Amendments Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Amendment 3: Allowing Church Incorporation

Amendment 3 asks West Virginia voters if churches should be allowed to incorporate. West Virginia is the only state in the country to not allow religious incorporation.

When a company, or church, incorporates, it becomes its own legal business structure set apart from the individuals who founded the business.

Bishop Matthew Riegel of the West Virginia and Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said incorporation is how people get together and form a legally recognized entity – a way of providing a legal structure for operation.

Riegel explained that in the late 1800’s, there was a big push to get churches incorporated.

“There were churches with pretty powerful businessmen who were members of the council of churches,” Riegel said. “And they recognized the benefits of incorporation for their industries and their other financial holdings.”

Riegel said that in 1863, Virginia still had church incorporation outlawed on its books from a much earlier period, and West Virginia, having seceded, just inherited it.

“It came about as a way to get around the political implications of having the General Assembly make decisions about which religious institutions should be allowed to incorporate,” Riegel said.

Virginia allowed church incorporation 20 years ago following a successful lawsuit by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. West Virginia now remains the only state in the country to not allow religious incorporation.

Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, responded to local pastoral questions on church incorporation by sponsoring a Senate resolution leading to the amendment proposal.

“Not allowing incorporation denies a religious organization or church the opportunity to do something that every other organization may freely do,” Trump said. “It violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides for the free exercise of religion.”

Trump said amendment passage would be permissive, not requiring any church or religious organization to incorporate.

“It would just say only provisions may be made by general laws for the incorporation of churches or religious denominations,” Trump said. “And that would presume that they wanted to. Some of the small ones apparently do.”

Bishop Riegel said the only drawback of amending the state constitution to allow church incorporation would be some extra paperwork for his synod.

“We have our own constitution for our churches that says that a congregation must be incorporated in the state in which it resides,” Riegel said. “If the amendment passes, then all of my congregations that have that provision need to seek incorporation at that point, not because the state is forcing them, but because our own church governance would require it. And that’ll be extra work for people. It’ll be extra work for me.”

Both Riegel and Trump said they have heard of some West Virginia religious organizations that have incorporated – by just flying under the government’s radar.

“I think that’s more evidence that we need to remove this provision, which was restricted or altered or amended from within the state constitution,” Trump said.

W.Va. Voting Primer — Two Weeks Before Election Day

Early in-person voting runs from Oct. 26 until Nov. 5. Check with your local county clerk’s office for locations.

Editor’s Note: There was a slight correction changing a word from clients to lines in a quote by Secretary Warner.

Early in-person voting runs from Oct. 26 until Nov. 5. Check with your local county clerk’s office for locations.

Registered voters who are ill, disabled, traveling or studying outside their home counties can vote absentee. Voters can request an absentee ballot by getting an application from their local clerk’s office or online at GoVoteWV.com. That application needs to be mailed or hand-delivered by Nov. 2.

Completed absentee ballots must be mailed and postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 8. Hand-delivered absentee ballots must be taken to your county clerk’s office 24 hours before Election Day. No one person may deliver more than two voters’ absentee ballots.

Secretary of State Mac Warner said it’s vital to understand there are four different amendment issues on the ballot. He asked all voters to read and research each amendment before they vote.

“I don’t want confusion. At that point, it’s too late to start asking questions about what this means, or about the nuances of it,” Warner said. “That also can cause delays in polling places, and we want lines to move smoothly.”

Identification is required to vote. Forms of acceptable ID include a driver’s license, U.S. passport, birth certificate or voter registration cards. The ID must be current – not expired.

Earlier this year, West Virginia redrew its voting districts based on the 2020 Census. Nov. 8 is the first major election since the changes. Warner said going from 67, multi member districts to 100 single member districts in the West Virginia House of Delegates caused the county clerk’s to get those district and precinct lines drawn very precisely.

He said any voter precinct confusion during the May primary has been straightened out.

“Clerks are much happier right now,” Warner said. “They’re still quite busy. But there aren’t those concerns over redistricting and getting that information out to the voters. Things are going much more smoothly here with the general election.”

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

With at least ten primary races decided by 10 votes or less, some by one vote, Warner said every cast ballot counts. He said America’s political, social, economic concerns have caused some division, and voting is the rational remedy.

“The place to settle this is not in the streets. We don’t need any buildings being burned down, or January 6, or any of that sort of thing,” Warner said. “We need people to get out and vote the American way, at the ballot box.”

Voters can find all the information needed to cast an educated ballot at GoVoteWV.com.

You can find the stories about all four amendments on the West Virginia Public Broadcasting website.

Senate Leaders Call On Justice To Include Them In Amendment 2 Public Forums

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and Finance Committee Chair Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, say they need to participate in Gov. Jim Justice’s “community conversation” public forums on Amendment 2.

The proposed constitutional amendment would give the legislature authority to regulate property taxes. It is one of four amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot.

“There’s misinformation that’s been passed on in those forums that is just inaccurate,” Blair said. “If we did the forum together, they can make their argument against Amendment 2, we can make our argument for the amendment and let the public know what the real answers are.”

Blair said the amendment doesn’t do away with any taxes and Justice’s claim that business and inventory taxes only benefit corporations is false.

“Seventy percent of state business is made up of small West Virginia businesses and they pay taxes on their equipment and inventory, machinery and their vehicles, regardless of their annual sales or the profits,” Blair said. “Another Justice argument completely disregards the fact that there’s a pile of agreements out there that make it so that the large corporations are already exempt from business and inventory taxes.”

Blair said the Senate Finance Committee’s property tax regulation plan, which is still subject to revision, details how West Virginia county governments, schools and services will actually get more funding, not less. He said this proposal is far from a state power grab.

