CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates gave unanimous approval Friday to a bill that would require the West Virginia Parkways Authority to begin accepting payment for tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike through credit and debit cards by July 1, 2022.
There was no discussion on the bill, HB 4083, before it was approved 96-0. The measure now goes to the Senate.
The bill says implementation of the procedures will be required a year earlier, July 1, 2021, if the winning bid for the changeover is less than $250,000. The bill instructs the Parkways Authority to collect any extra fees from motorists that banks charge for using credit or debit cards.
Parkways Authority General Manager Greg Barr told lawmakers in a Jan. 29 committee meeting the authority was moving toward credit and debit payments at toll booths but it was going to be part of a three-year process underway to change the entire tolling system on the Turnpike.
The bill also says the authority may limit “the number of toll booths that accept payment by credit and debit cards at each toll collection point.”
DUI on private property bill approved
The House also passed a bill, HB 4664, Friday that would change a bill it passed just last year that made it legal to drive under the influence on private property.
The change to make the activity illegal again came after federal highway officials said the state was in jeopardy of losing $58 million in annual federal highway funding.
“The bill before you adds language that clarifies that DUIs causing injury to others may be assessed anywhere in the state while those that do not may only be assessed against an individual operating a vehicle on a public highway or a private road,” House Judiciary Committee John Shott, R-Mercer, explained to the full House Friday.
Shott said the state Division of Motor Vehicles believes the language will satisfy federal highway officials.
The bill, which now moves to the Senate, was approved on an 88-10 vote.
Debate on immunity bill
The most extended debate in the House during Friday’s floor session came on HB 4585 that provides immunity from civil or criminal liability for those making “good faith” reports of child abuse or neglect.
Del. Brandon Steele said the bill was nothing more than a “get out of jail free card.”
“There is no reason on the face of the planet that any person in this building or outside of this building, in the employment of the government, should be immune from criminal prosecution for any reason whatsoever,” Steele said.
The state Department of Health and Human Resources supports the bill in connection with work done by those in the Division of Child Protective Services.
Shott said Steele has it all wrong. He said the bill is about encouraging more people to report suspected child abuse.
“It’s basically intended to encourage people to report incidents of abuse and not be chilled by any fear of being prosecuted if the report turns out to be incorrect,” Shott said. “It’s a very limited bill but has a motive to try and encourage people to report suspected child abuse.”
Shott said there are other laws on the book that take care of “bad faith” intentional false reports.
The bill passed 69-29. It also goes to the Senate.