Tag: House

Senate Acts In Frustration Over House Inaction On Bills

With four days left in this legislative session, tension between the two chambers is rising. Each chamber is waiting for their prospective bills to be passed by the other chamber before the fast-approaching deadline. 

With four days left in this legislative session, tension between the two chambers is rising. Each chamber is waiting for their prospective bills to be passed by the other chamber before the fast-approaching Saturday deadline. 

The Senate passed 25 bills Tuesday, about half of which were House bills and the others Senate appropriations bills. 

The Senate cruised through the other chamber’s bills like House Bill 4998. It would increase the penalties for the third offense of shoplifting. House Bill 4768 expands a program for out-of-state medical students who receive in-state tuition if they agree to stay in the state and work for the same number of years they received in-state tuition.

However, the process hit a snag when an otherwise non-controversial bill was introduced. House Bill 5002 would require at least one baby changing station to be placed in all men’s bathrooms in rest areas in the state. 

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, opposed the bill. He said this is essentially in retaliation for the House’s failure to advance bills sent over to them from the Senate and urged a no vote. 

“None of those bills, or very few, of those bills,” Woelfel said. “based on my review of today’s agenda in the House had been looked at or even examined, much less never, never, showing up on an agenda.”

He said that one of the committees he is part of, the Judiciary Committee, sent 27 bills to the House that have yet to reach the floor. 

“What they send us. A bill about changing a poopy diaper at a rest area is a metaphor,” Woelfel said. “I’m sorry, Mr. President, but it’s a pretty good metaphor for how they do business down the hall.” 

After a brief discussion between Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley and Majority Leader Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, the bill was parked in Senate Rules, a small but powerful committee responsible for setting the agenda for what bills hit the floor and have a chance to advance. 

House Debates Women’s Bill Of Rights

Debate broke out on the House floor after amendments were proposed to the Women’s Bill of Rights Friday afternoon.

The Women’s Bill of Rights, House Bill 5243, seeks to define sex-based terms used in state law and protect single-sex spaces. It was on second reading in the House today.

The bill was also discussed in a public hearing this week in which many citizens voiced their opposition and support. Opponents say the bill is anti-transgender, does nothing to protect women and is written by out-of-state lobbyists. Proponents say it will protect young girls in locker rooms and other shared public spaces.

Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, introduced an amendment to the bill that included removing sales tax on feminine hygiene products, requiring implicit bias training in a Dignity in Pregnancy Act, and allowing every person who is an adult, regardless of sex to make and carry out their own health care decisions, and establishing eight-week paid parental leave for state workers, followed by four weeks of unpaid leave.

The amendment also removed the exemption in state code for marital rape, among other code changes.

“So I wanted to do an amendment, and I wanted to talk about what a Women’s Bill of Rights could look like if women had equal rights under the law,” Young said. “We want to make sure that women have access to economic opportunities, that they have the ability to determine their own futures, and just promote general health, wellbeing and good economics.”

After some debate, the House went into a half-hour recess and Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, moved to amend the amendment, removing all of the code except the portion related to marital rape.

That amendment passed with all present Delegates in the affirmative, with 91 yeas, 0 nays and 9 not voting.

There were also other amendments presented by Democrats that were all struck down. 

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, moved an amendment that he said would mitigate “unintended side effects” of defining sex and in state code.

“But one of the unintended side effects of this bill is related to the definition of equal,” Hansen said. “What’s the definition of equal in this bill? The definition of equal is equal does not mean same, or identical with respect to equality of the sexes equal does not mean same or identical.”

Del. Tom Fast, R-Fayette, stood in opposition to Hansen’s amendment, saying the bill is meant to affect the Human Rights Act.

“I would urge rejection of the gentleman’s amendment,” Fast said. “This is a statutory construction bill. It is intended to cover the entire West Virginia State Code including the Human Rights Act.”

The bill was moved to third reading and following the debate, the only amendment that passed was the section removing the exemption for marital rape.

Lawmakers Debate Bill To Require Businesses To Check Possible Employee’s Eligibility To Work In The U.S.

After nearly an hour of debate, the House passed House Bill 4759 which requires most business owners to check applicants’ work eligibility immigration status through the E-Verify system.

On Friday the House of Delegates gaveled in at 11 a.m. and passed two bills with minimal discussion. Those were Senate Bill 269, which decriminalized drug testing strips, and House Bill 4205, which would change the process of election litigation.

Delegates also debated House Bill 4759 and its various amendments for nearly an hour. The bill aims to quell the employment of people who are in the country illegally by checking status with the federal E-Verify system.

Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, presented two amendments to the bill he said would make the bill more small-business friendly.

“But what my bill does is my amendment strike and insert amendment is trying to go after who’s the wrongdoers,” Foster said. “That’s the goal of the amendment. Rather than making every business, every business with 15 or more employees goes through a cumbersome government process.”

The first amendment, a strike and insert, failed on a floor vote.

The second amendment introduced by Foster requires employers to keep I-9s on file.

“This amendment has much less to do with the bills as like my policy decision of what should be done and more to do with can this bill operate,” Foster said. “Because right now as the bill is written, section four is not included in the bill. But the employer is defined as 15 or more employees. So section four is your records requirement for your I-9.”

The House approved a second amendment.

The bill itself was the topic of discussion as the debate wore on. Some lawmakers thought the bill added cumbersome paperwork to small business owners across the state.

“We want to make sure we have legal people working in the state but also have concerns as a small business owner myself,” Del. Jim Butler, R-Mason said. “What additional burdens were added to small employers?”

Other lawmakers, like Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, cited an “immigration crisis” as the reasoning behind the bill and blamed President Joe Biden’s administration.

“We have created a country that makes it very, very easy that once you get across the border, you can migrate throughout this country so easily at this point, that we have to start paying attention to this stuff, we have to start paying attention to making sure that these documents get verified, because it’s so easy to create counterfeit documents,” McGeehan said.

The bill, as amended, was passed by the House and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

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