Justice Signs Slew of Bills Friday, With Many Others Awaiting Action
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CHARLESTON - Before ending the week Friday, Gov. Jim Justice signed several bills, including the bill removing the remaining exceptions in law for marital rape, and allowing teachers to answer questions from students about alternative theories on how the universe began.
Justice signed 27 bills Friday, including 15 bills from the state Senate and 12 bills from the House of Delegates.
According to the Legislature's website, of the 279 bills passed by lawmakers by midnight March 9 on the last day of the 60-day session, Justice has signed 88 bills and vetoed one bill.
Among the bills signed Friday was Senate Bill 190, modifying the definition of sexual contact. The bill removes "marriage" from the definition of terms in the State Code sections dealing with sexual assault and sexual contact and marriage as an exception for sexual assault charges in the first and third degrees.
The bill helps remove the remaining marital rape exceptions after an overhaul of the state's sexual assault laws in the 1970s. The bill's lead sponsor was Senate Judiciary Committee Vice Chairman Ryan Weld, R-Brooke. The bill passed the Senate Feb. 26 in a 22-9 vote and passed the House unanimously on March 9.
Justice signed Senate Bill 280, allowing teachers in public schools to discuss scientific theories. The bill prevents county school boards, superintendents, or principals from prohibiting teachers from responding to student questions about scientific theories of how the universe began or how life came to exist.
The bill's lead sponsor was Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Amy Grady, R-Mason. The impetus for the bill came from the children of West Virginia Republican Executive Committee Co-Chairman Tony Hodge. The bill passed the Senate Jan. 23 in a 31-2 vote and it passed the House in an 89-9 vote on the last day of session.
House bills signed Friday include House Bill 4768, increasing the number of out-of-state medical students that can receive in-state tuition rates provided that they agree to practice medicine for a period of time in West Virginia. House Bill 4845 would prohibit swatting, the act of using 911 to call in fake threats in the name of others in order to get law enforcement to respond in force to that person's home.
House Bill 4940 declares that a squatter inside a home - someone attempting to live in a home or apartment without a rental agreement - cannot be considered a tenant in West Virginia and doesn't have to undergo a formal eviction process. And House Bill 4986 would allow county school systems to provide computer science and cybersecurity instruction for adult learners.
While the session is over, the Legislature is still going through bills, which are required to be signed by members of the Enrolled Bills Committee in both the House and Senate.
Once the Legislature adjourns and the governor formally receives the bills, he has 15 days to either sign a bill, veto a bill, or let a bill become law without his signature. The only exception to that is the budget bill, which the governor has five days to sign, veto, or let become law once he receives it.