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February 25, 2008
The House of Delegates met Sunday to advance bills out of committee
by the 47th day – February 24. By February 27th, the 50th
day, all bills have to pass their house of origin, which is why
the leadership wanted bills out of committee yesterday. A number
of key bills were debated Sunday in the House Judiciary, Finance
and Government Organization committees. Action on legislation
will move quickly the next few days. An update on bills that impact
the construction industry are detailed below.
DRUG/ALCOHOL PROGRAM FOR CONTRACTORS WORKING
ON PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS
S.B. 657 requires public improvement contractors to have and
implement a drug and alcohol testing program. The Senate Judiciary
Committee Thursday reported out Committee Substitute for S.B.
657. The CAWV met with Senate leaders and a number of changes
were made to the original bill. These include:
— The bill now only refers to State of West Virginia projects,
not city or county projects.
—The written drug policy will not have to be included in
a bid. A contractor will provide some affidavit prior to award
of the project that he or she has a drug policy.
—The Division of Labor will not be the agency to inspect
the job site and enforce the provisions of the bill. The awarding
agency will oversee the contractor's program.
— The contractor will not be responsible for treatment
for employees who test positive for drugs or alcohol. Contractors
will only have to direct the employee to a treatment program.
—The original bill carried a fine of $5,000 to $25,000
and a one-year debarment from bidding on public projects. The
Committee Substitute has a first offense of up to $1,000, $1,000
to $5,000 for a second offense, and up to $25,000 and a one-year
debarment for the third offense.
The Committee Substitute requires contractors and their subcontractors
to have a valid testing program, plus training for supervisors
and employees. The bill, if passed, will become effective July
1, 2008. The bill is on Third Reading in the Senate Monday.
Most CAWV members have a drug and alcohol testing program, much
of which is driven by their insurance companies. If the bill passes
in this legislative session, the CAWV will provide a program for
those contractors who have not yet instituted a testing program.
SBA SCHOOL BONDING BILL
S.B. 297, a bill to issue revenue bonds from the State Excess
Lottery Fund, has passed the Senate Education and Finance Committees
and is one second reading in the Senate. The bill, introduced
by Governor Joe Manchin, has a lot of support from legislators
who see the bill as a way to accelerate construction of schools
throughout the state. The CAWV likes the bill because the bonds
will be spread out through 2025 and provide for a consistent level
of school construction funding, thereby eliminating the boom/bust
cycle that has always been associated with school facilities'
construction. The bill is on the Second Reading in the Senate.
MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE BILL AMENDED IN
COMMITTEE
The House Health and Human Resources Committee Monday passed
out H.B. 4520 requiring contractors bidding on public works projects
to provide mandatory health insurance for its employees. A motion
to table the bill was defeated by a 10-12 vote. The Committee
did approve an amendment by Delegates Jonathan Miller (R-Berkeley)
and Patrick Lane (R-Kanawha) that changes the responsibility of
providing insurance from the contractor to the employee.
The amendment reads as follows: "Employees working on a
project who are not covered by a policy of health insurance must
establish a health savings account. The portion of the prevailing
wage calculation which is attributed to health benefits will be
withheld by the employer and an equivalent amount placed in escrow
in a non-interest bearing account at the time pay is due, until
such time the amount shall be distributed into the health savings
account established by the employee."
The bill had a second reference to Judiciary Committee. The committee
did not take up the bill Sunday.
PUBLIC PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION BILL ADVANCES
H.B. 4476, the Public-Private Transportation Facilities Act,
passed the House Judiciary Committee late Thursday night. The
bill remained essentially in the same form as reported by the
House Roads and Transportation Committee. (See February 18 CAWV
Legislative Bulletin for details of the Roads and Transportation
Committee amendments). The CAWV opposed previous public-private
bills that did not have protections safeguarding the State Road
Fund. H.B. 4476, as amended, provides that protection. The bill
is on Second Reading on the House Special Calendar today.
