West Virginia Press Association Staff Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Senate Committee of Government Organization, on Thursday, advanced three bills, generally administrative in purpose.
The first bill considered, SB 402, seeks to authorize the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) to teach concealed carry courses within the State of West Virginia.
As explained by committee counsel, “This bill would codify the United States Concealed Carry Association to provide concealed carry classes in West Virginia, just like now the NRA can provide concealed carry classes.”
On-hand to answer questions from committee members was Joshua Higginbotham with the United States Concealed Carry Association.
In response to a question from Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, as to why SB 402 is necessary, Higginbotham said, “In other states, the USCCA already does more concealed carry classes than the NRA, and the majority of our instructors are also certified to teach NRA classes.”
“The reason we wanted to have this bill […] was in case any sheriff in the future decided, for whatever reason, not to issue a concealed carry permit to a law abiding citizen because they attended a USCCA class,” Higginbotham added. “That is the same reason why the NRA was codified many years ago.”
Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, then asked, “How do you go about becoming an instructor?”
Higginbotham explained that instructors take a week of online training, followed by “usually a two-to-three-day” in person course.
With no further questions, the committee adopted SB 402, which will now be reported to the full Senate for their consideration.
Next on the agenda was the proposed committee substitute for SB 482, for which Committee Counsel Carl Fletcher provided a brief overview.
“This bill amends several sections of code relating to the rule and rule-making authority of the Ethics Commission,” Fletcher explained. “It expands rule-making authority of the commission to apply to lobbyists, makes rule-making permissive rather than mandatory, and deletes references to ‘rule-making’ in several places.”
“The genesis of this bill lies in the Ethics Commission’s promulgation of a rule this year during the rule-making review process,” Fletcher added. “Upon staff review, it was found that the Ethics Commission’s rule-making authority did not generally extend to lobbyists. To remedy the situation, the rule was withdrawn and this bill was drafted.”
At the conclusion of Fletcher’s explanation, Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, asked, “Does this in any way weaken, or strengthen (the Ethics Commission’s ability to regulate lobbyists)?”
“It would actually strengthen it,” Fletcher replied. “Right now the rule-making authority of the Ethics Commission does not extend to allowing them to promulgate rules relating to Article Three, which covers lobbyists.”
With the language now agreed to in the committee’s substitute, SB 482 will be referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for further consideration.
The third bill on the committee’s agenda, SB 265, seeks to increase the value at which municipal property must be sold through public auction. The bill was once again explained by counsel.
“SB 265 would remove the requirements of notice and public auction for the sale of any one item or piece of property of a value less than $10,000,” counsel told committee members. “Currently that number is $1,000.”
“Additionally,” counsel continued, “The requirement and notice of public auction are not required for a piece of property that the municipality finds. The highest and best use of the property is to be conveyed to an owner of the property adjacent to the municipal property.”
According to counsel, once the municipality has made such a determination regarding found property, they must give notice to all adjacent property owners to determine who has interest in its purchase.
Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, requested clarification regarding the definition of “adjacent.”
“The word ‘adjacent’ is not defined on the bill,” counsel replied, but noted that “adjacent” properties would be those that make physical contact with the municipal property.
SB 265 will now be reported to the full Senate with the committee’s recommendation for passage.
The final item on the agenda was the committee’s substitute for SR (Senate Resolution) 6, which was once more explained by Counsel.
“SR 6 is a resolution honoring the life of Edith Levy – a Holocaust survivor, and longtime Morgantown resident who dedicated her life to educating others about the horrors of genocide, and the importance of tolerance and compassion,” counsel said.
With no further discussion, the committee substitute for SR 6 was adopted and reported to the full Senate for further consideration.
