Lawmakers began considering Gov. Jim Justice’s list of 27 bills for Monday’s special session and opted to hold off on implementing key items like the governor’s proposed income tax cut and child care tax credit.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives overrode constitutional provisions to free up funds for roads, veterans projects and more. The lack of action on other bills — as well as bills missing from the request — frustrated House Democrats, who pointed to at least $35,000 a day being spent in a special session.
Both chambers recessed Monday afternoon and decided to submit a number of bills, including the proposed income tax cut, for consideration when they reconvene on Oct. 6. The bill, which the judge introduced during his campaign for the US Senate, does not have the full support of the legislature.
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, expressed doubt that the state could afford a 5% tax cut.
“I have doubts, and the reason is simply that revenue is coming in more slowly than in recent years. “We are below estimates for the year, which are probably already low estimates,” he said. “It’s hard to figure out where the money is going to come from.”
The The invoice would allow them to do less than the governor’s proposed 5%.
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“I want the tax cuts to continue into the future, and if we cut the income tax too much, we risk having to go back and raise taxes to cover government costs,” Tarr continued. “We have now reduced taxes by more than a billion dollars. In addition, we have maintained flat budgets to control the growth of the government.”
In the House, Finance Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, supports the tax cut and believes the state can afford some form of tax reduction.
“I’m 100% in favor of it in some form,” Criss said. “I have no problem giving the money back to the people and the government can and should do this.”
The House referred the bill to its Finance Committee, but it was not taken up at Monday’s meeting.
House Democrats tried to force a vote on the bill in their chamber, unsuccessfully calling for a suspension of constitutional provisions.
“It seems like the Republican majority, which talks a lot about tax cuts when the time comes, is a little scared – and for good reason. We spend hundreds of millions on supplements here. In the meantime, a tax cut bill is on the agenda,” Del said. John Williams, D-Monongalia. “We have to think about every essential service that we provide to our people, whether it’s Birth to Three, whether it’s Medicaid services, whether it’s repairing our roads.”
In a news conference after the House recessed, Democratic delegates said the special session was marked by “confusion” and “chaos” while pressing issues like the state’s were not being addressed Child care crisisGaps in homeschool laws linked to child abuse and more.
“Our Democratic caucus has been shouting about these issues from the rooftop,” Del said. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, who sponsored Raylee’s bill, which would pause or potentially deny a parent’s request for home schooling if a teacher has reported suspected child abuse. The law was named after 8-year-old Raylee Browning. who died of abuse and neglect in 2018 in Fayette County after her parents pulled her out of school.
“We had bipartisan agreement in the House on Raylee’s Law,” Fluharty continued. “Yet we’re down here taking care of Jim Justice. It’s clear he only cares about one thing – Jim Justice, not children.”
Lawmakers are focused on resources
The House of Representatives overrode constitutional provisions to quickly approve a series of additional appropriations, including $1.2 million Projects to support veterans And Salary increases for teachers at the School of Deaf and Blind who were inadvertently left out of pay increases approved earlier this year. Additionally, the House approved $2 million in financing for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Center at West Virginia University; justice vetoed He rejected that bill in April, saying it was too vague, but opted to include it in his special session call.
Delegates spent most of their time Monday discussing a bill that would repeal bans in state law on storing certain types of nuclear waste. The bill passed the house 73-18 with nine members absent and not voting. The Senate presented his version of the bill on Monday morning. During the afternoon session, the panel received no communication from the House of Representatives regarding the passage of the bill and did not discuss either version of the bill.
House Bill 208 would enter the state enter into an agreement with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and allow West Virginia to regulate, store and potentially dispose of “low-level radioactive” nuclear waste. Currently, responsibility for regulating most nuclear waste rests with the federal government. Under the proposed legislation — a similar version of which passed the House and was rejected by the Senate in 2023 — the state Department of Health would oversee the storage and disposal of certain types of nuclear waste and coordinate with surrounding states.
Several Republicans and Democrats in the House expressed concerns about the legislation, citing uncertainties surrounding the health concerns surrounding storing nuclear waste in the state and the exact parameters that would ensure West Virginia would not be used as a dumping ground for other states that want more Nuclear waste producing waste.
“You know, among all the other things we’ve tried to pursue with the legislation we passed here, I just had to look at whether ionizing radiation is dangerous to humans,” Del said. Jim Butler, R-Mason. “The short answer is it can be, so I have some concerns here.”
Those supporting the bill, including Del. Rep. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, said he would give the state more control over “the timeline” for approving activities. According to lawmakers, it could also be a way to give the state the opportunity to explore the option of nuclear energy in the future.
“I believe this is a good move for West Virginia because it is not waste from nuclear power plants…,” Fehrenbacher said. “I do not view this as breaking down the door to allowing such waste to enter West Virginia.”
Most members who voted against the bill — and even some who supported it — appeared frustrated when it came up during the special session. Fehrenbacher said it’s a “good question” why the bill is in the special session. Dels. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, and Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier, said they would like to see the bill presented in a regular session where it could be discussed in committee meetings and some of the questions raised about it could be addressed.
The House Education Committee agreed an invoice by a 12-6 vote that would allow public charter schools to apply for money from the School Construction Authority. Charter school advocates told lawmakers last year that start-up costs, including acquiring brick-and-mortar locations, are often challenging to finance. It will be submitted to the plenary session for consideration.
The Senate read 28 Legal texts and completed action on six House bills. Senators In addition, the constitutional rules were suspended in order to pass laws that would move 87 million dollars into a PEIA reserve fund. The bill will now move to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Even if lawmakers take a break, they will remain in special session until they give up at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6. They are paid only for the days they are in Charleston and participate in the legislative process.
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