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Key Differences Between House, Senate Budgets As Clock Ticks On 2020 Session

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Host Suzanne Higgins has a conversation with House Finance members for a breakdown of the budget bill that passed out of the House chamber Wednesday night – a budget with some key differences in spending priorities than that of the Senate.

Higgins also speaks with reporter Emily Allen for an update on the day’s legislative action.

The Senate has received the House’s version of the budget bill, and members of both chambers are predicting a showdown over some of the key differences. Those differences include the House’s $16 million spending increase for the foster care system, while the Senate wants $7 million for a new Intermediate Appeals Court, and almost $3 million for judicial pay raises – which are not part of the budget bill the House sent over. All of this will have to be resolved.

Higgins speaks with House Finance Vice Chair Vernon Criss, R-Wood, and Finance Minority Chair Del. Mick Bates, D-Raleigh, about the House’s bill and the negotiations to come with the Senate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHqSma5l6uo

It was Red Cross Day at the West Virginia Legislature. As Randy Yohe reports, over the past year, Red Cross volunteers helped nearly 3,000 West Virginians impacted by disaster. He met a few of those volunteers at the Capitol.

Friday on The Legislature Today, it’s day 59. It promises to be a long day of split sessions at the Capitol as the clock ticks on several major bills. We’ll have an update on those bills and the budget in our Friday reporter roundtable.