Committee advances three other bills
By Autumn Shelton, West Virginia Press Association
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A bill that would require internet and telecommunications providers to issue credit to their customers for lack of service is once again advancing through the West Virginia Legislature.
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Technology and Infrastructure advanced HB 4807, which would require internet and telecommunications providers to automatically credit a customer’s account if that customer is without service for five or more days (120) hours.
A similar bill was brought before the legislature last year, but was not passed.
According to the bill, the credit must be “proportional to the number of days of disrupted service.”
The bill goes on to state that, “The Legislature recognizes that service failures occur beyond the control and of no fault of the [provider], but an inherent unfairness exists in the relationship between Internet or telecommunications providers and their customers that allows the [provider] to require the customer to pay for considerable periods of non service.”
Further, the bill states, providers have “disproportionate control of consumer provider agreements, and the contracts offered consumers are essentially ‘take it or leave it’ propositions,” which leaves consumers with the option to accept the service agreement or not get service.
Under this bill, providers would have 24 hours to credit their customer’s account, “provided the interruption is not caused by the subscriber.”
Before moving the bill to the House Committee on the Judiciary, the committee approved one amendment that allows the state’s attorney general to negotiate a resolution with a provider before pursuing the matter in court.
Also during the meeting, the committee advanced three additional bills, all of which had similar bills introduced last year.
The first bill advanced was HB 4697, which provides protections for certain West Virginia residents from non-renewal of driver’s licenses and registration, and establishes the West Virginia Residential Renewal Protection Act.
West Virginia residents who are either active-duty military deployed out of state or students who are enrolled in an out of state college, university or trade school would be classified as “full time” state residents and may “maintain [their] license and registration in West Virginia, as well as his or her address of record,” the bill states, adding that those who must “maintain an address of record in other states for a period of six months,” or longer, would be protected from “having to obtain insurance, as well as a motor vehicle license and driver’s license at every expected stop that lasts over six months.”
Following the committee’s passage, HB 4697 will now be heard before the full House of Delegates.
The next bill advanced was HB 4703, which “lowers the percentage of a service-connected disability required for exemption” of vehicle registration fees from 100 percent to 50 percent or greater.” It also adds certain Military Awards for Valor recipients to the list of those who may receive registration fee exemptions.
Should the bill pass, the state’s annual revenue reduction would amount to $625,250, according to a fiscal note provided by the WV Division of Motor Vehicles. The bill is now headed to the House Committee on Finance.
Lastly, the committee advanced HB 4722, the “West Virginia Road and Highways Infrastructure Improvements and Coal Production and Processing Facilities Tax Credit Act,” which is designed to increase economic opportunity in the state, according to language in the bill.
The bill would “create a credit against the severance tax to encourage private companies to make infrastructure improvements to highways, roads and bridges” in West Virginia. It also “seeks to encourage greater capital investment in coal production and processing facilities.”
This bill is now headed to the House Committee on Finance.