MORGANTOWN — Saturday, April 10, is the last day of the 2021 legislative session. It will run through midnight. We’ll keep a running look at the highlights here, with new action posted at the top.
HB 2933 is called the Anti Discrimination Against Israel Act. It forbids the state and its political subdivisions from doing business with companies that boycott Israel and includes guidelines on restrictions for state pension plans that invest in such companies.
BDS describes itself as a “movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.” It opposes the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
The Anti-Defamation League says BDS opposes a two-state solution and its goal is to “the demonetization and delegitimization of Israel.”
The Senate amended it to clarify some language about investments, passed it 34-0 and sent it back to the House. The House concurred, re-passed it 97-1 and sent it to the governor.
SJR 4 which, if approved by the voters in November 2022, would eliminate a clause from the state Constitution that prohibits the state from granting charters of incorporation to churches and denominations.
A similar clause in Virginia law was ruled unconstitutional in federal court in 2002, and in West Virginia, the provision has been ignored since 2003.
The Senate rejected a House amendment and sent it back. The House receded and re-passed it 95-4.
SB 636 requires the state Board of Education to prescribe courses of study in history and civics covering the institutions and structure of American government; an understanding of American political philosophy and history; an objective and critical analysis of ideologies throughout history, including, but not limited to, capitalism, republicanism, democracy, socialism, communism and fascism; the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th amendments to the Constitution; the historical contributions of minorities and women; and personal finances.
The House amended in the personal finance and historical minority education and Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo moved to reject the amendment and ask the House to recede because the personal finance course currently isn’t required and poses various difficulties. It goes back to the House.
In the House, Delegates said they believe the Senate amended it to remove the requirement for instruction on the historical contributions of minorities and women. The House receded, re-passed it 64-33 and sent it to the governor.
HB 2982 is called the Second Chances at Life Act. It requires medical providers to inform a woman undergoing a chemical abortion that it may be possible to halt the abortion.
The bill involves the procedure undertaken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy using mifepristone — also known as RU-486 — followed by misoprostol, known by the brand name Cytotec. The RU-486 pill blocks the hormone progesterone. Progesterone is necessary to continue the pregnancy. Cytotec is a stomach ulcer medicine with an off-label, non-FDA-approved use for inducing labor or, in the case of abortion, expelling the fetus.
The bill says that after the RU-486 has been dispensed, the physician must provide written instructions telling the woman that if she changes her mind, it may be possible to avoid, cease or stop the pill’s intended effects if the second pill hasn’t been taken.
The bill has met with objections from those who say medical research suggesting the abortion can be reversed is flawed, the idea is only theoretical at this point and some women who take the first pill but not the second suffer potentially fatal bleeding complications.
A Senate Judiciary amendment adopted Saturday night attempted to address some of the concerns by expanding the informed consent portion: “If you change your mind and decide to try to counteract the intended effects of a mifepristone chemical abortion, if the second pill has not been taken, please consult with your physician. You might experience a complete abortion without ever taking misoprostol; you might experience a missed abortion, which means the fetus is no longer viable, but the fetus did not leave your body; or it is possible that your pregnancy may continue; and you should consult with your physician.”
The bill also says that before the abortion, the woman must certify in writing that she has been informed about the possibility of stopping the intended effects of the chemical abortion.
Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, said the bill is dangerous because of the complications, the medical community opposes it, and it’s basically a political tool to say the Democrats are anti-God and pro-abortion.
Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, supported the revised bill saying it spells out the risks and makes no promises. But if a woman changes her mind before the 24 hours to take the second dose expires, the doctor can offer her a high dose of progesterone to attempt to block the effect of the first pill.
There will never be a study showing how effective this is because it would involve terminating a life, he said, The bill simply codifies the informed consent process.
It passed 29-6 with five Democrats voting with the majority and returned to the House for amendment concurrence. Locally all senators voted with their party.
The House concurred with the Senate amendment, re-passed it 84-15 and sent it to the governor.
HJR 1 is the Education Accountability Amendment and was intended to subject state Board of Education rule-making to legislative oversight. The Senate sent it to the Rules Committee, killing it.
SB 334, the needle exchange program licensing bill, kept bouncing between the Senate and House. The Senate took up the amended House version and re-amended it to restore the ID requirement and more specifically require wraparound services. It added an extra word to clarify that the county commission and municipality housing the program must provide a letter of support that could later be rescinded.
Health chair Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, agreed that the ID requirement makes the bill more restrictive. “If you have the programs for the rihgt reasons shouldn’t need an ID,” he said. But there are other issues, such as needle litter and crime, that the bill aims to address.
They are stepping in to local control, he admitted. “The reason we’re stepping in is because there are others that aren’t.” Some bad actors need to be brought under control. The bill isn’t perfect but somewhere in between.
Lead sponsor Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said needle exchange programs are a tool for some corrupt sober living homes that import addicts, milk their insurance and dump them on the street.
Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, argued that the bill does interfere in local control, as Maroney admitted, but it also doesn’t address the sober living home problem Tarr mentioned. It simply hampers harm-reduction programs; different legislation is needed to address the sober living home problem.
Senators adopted the amendment, re-passed it 27-7 and sent it back to the House. There, Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said the Senate amendments once again re-politicized and weakened the bill and could threaten harm-reduction programs across the state.
Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, agreed, saying, “This is bad public policy.” The bill flies in the face of procedures recommended by the Trump administration CDC. West Virginia has two of the four largest HIV outbreaks in the nation.
The House concurred in the Senate amendment, re-passed it 67-32 and sent it to the govenor.
HJR 3 proposes a constitutional amendment that, if approved by the voters in November 2022, would allow the Legislature in the future to phase out the tax on business inventory, equipment and machinery, and eliminate the property tax on vehicles.
Judiciary and Finance Committee amendments passed in previous days were both withdrawn, leaving the House version intact. It passed 29-5 with four Democrats – including Sen Mike Caputo, D-Marion – and one Republican voting no.
SB 332 deals with the selection of delegates to an Article V convention to consider amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and governs how those delegates are to act at the convention. It prescribes fines – $100,000 to $500,000 – and prison time for delegates who violate their oath.
The House amended it Friday and sent it back to the Senate. Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, successfully offered an amendment to also call for a convention to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.
The House had considered the same amendment Friday and declared it not germane to the bill. The vote to re-pass the bill and send it back to the House was 22-11.
HB 2002 is intended to expand access for broadband providers. It creates the Office of Broadband under the Department of Economic Development. It allows counties and municipalities to set up their own networks and form partnerships to do that.
The Senate passed it Friday and returned it to the House for amendment concurrence. The House concurred, re-passed it 99-1 and sent it to the governor.
HB 2694 as it came from the House was called the Second Amendment Preservation Act. It said, “No agency of this state, political subdivision of this state, or employee of an agency or political subdivision of this state acting in his or her official capacity may … use agency or department monies or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or aid a federal agency in whole or in part or arrest persons for federal law enforcement purposes,” including federal firearms laws.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a rewrite by chair Charles Trump, R-Morgan, changing the name to the Second Amendment Preservation and Anti-Federal Commandeering Act. The rewrite was aimed at removing some flaws in the House version that offered roadblocks to federal-state task force operations. Trump then offered another amendment on the Senate floor with the bill on third reading.
The new version prohibits federal commandeering of state law enforcement for enforcing federal firearms laws if the only offense being pursued is a firearms, weapon or ammunition issue that is legal under West Virginia law.
The same applies to search and arrest warrants. The bill authorizes the state attorney general to challenge in court unconstitutional federal actions related to firearms and directs the attorney general to develop and publish model policies. It grants immunity to law enforcement officers for complying with the state law.
Among the new items in the new amendment, it prohibits court enforcement of a red flag law, which is a law under which a person may petition for a court to temporarily take away another person’s right to possess a firearm which it is otherwise lawful in West Virginia.
The vote was 30-4. Locally, Sens. Bob Beach, D-Monongalia, and Mike Caputo, D-Marion, voted no. It went back to the House for amendment concurrence. The House concurred with the Senate amendments and re-passed it but re-amended the bill title and sent it back to the Senate. The Senate concurred, re-passed it 30-4 and sent it to the governor.
SB 542 requires utilities to maintain a 30-day supply of coal at their coal-fired power plants. The House amended in a requirement that the Public Service Commission create a Coal Community Comeback Plan.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo moved to require the House to recede from the amendment because it has nothing to do with the bill. Lengthy debate focused on whether or not the amendment meets the intent of the bill or hurts it,and whether it might help the communities.
Energy chair Randy Smith, R-Tucker, said the issue should be worked out in a conference committee, and the Senate might agree to keep it.
The motion passed 21-13 and returned to the House, where leadership moved to recede from the amendment. That led to more lengthy debate, with some supporting the amendment and others expressing willingness to give it up to get the original portion of the bill passed.
The House voted 70-30 to recede, then re-passed it 89-11. It goes to the governor.
HCR 114 allows the Legislature, when it adjourns at midnight, to resume May 10, the first day of interims. Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor, said this allows them to reconvene to override any gubernatorial vetoes. The House adopted it and sent it to the Senate.
HB 3301 allows county commissions or municipalities to extend the duration of a tax increment financing district subject to consent of any municipality in the district.
TIFs are limited to 30 years. The bill would allow any TIF created before Dec. 31, 2020, to extend its TIF by five years to Dec. 31, 2050, whichever comes first. It was said that some TIF districts suffered during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, and this will allow them to refinance their bonds if they wish.
The bill prohibits governments from retiring TIF districts early if bonds remain outstanding.
The House concurred with Senate amendments, re-passed it 99-1 and sent it to the governor.
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