Session Shorts, Day 36 - Updated

COUNTING CALORIES: The Associated Press weighs a bill "that would encourage restaurants to list the caloric content of their food on menus or, for drive-thru windows, on the signboards drivers order from." "It's been shown that when you have this point of service information, the average person will make a choice that involves fewer calories,'' sponsor Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, told AP health care writer Tom Breen.

DEER IN HEADLIGHTS: West Virginians motorists would pay deductibles of no more than $200 for repairing damage from hitting deer, under a bill highlighted by The Register-Herald of Beckley.

GAMBLING: The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee has effectively killed a bill "that would have banned ATM machines in neighborhood video slot parlors," The Charleston Gazette reports. "Under current state law, establishments that offer limited video lottery may have ATMs on the premises, as long as the ATM is located in an area removed from the video machines."

TEACHER PENSIONS: The Gazette also reports that Gov. Joe Manchin's bill to allow a merger of teacher retirement funds would double the estimated cost of ensuring full benefits for teachers who transfer. But the governor stood by his proposal in a MetroNews interview (audio here).

(Update:) A House committee has scaled back the proposed make-up payment while increasing the approval margin required in the special election on the merger question. AP has details and initial reaction.