2010 Legislative Accomplishments

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Intermediate Business Courts  (HB 4352) – creates new courts, within the existing system, to handle disputes between businesses to reduce the caseload in existing courts
• South Charleston Tech Park (SB 611) – allows the Higher Education Policy Commission to relocate its offices in the old Union Carbide/Dow Tech Park; preserving the research facility for potential business development
• Energy rate flexibility (SB 656) – allows the PSC to negotiate more flexible rates and payment plans for energy-intensive industries to help attract manufacturing
• Local labor for construction jobs (HB 4359) – requires local workers (within 50 miles) be hired for construction projects costing over $500,000

RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
• Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission (HB 4036) – creates a formal process to advise governors on appointments for judicial vacancies codifying existing practices
• State Vehicle Fleet Accountability (SB 219) – centralizes all of the state’s vehicles under one office and established guidelines for their supervision to reduce cost
• State Supreme Court clean elections (HB 4130) – creates a pilot project for a publicly financed elections system for the 2012 State Supreme Court races so judicial candidates can be free from large-scale fundraising
• Elections Spending Disclosure (HB 4647) – increases the requirements for groups to disclose their political spending, giving the public more information about who is running ads

PUBLIC SAFTEY
• Child Predator Unit (Budget bill) – increases the size of the State Police’s child protection unit
• Dilapidated Buildings (HB 4034 & 4038) – increases cities’ abilities to clean-up abandoned, vacant properties
• School Bus Safety (HB 4223) – increases penalties for traffic violations involving school buses and illicit drug offenses on school buses

EDUCATION
• School Building Authority (SB 229) – allows greater flexibility for the SBA to issue bonds, freeing more funding for school construction
• School Calendar Flexibility (HB 4040 & 4652) – allows counties more flexibility in designing their school calendar to ensure students get the full 180 days of instruction and creating local committees in each county to provide input
• High School Dropouts (HB 4593) – establishes several new measures to reduce the number of high school dropouts