Session Shorts, Day 22

PROMISE: "Still seeking to keep PROMISE scholars in West Virginia once they graduate," Gov. Joe Manchin tells The Associated Press that "the merit-based program could grant case-by-case exceptions for those unable to land Mountain State jobs in their degree areas."

ARCHIVES & FOOD: The Charleston Gazette accompanied lawmakers on a tour of the Cultural Center, where officials "insist that plans for a café/gift shop in the Culture Center are still in the preliminary stages." The House Government Organization Committee is set to consider a bill that "not only would ban the sale of food or drink in the building, but would prohibit merging the archives library with the Library Commission lending library on the other side of the Cultural Center."

JAIL COSTS: The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced a bill that would halve daily jail fees for counties whenever their inmates stay locked up for less than 12 hours. But as The Register-Herald reports, "sentiment ran high against it and a leading corrections official dubbed it as worthless."

OIL & GAS: The Beckley newspaper also profiles legislation offering a "Surface Owner’s Bill of Rights," which addresses disputes with oil and natural gas drillers.