welfare of employees; (h) industry and labor generally; and (i) infrastructure.

            9. Committee on Interstate Cooperation: Constitute the House members of the West Virginia Commission on Interstate Cooperation as provided by Article 1B, Chapter 29 of the Code.

            10. Committee on the Judiciary: (a) Judicial proceedings, civil and criminal generally; (b) state and local courts and their officers; (c) crimes and their punishment; (d) corporations; (e) collection and enforcement of property taxes; (f) forfeited, delinquent, waste and unappropriated lands; (g) real property and estates therein; (h) domestic relations and family law; (i) revision and codification of the statutes of the State; (j) election laws; (k) proposals to amend the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State; (l) legislation relating to constitutional conventions; and (m) other matters of a nature not deemed properly referable to any other standing committee.

            11. Committee on Pensions and Retirement: (a) Continuing study and investigation of retirement benefit plans of the State and political subdivisions thereof; (b) making recommendations with particular attention to financing of the various pension funds and financing of accrued liabilities; (c) considering all aspects of pension planning and operation; and (d) analyzing each item of proposed pension and retirement legislation with particular reference as to cost, actuarial soundness and adherence to sound pension policy.

            12. Committee on Political Subdivisions: (a) Counties, districts and municipalities generally; (b) division of the State into senatorial districts and apportionment of delegate representation in the House; and (c) division of the State into districts for the election of representatives to Congress.

            13. Committee on Roads and Transportation: (a) Highways, public roads, railways, canals and waterways, aeronautics, aircraft and airways; (b) motor vehicle administration and registration; (c) licensing of motor vehicle operators and chauffeurs; (d) traffic regulation and laws of the road; and (e) regulation of motor carriers of passengers and property for hire.

            14. Committee on Rules: (a) Rules, joint rules, order of business and parliamentary rules in general; (b) recesses and final adjournments of the House and the Legislature; (c) payment of money out of the contingent or other fund of the House or creating a charge upon the same; (d) employees of and services to the House, and purchase of furniture, supplies and office equipment; (e) election and qualification of members of the House and state officers, privileges of members and officers of the House, and witnesses attending the House or any committee thereof; (f) punishment of members of the House for disorderly conduct; and punishment of any person not a member for contempt, disrespectful behavior in the presence of the House, obstructing its proceedings, and for any assault, threat or abuse of a member of the House; (g) House printing; (h) House Library, statuary and pictures, acceptance or purchase of works of art for the Capitol, purchase of books and manuscripts for the House, erection of monuments to the memory of individuals; and (i) sale of food and administration and assignment of office space in the House wing of the Capitol; and (j) Resolutions referred to the Committee on Rules pursuant to Rule 110.

            15. Committee on Senior Citizen Issues: Proposal, revision and recodification of statutory provisions relating to all senior citizen issues.

            16. Committee on Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development: (a) small business; (b) entrepreneurship; (c) e-commerce; (d) e-government; (e) economic development; (f) job creation; and (g) commerce generally.

            17. Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security: (a) Veterans’ measures; (b) education of veterans; (c) cemeteries of the State in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be buried; (d) measures generally affecting the health and welfare of veterans; and (e) measures relating to detection, protection against, response to, and recovery from, terrorist attacks, internal or external; and (f) military affairs.”

“Composition of Committees.

            78. The Committee on Rules shall consist of not less than seven fifteen nor more than eighteen twenty-five members, which number shall include the Speaker, Majority Leader and Minority Leader; the Committee on Interstate Cooperation of seven members; and all other standing committees shall consist of not less than fifteen nor more than twenty-five members, except that the number of members of the Committee on Pensions and Retirement shall be appointed in accordance with Joint Rule 29 or in such number as may be determined by the Speaker.”

“Bills, Resolutions and Petitions

Bills and Joint Resolutions

Time Limit on Introducing

            91a. No House joint resolution and no House bill, other than a House supplementary appropriation bill or a House bill originating in a House standing or select committee, shall be introduced in the House after the forty-firstsecond day of a regular session unless permission to introduce the joint resolution or bill be given by a House resolution, setting out the title to the joint resolution or bill and adopted by a two-thirds vote of the House members present. The forty-firstsecond day of the regular session held in the year two thousand nine and every fourth year thereafter shall be computed from and include the second Wednesday of February of such years. When permission is requested to introduce a joint resolution or bill under provisions of this rule, quadruplicate copies of the joint resolution or bill shall accompany the resolution or bill when introduced.”

“Policy of the House as to Concurrent and House Resolutions; Defining Purpose and Scope of Such Resolutions; Preintroduction Review by Committee on Rules.

            108a. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the House of Delegates that concurrent and house resolutions be limited to the general purposes set forth in subdivisions (2) and (3) of Rule 108 and shall be restricted to expressions of sentiments and actions having a bearing upon matters incident to legislative business and the functioning of the legislative process insofar as possible.

            Such resolutions shall not embrace congratulatory expressions to individuals, organizations, associations or other entities having no relation to the Legislature or public affairs generally, athletic events, scholastic contests, or any other matter not related to the scope and areas of legislative business: Provided, That this rule shall not bar the introduction of resolutions memorializing deceased members of the Legislature and public officials or commending or congratulating public officials on actions in connection with governmental affairs.

            Before a Any concurrent or house resolution is filed with the Clerk for introduction, it shall be submitted to the Committee on Rules Clerk for determination of compliance with this rule. and no such resolution shall be introduced without the approval of said committee.”

            And,

            By adding thereto a new Rule, designated Rule 95c, to read as follows:

“Economic Impact Statement

            95c. Upon the introduction of any legislation which has a potential impact on the state’s economy, the Speaker may request from any institution under the authority of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, including but not limited to any state college or university, West Virginia University, or Marshall University, a review of the proposed legislation for purposes of preparing an Economic Impact Statement. The Economic Impact Statement may address the probable effect of any proposed legislation on the economy of the State of West Virginia including, but not limited to, the effect of the legislation on employment, job creation or reduction, and compensation. The statement shall include the names of those persons who participated in the drafting of the statement, including the time spent preparing the statement. The institution shall also make available a lead author of the statement or other qualified representative of the institution to discuss the statement with any committee of the House in which the legislation was referred. The Speaker may also request from any institution that produced a statement, a follow-up study two and five years following enactment of the legislation to analyze the economic impacts of the legislation. It shall be the responsibility of the Speaker to obtain any requested Economic Impact Statement, which shall be based on generally accepted methodology. The Rules Committee may, but is not required to, make by resolution recommendations as to the form and additional contents of the Economic Impact Statement.

            The phrase “Economic Impact Statement” or the initials “ES” must be clearly stamped or endorsed on the jackets of all bills that have statements attached to them. The failure to comply with any provision of this Rule shall not prohibit the consideration or passage of any proposed legislation.