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February 4, 2008
This week marks the half-way point of the 60-day legislative session.
While most think the session has been relatively quiet, committees
will begin in earnest discussing and passing out legislation to
the floors of the House and Senate. A number of bills and proposals
dealing with state business tax relief are being debated, along
with a number of issues that have been identified by the WV Business
and Industry Council (WVBIC) as key to business development in
the state. These include deliberate intent, asbestos/silicosis
(medical criteria), venue, non-partisan election of judges, annexation
and captive market.
Farmers, timber companies and developers in the eastern part
of the state again are facing a battle over environmental rules
that would affect more than 300 streams in the state. The rules,
known as Tier 2.5 status, stipulate that designated streams would
face special pollution regulations. In early January an interim
committee doubled the number of streams that will fall under this
rule - from 156 to 309. Property owners and industry groups are
concerned about the economic development impacts from this.
A number of human resource issues are under consideration. One
that is causing much alarm among the business community is captive
communications legislation, H.B. 4132 and S.B. 303, which would
effectively terminate the right of an employer to express his
or her position on labor relations. The U.S. Supreme Court has
held that such captive communications are legal and if this legislation
passes, it would violate the Employer Free Speech section of the
National Labor Relations Act. In other states, such as Connecticut,
this legislation did not pass due to these preemption problems.
In New Jersey, the only state to adopt similar legislation, union
communications were taken out. This would make West Virginia the
only state in the nation to prohibit employers from communication
with employees on union issues. As for the religious and political
aspects of this legislation, the state already has anti-discrimination
laws that provide remedies. Other such bills include H.B. 4322
which would provide overtime pay for all workers who are required
to work on holidays regardless if the holiday hours are in excess
of 40 hours.
A number of legislative proposals (10 so far) have been introduced
in the session relating to the ongoing privatization of workers'
compensation. Some of the bills would provide the Legislature
with reporting authority, thereby complicating efforts to entice
private carriers to offer workers' compensation coverage. The
state's workers' comp market is scheduled to be open for full
private-sector competition on July 1, 2008. In a related issue,
the Legislature's recent efforts to fix major problems in the
workers' comp program are being threatened by interpretation of
the law by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. The business
community is working on legislation to correct this situation
by limiting deliberate intent civil actions to traumatic injuries
only and excluding exposures to hazardous substances for deliberate
intent civil actions.
SENATE INTRODUCES MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE
BILL
S.B. 549, introduced Friday, is the companion bill to H.B. 2438
which will mandate contractors working on public works projects
to have 75 percent of the employees on the project covered by
health insurance. Senators Ed Bowman, Dan Foster, Billy Wayne
Bailey, Jon Blair Hunter and Jeff Kessler are cosponsors of the
legislation. The bill is referred to the committee on Labor with
a second reference to Finance. The CAWV will show that this bill
will have a detrimental impact on small contractors, including-Disadvantaged
Business Enterprises (DBE).
Any firm that doesn't provide insurance for 80 percent of the
workers on a project will be excluded from bidding on any local,
county or state projects. These same firms will be excluded from
bidding as subcontractors since the prime contractor must also
meet the 80 percent requirement.
Both House and Senate members will be made aware of the consequences
to small and medium sized construction companies.
RULES BILLS THAT AFFECT CONTRACTING INTRODUCED
A number of rules bills were introduced last week. State law
requires state agencies to file their rules with the legislature
and have these approved prior to implementation. There are a number
of rules bills that impact construction (see bills below). These
include rules on illegal immigration, construction and reconstruction
of state highways, supervision of plumbing work and surveying.
The CAWV will be sending the draft rules to various members for
comment. Members wanting a copy of a proposed rule can contact
the CAWV office.
CANDIDATES FILE FOR LEGISLATIVE SEATS
A list of candidates who have filed for the House of Delegates
and Senate is available on the West Virginia Secretary of State's
website at http://www.wvsos.com
MON VOTERS SOUNDLY REJECT USER FEE PROPOSAL
The $2-a-week service fee to build $150 million in new and expanded
roads in Morgantown was soundly rejected Saturday by Monongalia
County voters. The final tally was 11,048 votes against the proposal
and 2,542 in favor of the $2-a-week payroll deduction for everyone
who collects a paycheck in Monongalia County. Despite the resounding
4 to 1 defeat, Monongalia County Commission President Bob Bell
said he's not going to stop working to take care of the county's
traffic problems. He said he thinks the Commission will now have
to go back to the Legislature and federal representatives to see
if they can find money for new road projects. Bell said the service
fee was the only tool the county had to take care of its own roads.
But voters apparently thought they should not be paid for by county
workers.
The vote was made possible by S. B. 673, the County Infrastructure
Improvement Act, that gave counties options to fund local roads.
This was the first test of this innovative funding mechanism.
Look for more information in the February 8 Newsletter.
BILL ELIMINATES 5G REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION PROJECTS
S. B. 523 allows higher education institutions more planning
and operating flexibility. This bill was passed last year to address
WVU and Marshall University. S.B. 523 expands the flexibility
to all institutions of higher education. One of the key aspects
of the bill is to exempt the schools from 5G of the state code
which deals with the selection of architectural and engineering
contracts. The bill is referred to the Committee on Education
then Finance.
House and Senate bills can be accessed from the CAWV's home page
at www.cawv.org. Members can view each day's proceedings to see
what legislation is introduced that affects the construction industry.
