THE LIST: A look at where major bills stand on the final day

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

CHARLESTON, WV — With lawmakers working in high gear as the legislative session concludes on Saturday night, keeping up with major pieces of legislation can be difficult. We’ve got you covered! See below for a quick list of major bills from the last two days. Any bill passed with amendment must still be approved by the other legislative chamber before going to the governor. All completed bills must either be approved, allowed to become law, or vetoed by the governor.

• State budget, SB 25: PASSED
• 5% income tax reduction, SB 392: PASSED with amendment
• High school transfer (back to the way it used to be), HB 4425: PASSED with amendment
• Child care subsidy changes, HB 4191: PASSED
• School calendar (count hours instead of days), SB 890: PASSED with amendment
• Conceal carry for 18-20 year olds, HB 4106: PASSED with amendment
• Food dye bill, HB 4852: REFERRED TO RULES COMMITTEE (amended)
• School funding bill for special education only, HB 5453: SCHEDULED FOR VOTE on Saturday (amended)
• Access to weapons for those with temporary restraining orders, SB 963: TABLED by House
• TEAM WV Economic Development bills, HB 4001: POSTPONED by Senate (though it was priority legislation for the House)
• Pilot program to privatize child protective services, added by Senate into HB4402: PASSED with amendment (House refused to take up the original bill)
• Permanent EMS funding, HB 5168: PASSED with amendment
• Raylee’s Law (flagging students being removed from public school when a pending child abuse investigation is occurring), HB 5537: PASSED with major amendment
• Rural Health Transformation Fund spending authority for $199 million, SB 570: PASSED
• Hope Scholarship Supplemental Appropriation $12 million from Lottery excess funds, HB 5279: PASSED
• Pay raise for teachers, troopers, & school personnel, HB 4765: PASSED (with amendment inserting locality pay)

This is not an exhaustive list, but it represents a number of pieces of major legislation with public interest. Many bills have been amended by either the House or the Senate. Those bills can be agreed to on Saturday, a conference committee can be appointed to work out differences, or the bills can die.

Saturday, March 14, is the final day of the legislative session. Stay tuned this coming week for updates on which bills pass, which fail, and what action Gov. Morrisey takes on all those that pass.