Legislature 2009: Day 14

• Public Broadcasting (audio here) reports that "a bill to provide payments to volunteer firefighters faces an uncertain future, even after the deaths of two volunteer firefighters in the line of duty."

• The Charleston Daily Mail highlights a bill expected to pass this week "that would establish the Silver Alert system in West Virginia. The system would be used to track adults with Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments if they wander off and wind up missing."

• Several lawmakers have proposed exempting firearms and ammunition from the state sales tax throughout each November, The Register-Herald of Beckley reports.

• Public Broadcasting reports on efforts by officials in the once-booming Eastern Panhandle officials to compete with more down-trodden areas of the state for road funding. With audio.

• Both Public Broadcasting and The Register-Herald focus on a proposal to hike the state's cigaress tax by 65 cent, with the latter citing supporters who say the increase would put West Virginia’s rate on par with the national average and "yield between $100 million and $110 million the first year."

• MetroNews reports on a bill passed Monday by the House that would provide a way for regional jail inmates to get out of jail early, while Public Broadcasting spoke to the GOP freshman who was the bill's sole opponent. With video.