Regular Session Winding Down (Updated)

The Associated Press offers an overview as the Legislature enters the final hours of its 60-day regular session.

Heading into evening floor sessions, the House of Delegates and Senate have passed nearly 150 bills to the governor.

Disagreements over nine bills have prompted joint conference committees to attempt to reconcile differences. They are:

• SB 218, Gov. Joe Manchin's proposal for accelerated parole (Updated: Passed);
  
• SB 230, Relating to Board of Optometry (and it doesn't help the already tense debate that the board president was arrested on DUI charges, The Charleston Gazette reports) (Updated: Passed);
• SB 273, Authorizing DEP promulgate legislative rules related to oil and gas drilling (Updated: Passed);
• SB 480, Relating to public higher education personnel (Updated: Passed);
• HB 4166, Expanding the age for firefighters over thirty-five years of age for persons already employed by another paid fire department (Updated: Passed);
• HB 4177, Dedicating five percent of coal severance tax to the county of origin (Updated: Passed);
• HB 4207, Making it unlawful to send obscene, anonymous, harassing and threatening communications by computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other mobile device;
• HB 4513, Establishing requirements for Marcellus gas well operations use of water resources;
• HB 4593, Relating to high school graduation improvement (Updated: Passed).