CHARLESTON - Legislators felt the recent session of the West Virginia Legislature was slow but still productive.
The Legislature wrapped up its regular 60-day session Saturday. Lawmakers will be meeting this week to finalize the state's budget for the next fiscal year.
With the downturn in the economy and it being considered an off-election year for state officials, many legislators felt things went slowly for this session.
''With the economy the way it is, things were a lot slower and quieter,'' said state Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants.
Boley said state officials adopted a stance of not raising taxes or starting new programs that would require a lot of money to operate.
Delegate Dan Poling, D-Wood, said there were still plenty of issues for lawmakers to consider this session.
Poling is glad legislation passed to create a Fleet Management Office within the Department of Administration that will be held accountable for the state vehicle fleet.
''It is a good thing and provides a cost savings to the state,'' Poling said.
Poling co-sponsored a bill introduced by Delegate John Ellem, R-Wood, that eliminates the use of the term "mental retardation" from the state code and replaces it with "intellectual disability."
Poling also introduced a bill, which was passed, establishing it was illegal to manufacture or possess an extract containing Salvia divinorum being used for human consumption and created criminal penalties for possessing it.
The substance, found in hundreds of flowers, had been used in the creation of some addictive materials, but did not fall under the guidelines of a controlled substance.
''This bill helped give law enforcement the tools they need to do something about this,'' Poling said.
Ellem was glad to get legislation passed on the "mental retardation" wording in the state code and other legislation that would allow the state Supreme Court to form a business court division, which would hear complex commercial cases.
''It would allow the court to develop expertise in these matters,'' he said.
Ellem was glad for the passage of a bill, co-sponsored by him, Poling and others, creating penalties for those involved in criminal street gangs.
''Gangs have becoming a growing problem in our area,'' Ellem said.
Boley worked this session on legislation to address the high school dropout rate, which she said is around 25 percent, and to bring together programs dealing with the dropouts to better address the problem.
Part of the legislation passed would move the dropout age from 16 to 17 in 2011 as well as a initiatives designed to keep students in school and graduate.
Sen. Frank Deem, R-Wood, was glad to see the school calendar bill pass, which helped ensure school districts get 180 days of instruction.
Legislators wanted to tackle issues such as the unfunded liability for retiree benefits for public employees and charter schools in relation to West Virginia being passed over for federal funding, Deem said.
Legislators believed Gov. Joe Manchin will call a special session to deal with these issues.
''There is no definite special session yet,'' said Matt Turner, spokesman for Manchin. ''The governor has said he would call a special session on education to address shortcomings in the 'Race to the Top' application,'' he said.
