David Kelly,
WV House of Delegates,
District 6
Two bills that I am proud to have sponsored passed out of the House this week. Both these bills were introduced because far too many West Virginians fall victim these scams and schemes:
House Bill 5250 requires retailers to post signage at self-checkout centers warning about gift card fraud and employees must interact with a customer before a purchase can be completed. This bill does not impact small businesses who provide gift cards for services that will be performed at that business.
House Bill 5251 this bill will create the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The TCPA will prohibit solicitation calls utilizing auto dialing and voice recordings. There are also other prohibitions in the bill.
Both bills have been sent to the Senate.
House Bill 5127 expands the state’s “Learn and Earn” program. The bill passed overwhelmingly. The intent behind the bill is to include Potomac State College in the state Community and Technical College system’s “Learn and Earn” program. The program provides paid internship opportunities. “The employer gains a highly qualified employee and a skilled labor pool. With this arrangement, students earn valuable on-the-job training while attending school, meaning they don’t have to quit one job to go to school; they can do both.” Bill sponsor Gary Howell
House Bill 5179, called Jaycie’s Law passed the house with a unanimous vote. The bill requires WV Department of Education to support pregnant and parenting students so the student can remain in school, as well as taking the proper amount of time for medical recovery.
The bill provides for the following:
· Excused absences for labor
· delivery,
· prenatal and postnatal medical appointments
· sick children
· at least eight weeks of excused absences for the mother and two weeks for the father after the birth of the child.
Academic support options are also a requirement of the bill and are set forth in the following ways:
· virtual schoolwork
· weekly visits with a homebound instructor to ensure the students remain on track for graduation.
· Lastly, schools are to refer pregnant and parenting students to pregnancy help organizations.
House Bill 4933 passed the House this week. It excludes dentures from the current $1,000 yearly Medicaid limit. Because the limit has been removed it will permit the many West Virginians to get both upper and lower dentures at the same time.
These bills are awaiting action from the Senate.
To date, 1,542 bills have been introduced in the House. 86 of those bills have been passed out of the full House. Twelve bills have completed the legislative process.