Reflecting on West Virginia’s 2024 legislative session

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – West Virginia’s 2024 regular legislative session ended last weekend.

We talked with Wood County Delegate Scot Heckert to look back on what lawmakers did and didn’t get done during the 60-day session.

Heckert pointed to several pieces of legislation that made it through both houses by the March 9th deadline, including raises for teachers and other state employees, tax cuts on social security benefits, and more state oversight for recovery residences.

Heckert said he wants lawmakers to address more things during a special session in May, including funding for the state’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Waiver. “The IDD waiver,” Heckert said. “They’re the most vulnerable people in our state, and the people that take care of them are their only source of being taken care of. I have the utmost surety that we’ll push and get what we need to get for them to get things done.”

Further funding for the IDD waiver was left out of the budget lawmakers passed last Saturday due to ongoing negotiations between the governor’s office and the federal government over how state and federal dollars were used to fund education during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Governor Justice has said he intends to call a special session after those negotiations are complete to make changes to the state budget before the next fiscal year starts on July First.

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