CHAMBER LISTS BILLS AS ANTI-EMPLOYER, ANTI-JOBS
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce sent a memo to its members
Thursday on key bills that were still under consideration as of
Friday. These include:
– Captive Audience Communications (H.B. 4132)
– Mandated Sick Leave Benefit (H.B. 4447)
– Employee Access to Personnel Records (H.B. 4048)
– Flexible Leave Act (H.B. 4691)
– Mandated Health Benefits (H.B. 4520)
"It is the West Virginia Chamber's view that none of these
bills have been crafted to be fair or balanced, nor will any help
to advance West Virginia's economic progress," said Steve
Roberts, Chamber President, "Worse, several of the bills
will only add to the lawsuit problem and negative perceptions
about our state." The Chamber opposes these measures and
is concerned about the negative consequences from their continued
consideration, much less what would ensue if they were to be passed
into law, he added.
Case in point, no other state has enacted legislation like H.B.
4132, which would place restrictions, prohibitions and penalties
on an employer's right to organize mandatory employee meetings
and to express views on business matters, Roberts added. "If
this bill were to be enacted, West Virginia would be the first
and only state in the nation to adopt this interference with an
employer's rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),
since the law would apply to employers who are under the jurisdiction
of the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), the federal courts
would view the legislation as preempted by the NLRA for two reasons:
1) it interferes with employers' free speech granted under §8(c)of
the NLRA; and 2) it attempts to create an imbalance between employees
and employers subject to the NLRA.
The House is expected to vote out the bill in today's Session.
Members will receive a Legislative Alert today or Tuesday morning
addressing the business industry's objection to the bill. Members
will be asked to contact their Senators to urge them to vote no
on H.B. 4132.
BLASTING BILL ALLOWS COUNTIES TO HIRE BLASTING
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
H.B. 3204, introduced by Del. John Doyle (D-Jefferson) was amended
in House Government Organization Friday and sent to the House
floor. The bill provides that a county commission that has enacted
a county wide zoning ordinance and is a growth county pursuant
to the provisions article twenty, chapter seven of this code,
may adopt an ordinance to enter into an agreement with the state
fire marshal to hire, with the approval of the state fire marshal,
a blasting enforcement officer to assist the state fire marshal
in investigating and enforcing the state fire commission's rules
on explosives and blasting in that particular county. The reported
purpose of the bill is to address concerns of blasting associated
with home building. However, it appears any blasting, including
the blasting associated with road construction and commercial
construction, would fall under the provisions of H.B. 3204.
H.B. 2447 WOULD HAVE SPED UP WATER PROJECTS
APPROVAL
H.B. 2447 would require every house, business or dwelling to
take a tap and the minimum bill when water lines are constructed.
Grant monies and low interest loans for water projects are based
on how many are signed up to take water when the grant is requested.
Right now, water projects are at the mercy of those who agree
to take water when the project is being designed, unlike sewer
projects where businesses and residents are required to tap into
the new system. In a letter to members of the House Judiciary
Committee, the CAWV urged passage of the bill in order to advance
water projects statewide. The House Judiciary Committee defeated
the bill Sunday in a very close voice vote.
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. 4654 Del. Overington and Doyle-Limiting the use of some
lands for non-energy related purposes in "growth counties"-To
Judiciary
H.B. 4657 Del. Doyle-Establishing a business franchise tax credit
to certain home builders (FN)-To finance
H B. 4673 Del. Armstead and Carmichael-Jobs Impact Statement-To
Judiciary
H.B. 4675 Del. Overington, Anderson and Armstead-Abolishing joint
liability and establishing comparative fault-To Judiciary
H.B. 4688 Del. Miller, J., Sobonya, Blair, Andes and Miller, C.-Establishing
a corporate tax credit up to fifty percent of the corporation's
new income tax for contributions to scholarship funds (FN)-To
Finance
H.B. 4690 Del. Sobonya, Lane, Stephens, Reynolds and Cowles-Ensuring
that homeowners are adequately informed of the nature of the licensed
contractor's insurance coverage-To Judiciary
H.B. 4697 Del. Klempa-Fairness to Public Construction Contract
Act-To Finance
H.B. 4707 Del. White, Boggs, Kominar and Campbell {By Request}-Bringing
the West Virginia Tax Increment Financing Act up to current regulations-To
Finance
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