Highway Cameras
February 1, 2008

Back in September, I was joined by Majority Whip Mike Caputo and Speaker Rick Thompson in announcing plans to introduce legislation to allow highway cameras set up by the state Department of Transportation for monitoring traffic and road conditions to be used to assist in Amber Alert searches.

The bill, which would provide a "guardian angel" overseeing the state’s interstates to help search for missing children, will be up for a vote next week in the House of Delegates.

The cameras were made available to West Virginia as part of a federal grant. In the event of an Amber Alert, the proposed legislation would allow law enforcement authorities to make use of the cameras to try and locate a vehicle associated with a child abduction.

This bill would establish the "Guardian Angel Video Monitoring" program, whereby the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, the State Police, and the Division of Highways would develop and implement the program for the purposes of utilizing "all available video recording and monitoring devices" to monitor "Amber Alert suspect vehicles" and "to provide for the State Police to monitor and utilize video recording and monitoring devices during an Amber Alert."

It would require the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety to submit its plan to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by December 1, 2008, including an analysis of all related costs and recommendations for any additional legislation or actions necessary to further facilitate the implementation.

It’s an extra tool to assist law enforcement in their efforts to locate a missing child in the event of an Amber Alert. By passing this legislation we’ll be providing our children with an electronic guardian angel to help protect them when a predator strikes.

* Also next week, we are scheduled to vote on House Concurrent Resolution 20, which will request an interim study on courts of chancery. This is a very interesting proposal.

Courts of chancery or "business courts" have been established by states throughout the country to preside over and adjudicate matters of commercial law and complex litigation between businesses.

They are presided over by a judge with extensive knowledge in commercial law, complex litigation and other areas of law affecting businesses and corporations, and they promote and utilize alternative dispute resolution to bring about successful resolution of cases without the parties becoming embroiled in a protracted litigation process.

Courts of chancery relieve the dockets of circuit courts by removing cases involving commercial law and complex business litigation and assigning them to a court of chancery.

In other states, such courts have allowed for complex cases to be resolved faster and with less expense than cases tried in courts of general jurisdiction. They are valuable tools for assisting businesses in getting fair, consistent, and timely dispute resolution. They allow the judges to utilize technology, such as electronic filing and internet technology to support case management.

Several states have established this by legislation, by rule, or by means of a pilot program a form of chancery court, and many states are either working to establish or are studying the feasability of establishing a court of chancery.

It is certainly is worthy of consideration by this Legislature as to whether implementation of a Court of chancery would improve our court system and business climate, so it is perfect for an interim study.

I welcome and appreciate your input on these or any other legislative issues. Write to House Majority Leader Joe DeLong, Building 1, Room 228-M, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, 25305, or joe@joedelong.com, or call 304-340-3220.