A summary of each week's activities will be uploaded on Monday
morning.
Below is a list of bills that have been introduced this week
that have an impact on the construction industry or some CAWV
members. Anyone needing further information can contact Mike Clowser
at (304) 342-1166 or email mclowser@cawv.org.
HOUSE BILLS
H. B. 4305 Mr. Speaker (Mr. Thompson) and Del. Armstead {By Request
of the Executive}-Providing an annual exemption from the consumers
sales and service tax for purchase of certain energy efficient
products (FN)-To Finance
H. B. 4322 Del. Rodighiero, Eldridge, Ellis, Hrutkay and Reynolds-Providing
overtime pay for employees who are required to work holidays regardless
if the holiday hours are in excess of a forty hour workweek (FN)-To
Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business then
Finance
H. B. 4345 Del. Williams, Shaver, Perry, Long, Tabb, Michael,
Gall, Hartman, Stemple and Sumner-Reducing the wholesale tax on
heating fuel, off road fuels, kerosene and propane used for home
heating purposes or off road use (FN)-To Finance
H. B. 4363 Del. Martin {By Request}, Schoen and Paxton-Authorizing
county commissions to adopt and enforce noise abatement ordinances-To
Political Subdivisions then Judiciary
H. B. 4390 Del. Webster, Miley, DeLong, Burdiss, Brown, Caputo,
Longstreth, Fleischauer, Kessler, Moore and Guthrie-Relating to
commissioner's rule-making authority for workers' compensation-To
Judiciary
H. B. 4394 Del. Tucker, Martin, Perry, Stemple, Perdue, Shook,
Hamilton and Sobonya-restoring the licensure exemption for certain
contractors of manufactured housing installation-To Industry and
Labor, Economic Development and Small Business then Judiciary
H. B. 4395 Del. Armstead, Hamilton, Sobonya, Carmichael, Schoen,
Ireland, Cowles, Andes, Lane, Sumner and Miller, C.-Abolishing
the business and franchise tax (FN)-To Finance
SENATE BILLS
S. B. 389 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Department of Environmental Protection promulgate legislative
rule relating to NPDES Program-To Energy, Industry and Mining
then Judiciary
S. B. 390 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Department of Environmental Protection promulgate legislative
rule relating to requirements governing water quality standards-To
Natural Resources then Judiciary
S. B. 396 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
State Fire Marshall promulgate legislative rule relating to supervision
of fire protection work-To Finance then Judiciary
S. B. 406 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Commissioner of Highways promulgate legislative rule relating
to construction and reconstruction of roads-To Transportation
and Infrastructure then Judiciary
S. B. 422 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Division of Labor promulgate legislative rule relating to verifying
legal employment status of workers-To Labor, Finance then Judiciary
S. B. 423 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Division of Labor promulgate legislative rule relating to verifying
legal employment status of workers-To Labor, Finance then Judiciary
S. B. 424 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Division of Labor promulgate legislative rule relating to supervision
of plumbing work-To Labor, Finance then Judiciary
S. B. 442 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Board of Professional Surveyors promulgate legislative rule relating
to examination and licensing of professional surveyors in West
Virginia-To Government Organization then Judiciary
S. B. 443 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Board of Professional Surveyors promulgate legislative rule relating
to fees for surveyors and surveying firms-To Government Organization,
Finance then Judiciary
S. B. 444 Sen. Minard, Fanning, Prezioso, Unger, Boley and Facemyer-Authorizing
Board of Professional Surveyors promulgate legislative rule relating
to standards for practice of surveying in West Virginia-To Government
Organization then Judiciary
S. B. 459 Sen. Plymale, Edgell, Bailey, Green. Hunter, Oliverio,
Stollings, Wells, Boley, Guills and Hall {Originating in Senate
Education}-Authorizing rules of School Building Authority and
Higher Education Policy Commission-To Education
S. B. 465 Sen. Tomblin (Mr. President), McCabe and others-Eliminating
Business Franchise Tax (FN)-To Finance
S. B. 466 Sen. Unger, Plymale and Prezioso-Authorizing Water
Development Authority to administer Dam Safety Rehabilitation
Revolving Fund Loan Program-To Natural Resources then Finance
S. B. 467 Sen. Unger, Prezioso and Plymale-Reauthorizing Dam
Safety Rehabilitation Revolving Fund-To Natural Resources then
Finance
S. B. 487 Sen. Hunter-Authorizing counties and municipalities
to enter into energy-saving contracts-To Government Organization
then Finance
S. B. 490 Sen. Minard {By Request}-relating to mandatory water
service connection-To Judiciary then Finance
S. B. 517 Sen. Fanning, Boley, Foster, Kessler, Bailey and Wells-Authorizing
Department of Environmental Protection secretary to sign National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits-To Energy, Industry
and Mining
S. B. 539 Sen. Prezioso and Oliverio-restoring licensure exemption
for certain contractors-To Labor then Judiciary
S. B. 549 Sen. Bowman, Foster, Bailey, Hunter and Kessler -requiring
health care insurance for public improvement projects' workers-To
Labor then Finance
S. B. 551 Sen. Minardi-requiring certain dwellings installation,
maintenance or service of fuel gas system comply with State Fire
Code-To Judiciary then Finance
S. B. 557 Sen. Helmick-Replacing corporate license tax with one-time
fee (FN)-To Finance
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