By Delegate David Kelly
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Phone: (304)-340-3226
To date a total of 1290 bills have been introduced in the House. 97 bills have been sent to the Senate. We are about three weeks away from the end of the regular session so, we are working much closer with the Senate in an effort to complete legislation that is designed to make West Virginia a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
House leadership continues working on and expects to originate an Alternative Personal Income Tax Reduction Plan. The bill is expected to be taken up in the Finance Committee next week.
Speaking about HB 2001, the Jumpstart Savings Plan that has already become law, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, who was the lead sponsor of the bill said, “I couldn’t be prouder to see this meaningful piece of legislation become law,” Hanshaw said. “We’ve said all session long that no one education model fits all, and this is a tangible boost into the workforce for that wide swath of people who might not fit in the box of a four-year college degree.”
“Mylissa Smith’s Law,” is designed to create much needed patient visitation privileges could be up for a vote next week. Mylissa Smith, a hospice nurse in Kanawha County, died from COVID. Mylissa spent nearly a month alone in the hospital. The bill would require visitors to comply with all policies and procedures already in place and establishes guidelines for visitation.
Lead sponsor Delegate Dean Jeffries said, “This is a human rights bill that would give patients access to family members, clergy or hospice in a time when we’ve had restrictions during a pandemic,”
Senate Bill 42, the “Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2021” has completed legislation. This bill establishes guidelines for counties and municipalities to foreclose on abandoned properties and then take over the deed. The bill seeks to address this statewide problem.
Ben Queen, Chairman of Small Business and Economic Development Committee said, “Cities and counties now have another tool at their disposal to petition the sale of properties deemed unsafe, dangerous or detrimental to the public safety to encourage additional development. Rather than watch these properties sit empty in our communities, this will now allow more economic development at the local level.”
HB 2891, Law Enforcement Minimum Standards, is a bill that I am proud to have been the lead sponsor on passed the House this week. The bill is currently awaiting action in Senate Judiciary.