Published: April 15, 2006 05:06 pm         

Joint interim committees have many issues to study

Each year, following the regular legislative session, the Senate president and I begin examining the dozens of House and Senate concurrent resolutions that have been adopted and assign many of them to the appropriate joint interim committee for study.

These resolutions are a very good way of determining what issues lawmakers find important, based on constituent concerns, and the studies very often lead to new legislation to be introduced during the next legislative session.

The following are the 2006 assignments for each of the joint interim committees.

-- Joint Committee on Agriculture and Agri-business: Senate Concurrent Resolution 69A (SCR69A), requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study voluntary farmland protection programs.

-- Joint Standing Committee on Education: SCR 6, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study public school dress code and uniforms; SCR 42, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study vocational, technical and adult education; SCR 66, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study employment process of public school coaches; and SCR 75, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study cost and other issues associated with No Child Left Behind Act.

-- Joint Standing Committee on Finance: SCR 47, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study current and future highway financing; SCR 77, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study vehicle privilege tax exemption for new residents. The committee will also establish a subcommittee on taxation to study the issue of tax reform and any proposals put forth by the governor on the subject.

-- Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization: SCR 76, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study titling and branding of certain damaged vehicles; SCR 80, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study all-terrain vehicle safety regulations; SCR 71, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study need for background checks for professional licensees; and SCR 72, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study sunrise and sunset legislation processes.

-- Joint Standing Committee on Pensions and Retirement: SCR 43, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study municipal policemen's and firemen's pension funds.

-- Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability: House Concurrent Resolution 61 (HCR 61), requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the state of emergency medicine in West Virginia; HCR 70, requesting the joint committee on government and finance to conduct a study on the need for and the appropriate methodology for providing salary improvements for counselors employed by the Division of Rehabilitation Services; HCR 75, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the prospect of reducing medical care costs for state employees; HCR 79, requesting that the Committee on Government and Finance to conduct a study on the public health crisis created in West Virginia created by antibiotic resistance; HCR 82, requesting that the Committee on Government and Finance study the Medicaid waiver program for the elderly and people with disabilities in West Virginia; SCR 88, requesting Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources study “money follows the person” concept.

-- Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary: HCR 55, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study how the divorce and custody laws prevent or hinder fathers from being involved in raising their children; HCR 84, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the process of granting and denying well work permits for the drilling of gas wells near active coal mines; SCR 22, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance Study restrictions on lawyers’ advertising; SCR 73, requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study legislation relating to disposable contact lens antitrust litigation.

-- Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Subcommittee: HCR 99, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the development of Coalwood Way and related sites in the Big Creek District of McDowell County as historical, cultural and recreational facilities.

-- Select Committee A — Committee on Children, Juveniles, and other Issues: SCR81, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study child advocacy center criteria.

-- Select Committee C — Infrastructure: HCR 57, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection to study the feasibility of a state dam safety rehabilitation fund; HCR 102, interim study of the availability and connectivity of broadband services and networks in this state; and SCR 94, requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study technology infrastructure development.

-- Contact House Speaker Kiss, D-Raleigh, by phone: (304) 340-3210; by writing: Office of the Speaker, Room M-228, Building 1, Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305; or by e-mail: castor@mail.wvnet.edu