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Committee reports package of code-cleanup and reporting bills to full Senate
Summary
A Senate committee reported a series of bills that largely remove obsolete references and eliminate certain statutorily required reports, sending the measures to the full Senate with recommendations that they pass.
A West Virginia Senate committee reported a group of largely noncontroversial code-cleanup and reporting bills to the full Senate with recommendations that they pass.
Among the measures the committee agreed to report were:
- Senate Bill 5-70: Committee substitute as amended readopted and agreed to for further reporting; language agreed to by the committee. Counsel noted the committee substitute was readopted and would be reported with the recommendation that it do pass.
- Senate Bill 8-62: Repeals an obsolete West Virginia Code article regarding the "Gilding the Dome" checkoff program, which expired in 1990; counsel described the change as code cleanup.
- Senate Bill 8-63 and Senate Bill 8-61: Technical code cleanups removing obsolete references to the Information Services and Communications Division following its absorption into the Office of Technology and updating higher-education system names where necessary.
- Senate Bill 8-76: Removes 19 specified tax-division reporting requirements for periods on and after Jan. 1, 2025; counsel said the information will remain available in other annual or biannual reports and on request. Tax Division Commissioner Matt Irby was noted in the record as present.
- Senate Bill 8-56: Removes various reporting requirements from the insurance commissioner's office including certain workers' compensation safety reports and other rate or malpractice reporting; counsel said the information remains available in other reports or on request.
- Senate Bill 8-23: Clarifies that investigations of mine, industrial, well and pipeline accidents are the responsibility of the Department of Environmental Protection while such incidents are reported to the Emergency Management Division.
- Senate Bill 8-29: Eliminates two separate preparedness classes for emergencies and establishes a single state of preparedness that would expire after 30 days unless extended; committee substitute makes only technical, non-substantive changes.
For each of these bills, counsel explained the statutory changes as cleanup, clarification, or consolidation of reporting responsibilities. For the measures, the committee chair routinely called for the question; after the vice chair moved that the committee substitutes or bills be reported, the chair said, "In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it," and the measures were declared adopted and will be reported to the full Senate.
The package contains a mix of code modernization and report eliminations that committee counsel said will reduce duplication while preserving access to information through other reports or on request.
