CHARLESTON – Here is a sampling of bills introduced Jan. 21. Among them is the House bill to create a banking system for the medical cannabis program and a bill to raise the oil and gas severance tax. Monongalia-Preston-Marion-area lead sponsors and co-sponsors, if any, are noted.
SB 355, another bill to prohibit municipalities form restricting permitless concealed carry in certain areas during “brief temporary events.” Sens. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, co-sponsors.
SB 359, the Youth Mental Health Protection Act, to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth from conversion therapy. Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, lead sponsor; Sens. Bob Beach, D-Monongalia. Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, co-sponsors.
SB 364, to expand the school shared table program model to senior centers. Shared table encourages schools to collect unused food appropriate for redistribution and make that food available throughout the day to students who may be hungry, to provide a method for discrete distribution of that food to be taken home by kids with food insecurity and to donate any unused food to food pantries. Beach, Maroney, Prezioso, Sypolt, Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, co-sponsors.
SB 384, to provide that proceeds from certain oil and gas wells with unknown or unlocatable owners to be kept in a special fund, and if unclaimed within seven years the proceeds shall be transferred to the Oil and Gas Reclamation Fund. Smith, lead sponsor; Clements, Sypolt, Maroney, co-sponsors.
SCR 14, to rename the Kings Trees Bridge, carrying Preston County 68/8 over Interstate 68 in Preston County as the William “Bill” Thurman King Memorial Bridge. Smith, lead sponsor; Sypolt, Maroney, co-sponsors.
HB 2534, to require available materials, supplies, equipment and other items purchased by the state and its agencies to be made in the United States. Delegates John Williams, D-Monongalia, Mike Caputo, D-Marion, co-sponsors.
HB 2537, to create the West Virginia Black Lung Program. Caputo, lead sponsor; Delegates Michael Angelucci, D-Marion, Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, co-sponsors.
HB 2538, to create the medical cannabis program banking system.
HB 2543, to raise the oil and gas severance tax from 5 percent to 7.5 percent. Caputo, Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, co-sponsors.
HB 2565, to create a $1 million per county user fee for each oil and gas producer that uses secondary roads, for maintaining secondary roads. Fleischauer, Williams, Delegate Dave Pethtel, D-Wetzel, co-sponsors.
