Session Roundup, Day 27 (Updated)

RETIREE TAX BREAK: West Virginia's retired teachers and state employees are lobbying lawmakers to increase their income tax exemption on retirement benefits from $2,000 to $20,000, MetroNews reports. "Retirees do not automatically receive a cost of living increase each year," its notes, adding that "Last year, a 3% increase was approved for retirees who had hit the age of 70."

TEACHER SHORTAGE: The Herald-Dispatch offers context to pending teacher pay raise and recruiting bonus proposals, by finding that "more than 10,000 out of 117,544 classes were taught by teachers without certification in that subject. That roughly equated to about one out of every dozen classes, or 8.5 percent." The Huntington newspaper also breaks it down by area high school and subject area.

KIDS DON'T FOLLOW: The Charleston Gazette reports that are high school students "disagree with Gov. Joe Manchin's plans for the merit-based Promise scholarship, but favor a move to keep classmates without a "C" grade point average off the roads."

LOCAL PENSIONS (update): Municipal officials continue to seek help from lawmakers with growing funding shortfalls in their police and file pension funds. The Charleston Daily Mail reports that city officials there remain perplexed: " In 2007, the unfunded liability for the city was $178 million for both funds. That was a sizeable increase from the $163 million total in 2006."

IDENTITY THEFT (update): AARP's West Virginia chapter surveyed its members and found that 90 percent support legislation "requiring companies to notify clients of security breaches on their personal information," the Daily Mail reports.