Senate amends bill to ease municipal requirements for home-based businesses

The West Virginia Senate on April 9 approved an amended committee substitute for House Bill 24-51, a measure meant to facilitate the creation of home‑based businesses by clarifying the definition of a "home‑based business" and preventing municipalities from imposing licenses and permits that a similarly situated business would not otherwise need.

The junior senator from the Seventh explained the amendment on the floor, saying: "The amendment clarifies the definition of a home based business and prevents a municipality from, among other things, requiring licenses and permits that would not otherwise be required for a similarly situated business." The senator urged adoption of the amendment, noting it does not affect a municipality's ability to impose "reasonable regulations." The committee on the judiciary originally moved to strike everything after the enacting clause and replace it with the committee's language.

Senator Queen moved a floor amendment to the committee amendment; Senator Harrison asked that her amendment be considered as a single amendment and said it accounts for Senate Bill 933 by raising a business license threshold to $10,000. In floor colloquy, Senator Jefferson asked whether the companion measure had advanced; Senator Harrison said the related bill "ran out of time" and was unlikely to move further in the House. When questioned about fiscal impact, Harrison said the bills "do not" have fiscal notes.

After the amendments were debated and adopted in sequence, the amended bill was advanced to third reading. On the recorded vote for final passage later in the day the clerk reported 31 yeas, 2 nays, and 1 absent, a majority in favor; the Senate declared the bill passed.