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JUNE INTERIMS & SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Lawmakers gathered in Charleston Sunday, June 22nd through Tuesday, June 24th, for their usual monthly legislative committee meetings. However, legislators remained in town through the end of the week to consider bills and supplemental appropriations included in the Governor’s Call for a Special Legislative Session prior to the conclusion of the 2007-2008 state fiscal year June 30th.

Nineteen bills were on the Governor’s Call, each of which passed during the special session. One important piece of legislation was a $25 million supplemental appropriation that enabled thousands of teachers to transfer assets from the defined contribution system to the State Teachers defined benefit retirement system, which will provide them a pension upon retirement. Another supplemental appropriations bill included additional funding to cover the rising costs of fueling school bus throughout the Mountain State.

In response to rising gasoline prices throughout the country, legislators also passed a measure that postponed a 6 cent-per-gallon increase of the state’s gas tax (due to take effect January 1, 2009) and froze it at its current level for another year. Lawmakers also amended the definition of scrap metal to include catalytic converters, and defining penalties for theft of such items.

However, it was the election disclosure bill that received the most attention and debate during the Special Session. This bill was necessary to clarify a 2005 law that was partially struck down in federal court in April. The district court judge upheld the disclosure of funding sources for broadcast ads that run within 30 days of the primary election and 60 days of the general election when there is a “clearly identified candidate”; however, the judge struck down the provisions requiring disclosure of the names of groups and individuals that spend money on non-broadcast advertising, which includes, but is not limited to, print ads, direct mailings, billboards, brochures and leaflets. These changes were made to the current law to ensure that West Virginia voters are aware of the funding source(s) behind the different kinds of political advertising deployed during the election season to influence their vote. Specific changes included defining and regulating forms of non-broadcast media advertising and clarifying offenses and penalties for not complying with state law.

Lawmakers will return to Charleston at the end of July for monthly interim committee meetings July 28th-30th.

2008 INTERIM COMMITTEE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

May	18-20
June	22-24
July	28-30
August	24-27
September	7-9*
October	12-14
November	16-18
December	7-9
January 11-13, 2009
February 8-10, 2009

*Out of Town Interims will take place in Bridgeport, WV

2008 REGULAR SESSION OF THE WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

The 78th Legislature concluded on March 8, 2008 at midnight. Lawmakers passed 234 bills and will remain in Charleston until the end of the following week to discuss and finalize details and appropriations in the 2008-2009 State Budget, which takes effect July 1st.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
March 10, 2008

The 60-day 2008 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature concluded on Saturday, March 8th and lawmakers passed a total of 243 bills before the clock struck 12. However, Legislators will remain in Charleston until the end of the week to discuss and finalize details and various appropriations in the 2008-2009 State Budget, which takes effect July 1st.

In addition, Governor Manchin has announced he intends to call a Special Session next Sunday, March 16th, so lawmakers can correct bills that the Governor may be forced to veto due to technical errors, as well as pass supplemental spending measures to fund various programs including $50 million to jump-start the Governor’s “Bucks for Brains” endowment program to promote and support research at West Virginia University in Morgantown and Marshall University in Huntington created by the passage of Senate Bill 287.

The Governor’s special session call is expected to include the pension assistance bill that would aid the considerably underfunded teachers and school service personnel defined contribution plans. This bill did not pass during the regular session because the Governor asked the Legislature for more time to study the proposal agreed to by the House and Senate on the final day of the session. The Governor expressed concern that the compromise plan would hurt the pension program’s current funding level and wanted financial consultants to review it before it was passed.

Legislators passed several key tax bills this year, which include the following: Senate Bill 680 – Corporate Net Income Tax rate reductions, from 8.75 percent to 6.5 percent by 2015; Business Franchise Tax rate reductions, from .55 percent to zero by 2015; and Senate Bill 474 – Provides a state sales tax holiday for purchases of energy-efficient appliances during a one-week period in September, for three years. Lawmakers also passed some bills hoping to spur development in West Virginia. These include: House Bill 4637 – Creating a State Broadband Development Council, which will be tasked with developing a strategy to extend broadband access to every person and business in West Virginia; and House Bill 4476 – Allows private/public funding for highway construction projects with legislative oversight.

