Reporter Roundtable Discusses First Three Days Of 2020 Session

The halls of the Capitol are now quiet. Lawmakers have gone home for the weekend, and the session has gotten off to a low-key start. We discuss the first three days of the 2020 West Virginia Legislative session with statehouse reporters, and we look at some of the legislation introduced this week in both the House and Senate.

Statehouse journalists Brad McElhinny of WV MetroNews, Emily Allen of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, and Phil Kabler of the Charleston Gazette-Mail join host Suzanne Higgins for this year’s first weekly reporter roundtable.

Highlights from the discussion:

• Review of the first three days of the 2020 session
• Budget outlook
• Proposed Medicaid reserve fund and surplus Medicaid dollars
• Response to Gov. Jim Justice’s 2020 State of the State Address
• A look back at last year’s omnibus education bill
• What’s to come?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7XhTuFS8pY

Reporter Emily Allen brings us a story featuring state senators’ legislative agendas, and Randy Yohe surveyed House of Delegates members about the concerns of their constituents back home.

Monday on The Legislature Today, Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, joins us as the first full week of the West Virginia Legislative session gets underway.