West Virginia Legislature takes special session into second day

EXPLAINING — Berkeley Bentley, common counsel for the Governor’s Workplace, defined the necessity for laws creating revolving mortgage funds for the Financial Improvement Authority and the Division of Transportation. — Picture Courtesy/WV Legislative Pictures

CHARLESTON – Members of the West Virginia Legislature made comparatively fast work in passing nearly all of payments Monday within the second particular session of 2022. However motion on an financial growth invoice must wait till right this moment.

Each the state Senate and Home of Delegates gaveled in at midday Monday, coinciding with the second day of April legislative interim conferences on the State Capitol Constructing.

Gov. Jim Justice issued a proclamation Friday calling the Legislature into particular session to think about 17 payments. A few of the objects included payments that Justice vetoed for technical causes, payments that didn’t make it via the 60-day common session that ended March 12, and new items of laws.

Lawmakers handed 14 payments by Monday night, finishing motion on a majority of the payments by the afternoon. However lawmakers within the Home took their time on the primary cause for the particular session: Senate Invoice 2001, relating usually to funding for infrastructure and financial growth tasks in state.

An try and droop constitutional guidelines requiring a invoice be learn on three separate days failed, placing SB 2001 on second studying when the Home gavels in once more at 8 a.m. right this moment

As a substitute of waiving the committee reference, SB 2001 and the Home’s model of the invoice have been despatched to the Home Finance Committee, which met at 3 p.m. Monday to think about the invoice.

SB 2001 is just like Senate Invoice 729, handed by the Legislature on the ultimate day of the common session. Justice vetoed the invoice on the finish of March, citing quite a few technical errors within the invoice making it unimaginable to implement.

SB 2001 would create a revolving mortgage fund managed by the state Financial Improvement Authority to fund loans for enterprise and industrial growth tasks. Funds will come from $600 million appropriated to the Division of Financial Improvement within the fiscal 12 months 2023 common income price range from end-of-year surplus collections. A minimal of $200 million can be utilized to finance excessive affect growth tasks.

The invoice additionally would make obtainable $200 million to the state Division of Transportation for a revolving mortgage program, The Infrastructure Funding Reimbursement Fund would cowl value reimbursement for transportation tasks. The fund itself can be reimbursed with federal funds as they develop into obtainable.

“The invoice as a complete is admittedly meant to leverage state {dollars} to the best extent doable,” mentioned Berkeley Bentley, common counsel for the Governor’s Workplace. “Over the following 5 years there can be an enormous quantity of infrastructure cash coming into the state. Slightly than hoping revenues are there annually, this revolving fund will enable us to make the most of as a lot as we will.”

Different payments handed Monday embody: allowing the usage of air rifles when looking, updating the prescriptive authority for physicians assistants and superior sensible registered nurses, creating the Army Authority Reimbursable Expenditure Account, making adjustments to the make-up and necessities for numerous boards and commissions, creating an unemployment compensation insurance coverage fraud unit, making adjustments to the state Actual Property License Act, an possibility on digital looking and fishing license functions for voluntary donations to the West Virginia College Rifle Crew, establishing different academic alternatives for elective course credit score, and codifying state felony offenses for flying an plane below the affect.

Different payments handled state retirement and pension programs. Home Invoice 212 would add household court docket judges to the Judges’ Retirement System. The same invoice was vetoed by Justice for technical errors. Home Invoice 216 would improve the multipliers to be used in figuring out advantages within the police officer and firefighters retirement programs. Senate payments 2003 and 2004 make tweaks to the Public Staff Retirement System.

One invoice that seems liable to not making it out of the particular session is Senate Invoice 2002, reclassifying Bluefield State School as a statutorily exempt college. The invoice is on second studying within the Home, however the Senate referred the invoice to its Guidelines Committee the place payments that don’t have assist typically get parked.

If handed, BSU would be a part of West Virginia College, Marshall College, and the West Virginia Faculty of Osteopathic Medication as statutorily exempt faculties. Shepherd College and Fairmont State College have administrative exemptions.

To ensure that the invoice to make it earlier than legislative interim conferences finish right this moment, it wants a four-fifths vote of members to droop constitutional guidelines requiring payments be learn on three separate days, in any other case the invoice can be on third studying within the Home Wednesday – at some point after interim conferences finish. Lawmakers have been already planning to be in Charleston Sunday via right this moment, eliminating the common $35,000-per-day value of a particular session. It isn’t probably that lawmakers will agree to remain one other day in particular session.

Justice additionally amended the particular session name Monday and added a supplemental appropriation invoice offering $250 million in federal COVID-19 aid {dollars} to the Financial Enhancement Grant Fund via the West Virginia Water Improvement Authority. The fund will present matching grants to municipalities for water and sewer infrastructure tasks.

“These are main {dollars} that, with the assist of the Legislature, will assist make life higher for therefore many West Virginians in all types of the way,” Justice mentioned in a press release. “Sadly, we nonetheless have locations the place entry to those utilities isn’t as dependable appropriately. It’s an issue that goes again a long time – lengthy earlier than I walked within the door as Governor. With this Laws, we’d be taking an enormous step ahead.”

The particular session may wrap up this morning as soon as the Senate gavels in at 8 a.m.