Both the Senate and House of Delegates suspended constitutional rules to greenlight appropriations for roads, veterans’ projects and more during the legislative special session in Charleston, W.Va. on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Lawmakers started vetting Gov. Jim Justice’s list of 27 bills for the special session on Monday, opting to hold off on acting on the high-profile items, like the governor’s proposed cut to the personal income tax and child care tax credit.
Both the Senate and House of Delegates suspended constitutional rules to greenlight appropriations for roads, veterans’ projects and more. The lack of action on other bills -– as well as bills missing from the call — frustrated House Democrats, who pointed to at least $35,000 spent per day in a special session.
Both chambers recessed by Monday afternoon, opting to push a number of bills, including the proposed income tax reduction, to be considered when they reconvene on Oct. 6. The bill, pushed by Justice during his campaign for the U.S. Senate, doesn’t have the Legislature’s full support.
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, raised doubts that the state could afford a 5% tax cut.
“I’m doubtful, and the reason I’m doubtful is just because the revenues are coming in slower than they have for the past few years. We’re under estimates for the year on estimates that are probably already low estimates,” he said. “It’s tough to go and see where that money’s gonna come from.”
The bill would permit them to do less than the governor’s proposed 5%.
September’s revenue reports will come out Oct. 1
“I want the tax cuts to go on in the future, and what we risk doing by cutting the income tax too aggressively is going back and having to raise taxes to cover the cost of government,” Tarr continued. “We’ve reduced taxes by more than a billion dollars now. And in addition to that, we’ve been holding flat budgets to control the growth of government.”
In the House, Finance Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, supports the tax cut and thinks the state can afford some form of a reduction.
“I’m 100% for it in some form or fashion,” Criss said. “I don’t have any trouble with trying to get the money back to the people, and the government can do this and should do this.”
The House referred the bill to its Finance Committee but it wasn’t taken up when they met on Monday.
Democrats in the House tried to force a floor vote on the bill in their chamber, unsuccessfully calling for a suspension of constitutional rules.
“It seems like the Republican majority that talks a lot about cutting taxes, when it comes time, they’re a little scared — and for good reason they’re scared to. We’re here spending hundreds of millions in supplementals. Meanwhile, there’s a tax cut bill on the call,” said Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia. “We need to think of every essential service we provide to our people, whether that’s Birth to Three, whether that’s Medicaid services, whether that’s fixing our roads.”
In a news conference after the House recessed, Democrat delegates said the special session showed “confusion” and “chaos” while not addressing the pressing issues like the state’s child care crisis, loopholes in homeschool laws linked to child abuse and more.
“Our Democrat caucus has been yelling from the rooftop about these issues,” said Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, who has pushed for Raylee’s Law, that would pause or potentially deny a parent’s request to homeschool if a teacher has reported suspected child abuse. The legislation was named for 8-year-old Raylee Browning, who died of abuse and neglect in 2018 in Fayette County after her parents withdrew her from school.
“We had bipartisan agreement in the House on Raylee’s law,” Fluharty continued. “Yet, here we are down here on the taxpayer dime taking care of Jim Justice. It’s clear that he cares about one thing only — Jim Justice, not kids.”
Lawmakers focus on appropriations
The House suspended constitutional rules to swiftly approve a number of supplemental appropriations that included $1.2 million for Veterans Assistance projects and pay raises for teachers at the School of Deaf and Blind that were inadvertently left out of raises approved earlier this year. Additionally, the House approved $2 million in funding for West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Center; Justice vetoed that bill in April, saying it was too vague but opted to include it in his special session call.
Delegates spent the most time during their session on Monday discussing a bill that would repeal prohibitions in state code on the storage of certain kinds of nuclear waste. The bill passed the House 73-18 with nine members absent and not voting. The Senate introduced its version of the bill Monday morning. During the afternoon session, the body did not receive the House’s message regarding its passage of the bill and did not discuss either version of the legislation.
House Bill 208 would enter the state into an agreement with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and allow West Virginia to regulate, store and potentially dispose of “low-level” nuclear waste. Currently, the authority for regulating most nuclear waste lies with the federal government. Under the proposed bill — a similar version of which passed the House and was killed by the Senate in 2023 — the state Department of Health would oversee and coordinate with surrounding states on storage and disposal for certain kinds of nuclear waste.
Several Republicans and Democrats in the House shared concerns about the legislation, citing uncertainties about the health concerns regarding storing nuclear waste within the state and exactly what parameters would exist to ensure West Virginia wouldn’t be used as a dumping ground for other states producing more of the waste.
“You know, among all the other things we’ve been trying to follow with the legislation we’ve been passing here, I just got to looking at if ionizing radiation is dangerous to humans,” said Del. Jim Butler, R-Mason. “The short answer is it can be, so I have some concerns here.”
Those supporting the bill, including Del. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, said it would give the state more control over “the timeline” for permitting activities. It could also, lawmakers said, be an avenue into allowing the state to explore the option of nuclear energy in the future.
“I believe this is a good step for West Virginia in that it is not dealing with wastes from nuclear power generating facilities …,” Fehrenbacher said. “I do not see this as cracking open the door to allow such wastes to come to West Virginia.”
Mostly, members voting against the legislation — and even some who supported it — seemed frustrated to see it appear during the special session. Fehrenbacher said it was a “good question” as to why the bill was on the special session call. Dels. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, and Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier, said they would like to see the bill come up in a regular session, where it could be discussed in committee meetings and have some of the questions raised regarding it addressed.
The House Education Committee approved a bill with a 12-6 vote that would permit public charter schools to apply for money from the School Building Authority. Charter school advocates last year told lawmakers that start-up costs, including acquiring brick-and-mortar locations, were often difficult to fund. It will go to the House floor for consideration.
The Senate read 28 pieces of legislation and completed action on six House bills. Senators also suspended the constitutional rules to pass legislation that would move $87 million into a PEIA reserve fund. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.
Though in a recess, lawmakers remain in special session until they gavel in at 6 p.m. on Oct 6. They’re only paid for days that they are in Charleston and participating in the legislative process.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.