“We’re doing it transparently so that they can see what we’re talking about up front. But it still has to go through the legislative process and everything can be adjusted,” Blair said. “We’re partners, we’re partners with the counties, we’re partners with the local school boards, we’re partners with municipalities. They have been on the decline for a long time — but our state government, we’ve got that right sized and it’s working well.”

In response to the call for public debate, Justice said that when Blair and Tarr were presenting their plan around the state, he wasn’t invited.

“I’m not looking for a food fight,” Justice said. “I’m not looking for a debate. I’m looking for the fact that I have not presented the other side. All I need to do is peacefully present my side and then let the people decide. And whatever they decide I’ll be all in.”

Justice Continues 'On The Road' Campaign Against Amendment 2 In Beckley

Justice met with constituents at Beckley’s Word Park. He continued to publicly argue against the amendment that would give the legislature the authority to eliminate property taxes.

Calling his state-traveling campaign a “community conversation” on his proposed personal income tax cut, Justice met with constituents at Beckley’s Word Park. He continued to publicly argue against the amendment that would give the legislature the authority to eliminate property taxes.

He again voiced his themes that cutting the business and inventory tax would cost $550 million and cripple the county government services that rely on that funding. He said amendment passage would give the legislature too much power over counties.

“What will happen to our schools? What will happen to our firemen and our policemen if this passes,” Justice questioned. “We will have to turn back to them and make cuts, and like it or not, we will.”

Justice said his proposed 10 percent income tax cut will bring new workers in, not help out-of-state corporations.

“If business after business are coming to West Virginia already, and they are, we need population growth here,” Justice said. “The very best way under the sun to have population growth is cutting the personal income tax.”

On the pro-Amendment 2 side, the most vocal proponent, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, has touted the fact that Berkeley County is one of the few endorsing the amendment.

Justice has announced that he will have a community conversation on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. outside the Kanawha County Courthouse in Charleston.

Legislature Gets Ever Closer to Approving the Brunch Bill

A bill to bump up alcohol sales on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m. is moving in the House even after Speaker Tim Armstead said it wasn’t a priority this session. Businesses across the state have cried out for the bill’s approval, calling it an economic development measure.

Earlier this week, House Judiciary amended Senate Bill 298 in committee; a bill that has been affectionately referred to as the “brunch bill” to include a provision requiring county voters approve of the time change through a referendum.

As approved by the Judiciary Committee, the bill would not require county commissioners to hold elections to allow the sales, only permit such measures on a ballot.

The full House voted on the amendment to the bill Thursday, but with some debate.

Democrat Isaac Sponaugle of Pendleton County spoke in opposition to the change.

“Now we are trying to run it back down and have all 55 counties put a referendum vote on whether to decide or not we’re going to have sale of alcohol at restaurants from 10 to 1 a.m.,” Sponaugle said, “We’re just moving it back three hours. I believe this body is fully capable of making a decision for the entire state of whether or not we’re going to move the drinking time back three hours without putting on the ballot in all 55 counties.”

Vice Chairman of Judiciary, Delegate Patrick Lane of Kanawha County spoke in favor of the amendment and said what passed in the Senate would likely not pass in the House.

“I certainly understand the point made from my friend from the 55^th; however, I would suggest that regardless of what the form was in when it passed the Senate, I would suggest to you that if you are interested in having a brunch bill that this is the form that ought to be adopted, because I would suggest that while it may have been unanimous or close to it in the Senate, it would be very far from unanimous or close to it in the House, so if you prefer to have this bill at all, I would suggest adoption of the Judiciary amendment,” Lane explained.

The amendment passed 58 to 38.

Senate Bill 298 will be up for a vote in the House Friday.

The county referendum was not a part of the bill as approved in the Senate so if approved in the House, it will have to return to the Senate for further consideration. The bill’s lead sponsor, Senator Chris Walters, has said he would prefer the bill allowed counties to opt out of the Sunday morning sales, but there is no official word from Senate leadership that the change will be considered.

House Rejects Four Amendments to TANF Drug Testing Bill

The House of Delegates will vote on a bill Wednesday that would require drug testing for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Senate Bill 6 requires the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to apply for permission from the federal government to begin a drug screening and testing program.

In that program, applicants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF benefits could be tested if there’s “reasonable suspicion” those applicants are using drugs or if they’ve been convicted of a drug crime in the past three years.

The bill creates a three strike system within the program. After one failed drug test, the TANF recipient does not lose any benefits, but must enter a rehabilitative or workforce training program. After the second failed test, the recipient loses benefits for one year or until completion of the workforce or rehabilitative program. After a third failed test, he or she loses benefits for life.

In any step in the process, the benefits given to children in the home will not be taken away. The DHHR is required to find another adult to distribute the benefits to, just like they do in other programs.

Delegates considered four amendments to the bill during a floor session Tuesday night. All four amendments were proposed by Democrats.

1. The first amendment would have removed marijuana from the list of drugs that could cause an applicant to lose his or her benefits. This bill was rejected.

The second and third amendments were ruled not relevant to the bill —

2. The second amendment would have required state lawmakers to be drug tested. If a legislator would have failed that test, he or she would have been required to enter a drug treatment program and would lose their pay.

3. The third amendment would have expanded the drug testing program beyond just those who are applying for TANF benefits to any person who is applying for funding from the state, including the officers of private companies.

But both amendments were ruled not relevant by House Speaker Tim Armstead.

4. The final amendment considered would have required the DHHR to obtain a warrant for the drug test from a judge. However, this amendment was also rejected.

Senate Bill 6 will be up for a vote in the House Wednesday.

A recent poll of likely West Virginia voters found 77 percent supported drug testing welfare recipients.