In the coming weeks, the bills mentioned above, as well as the remainder that passed during the 2008 Regular Session, will be enrolled and sent to the Governor for consideration. If approved and signed by the Governor, it becomes law effective immediately, on July 1st, or some other specific time period designated by the Legislature upon passage of the bill.

Expect Legislators to return to the Capitol City in May for the first of the 2008 Legislative Interim Committee monthly meetings, at which point they will begin reviewing issues that are likely to come up during the 2009 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
February 8, 2008

This past week was a busy one for West Virginia lawmakers. Wednesday, February 27th marked the 50th day of the 2008 Regular Session also known as Crossover Day, which was the last day to consider bills on third reading (passage) in their house of origin, excluding budget or supplementary appropriations bills.

Out of 2,132 bills introduced this session, a total of 345 bills were still moving through the legislative process after the 50th-day deadline. Lawmakers have until Saturday, March 8th at midnight to consider these remaining bills.

Some of the issues that will be central to the debate during the remaining 10 days of the legislative session include tax cuts for West Virginia businesses and seniors living in the Mountain State; pension assistance packages for considerably underfunded teachers and school service personnel defined contribution plans, and another for municipal police and fire retirees; state employee pay raises; the establishment of a $50 million research trust fund; and grant regulatory power to the Board of Pharmacy to oversee ambulatory health care facilities and free clinics that dispense pharmaceuticals.

The Senate passed House Bill 4076, which increases the annual Legislative salary by $5,000 to $20,000 beginning in 2009 by a favorable 20-13 vote. This controversial bill passed the House by a 62-36 vote earlier in the week, and is expected to be signed by Governor Manchin. This is the first Legislative pay raise to pass both chambers since 1994.

To date, 11 bills have completed legislation and have been sent to the Governor for consideration. This number is sure to increase during the remaining week of the 2008 Regular Session.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
February 8, 2008

Yesterday marked the halfway point of the 60-day 2008 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature. As of Friday, a total of 1,733 bills have been introduced – 1,107 in the House and 626 in the Senate. These include a number of carryover bills that were introduced last year but failed to pass both chambers.

Many of the issues Governor Joe Manchin proposed in his State of the State Address on the first day of the Legislative Session will be central to the debate in both chambers during the remaining days of the regular session. Two educational issues that sparked debate shortly after the State of the State Address include a proposal that would suspend or deny driver’s licenses for high school students who drop out or fail to maintain a 2.0 grade point average and a proposal that would require students that receive Promise Scholarships to attend a West Virginia College or University for four years to repay the loan if they work out of state after graduation.

A total of 53 bills have passed their respective chambers – 16 Senate Bills have passed the Senate and have been sent to the House for consideration, while 37 House Bills have passed the House and have been sent to the Senate for consideration.

House Bill 4032, which would allow employers to pay their employees using payroll cards as an alternative form of direct deposit or traditional paper paychecks, passed the House earlier this week and will now be considered by the Senate.

Two bills have already completed legislative action and will be sent to the Governor for consideration. House Bill 2517 gives the Board of Banking and Financial Institutions the authority to allow West Virginia banks to acquire out-of-state banks and House Bill 4147 relates to the regulation of parking for state office buildings.

There is still much to be debated and accomplished during the remaining 30 days of the 2008 Session.

2008 REGULAR SESSION OF THE WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

The 78th Legislature convened on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at noon to officially begin the 2008 Regular Legisltive Session. At 7 p.m. that evening Governor Joe Manchin delivered his State of the State Address. Click here to read the speech in its entirety.

2008 Legislative Calendar

First Day	January 9, 2008	First Day of Session
Twentieth Day	January 28, 2008	Submission of Legislative Rule-Making Review bills due.
Forty-first Day	February 18, 2008	Last day to introduce bill in Senate or House.*
Forty-seventh Day	February 24, 2008	Bills due out of committees in house of origin to ensure three full days for readings.
Fiftieth Day	February 27, 2008	Last day to consider bill on third reading in house of origin.**
Sixtieth Day	March 8, 2008	Adjournment at Midnight

*Does not apply to originating or supplementary appropriation bills. Does not apply to Senate resolutions or concurrent resolutions. Does not apply to House resolutions or concurrent resolutions.
**Does not include budget or supplementary appropriation bills.