Session's Day 50 Marks Crossover Deadline

The House and Senate have exchanged more than 270 bills in advance of Wednesday's deadline for bills to emerge from their house of origin. Lawmakers still have a slew of measures to consider, with votes likely to suspend rules to bring some of them into a posture for passage.

Last year, more than 370 bills survived Day 50.

For a sampling of what's made it so far this session:

ATVs: The Senate-passed measures include "an all-terrain vehicle ban on every mile of paved road in West Virginia," The Register-Herald of Beckley reports. The Associated Press and The Charleston Gazette also have details, while MetroNews has a report with audio.

BUCKS FOR BRAINS: Most of Gov. Joe Manchin's bills have made the cut, including a Senate measure "designed to create a $100 million research fund for the state's two largest universities," AP and the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington report.

FREE CLINICS: The Senate voted to give the state Board of Pharmacy oversight of free and reduced-cost health clinics. But as AP health writer Tom Breen reports, some clinic operators fear harm from the will, "which would require those clinics to have a 'pharmacist in charge' to supervise the dispensing of prescription drugs."

MUNICIPAL PENSIONS: A proposed "bailout" to beleaguered police and firefighter pension funds made it to the House, but not without an outcry, as AP reports. Others with coverage include The Gazette, Herald-Dispatch and MetroNews.

PAYBACK'S A BITCH: Another of Manchin's bills would require state employees to pay for the costs of advanced training if they leave state employee soon after receiving it. As AP reports, "the House of Delegates passed the measure Tuesday after exempting an array of state offices from its provisions, including the Legislature and the Supreme Court."

PROPERTY TAXES: The Senate advanced a pair of measures that would exempt or greatly reduce a manufacturer's inventory from property taxes. But county officials and teacher groups tell AP they remain concerned over the resulting loss of revenue.

SCHOOL AID FORMULA: Tweaking a proposal that emerged from monthly interim meetings, the House has sent the Senate proposed changes to the method for funding schools that accounts for student population density and "could increase education spending by $37 million over the next three years," AP reports. The Gazette also has a story.

SCHOOL BUS RIDES: Reviving a perennial debate, the House passed mandatory bus ride time limits for younger public school students. AP has details.

STONEWALL RESORT: The House has passed the bill "allowing private investors to build condos, townhouses and other lodgings at the state's Stonewall Resort," AP reports.

ZONING: With some counties weighing zoning rules, the House-passed bills include one "that aims to reduce the petition requirements for bringing such an ordinance before voters," The Journal of Martinsburg reports. "The measure also sets forth new procedures for amending existing ordinances."