Gov. Jim Justice has signed all legislation completed during the Sept. 30 to Oct. 8 special legislative session, according to a message the Senate Clerk released on Wednesday stating that Justice had signed the last seven bills remaining on his desk.
Some bills Justice signed Wednesday were among those that generated significant debate among legislators — including bills that establish opioid treatment clinical trials, open up state funds for charter school construction, and authorize the state health department to manage radioactive waste.
Justice had previously signed the other thirty bills passed during the special session. All 37 bills are now in effect.
The legislature adjourned its second special session Tuesday around 10 p.m. Out of 42 proposed bills, 37 passed the legislative finish line. Many involved one or both chambers suspending constitutional rules to pass bills without a typical three-day reading process.
The legislature adjourned its second special session Tuesday around 10 p.m. Out of 42 proposed bills, 37 passed the legislative finish line. Many involved one or both chambers suspending constitutional rules to pass bills without a typical three-day reading process.
The governor framed the special session call around childcare and a personal income tax cut along with appropriations. But many other bills made it to the call as well, including bills on nuclear waste regulation, charter school funding, an opioid treatment clinical trial, and firefighter funds.
All special session bills were fast tracked to the finish line, which involved one or both chambers passing the bills without considering them over a total of at least five days.
Both chambers passed the bill, but it passed narrowly in the House where it was shy of four votes to be effective immediately.
On the Senate side, senators were scrambling to convince some of the House members who voted no on the bill to reconsider. Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, says a grant funded recovery clinic in his district was at risk of closing if the bill wasn’t effective immediately.
Ultimately, the House reconsidered its vote and passed the measure to be effective as soon as Gov. Jim Justice signs it.
A bill that would temporarily restrict fire stations from levying a fee on businesses and homes outside of their tax district was passed. Firefighters were in the gallery protesting the fast-tracked bill amid debate on whether fees penalized out-of-municipality residences.
After leaving the galley, Buckhannon Fire Chief James Kimball pointed to large proportions of out-of-municipality fire responses and funding needed for staffing and training.
“Counties that have a lot of population should be looking at supplementing their volunteers with career staff,” Kimball said. “It’s just in today’s world, we are so busy.”
The West Virginia Legislature came together today in a Special Session.
In comments leading up to the special session, Gov. Jim Justice said he called the legislature to address three main issues: pass supplemental appropriations bills, cut the income tax by five percent, and give parents whose children are in daycare some tax relief.
The legislature only did one of those things.
Both the House of Delegates and the Senate suspended rules and passed supplemental appropriations bills. Those bills divy out surplus money that the state has to different state organizations.
The other was HB208, which would make West Virginia an agreement state with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, passed with the smallest margin of 73 yays out of 91 votes cast.
Thirty nine states are currently part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. HB208 would shift nuclear waste management from the federal government to the state’s health department.
The House discussed HB208 for about 40 minutes. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns around the bill being pushed during a special session.
Delegates in support of HB 208 pointed to a 2023 bill HB2896, which would have the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission but would have cited state level regulation with the Department of Environmental Protection, saying the issue had passed the House with a wide margin before. HB2896 stalled in the Senate.
“I think I even voted for a bill like this before,” Del. Jim Butler R-Mason, who voted against HB 208, said. However, he continued that the risks of low-level radiation gave him pause about pushing the bill in a Special Session.
“I have some concerns about this, and I don’t know if anyone else has given this very, really serious consideration, and I don’t know if there’s really a rush that we have to do this during this special session,” Butler said.
Del. Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier, also spoke against the bill.
“I want to see nuclear power come to West Virginia, I have to make a decision on behalf of my constituents back home, who’s probably just as confused right now,” Loganacre said.
Lawmakers also expressed concern about the bill opening up West Virginia to out-of-state nuclear waste storage and corporate projects. Del. Henry Dillon, R-Wayne, raised a 2022 Mingo Messenger article on Curio, a nuclear waste company, seeking to build in the state.
Del. Bill Anderson, R-Wood, rebuked concerns and spoke in favor of the bill.
“I can assure you that as chair of the Energy Committee and manufacturing committee of this state, I’ll have no part in opening large scale nuclear waste disposal facilities in this state, period,” Anderson said following the House adjournment.
Income Tax
Justice put a five percent personal income tax reduction in the call for the legislature’s second special session. This comes after the legislature has passed multiple tax cuts since Justice took office. *
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said based on the legislature’s calculations the state cannot afford that tax cut.
“I’m doubtful, and the reason I’m doubtful is just because the revenues are coming in slower than they have for the past few years,” Tarr said. “Right now, we’re under estimates for the year, on estimates that are probably already low estimates.”
However those estimates are based on Senate Finance calculations. Tarr said he would like to see the governor’s numbers. However Justice, unlike previous governors, has not delivered a five year projected fiscal analysis of proposed budgetary legislation — like this tax cut.
Tarr says without the governor’s numbers to prove otherwise, it’s hard to see where the money will come from to make up for the lost revenues without running a deficit.
“That’s part of going into things eyes wide open, you know? So it’s very important to have a forecast of revenue and expenses that are on the book,” Tarr said.
Across the hall, the House introduced House Resolution 1, which would require the House to receive that five year fiscal analysis from the state Tax Department before imposing a tax cut.
Childcare
The House introduced a bill that would give parents a 50 percent tax cut to their state income tax based if their children are enrolled in childcare. That bill will likely be considered starting on Sunday.
However after multiple tax cuts, and expiring pandemic era federal funds, some lawmakers worry if there is space in the budget for another tax cut.
Tarr is concerned that the tax cut may cost taxpayers money without delivering any economic development.
“You’re playing favorites when you do tax credits,” Tarr said. “To me, that doesn’t help with West Virginia’s competitive ability in the market nationally to attract people and to attract businesses.”
Others, like Sen. Oliverio, R-Monongalia, said this bill is a step in the right direction.
“It’s going to take some additional dollars, but I don’t know of any place where we could invest more dollars and have a greater return,” Oliverio said.
He said that the state could benefit from many types of childcare reform like TriShare where employers, employees, and the state are all putting some money towards childcare which he says could help childcare facilities stay open, and help parents have access to high quality care.
House Democrats held a caucus press conference following adjournment, where legislators critiqued the special session’s lack of action on childcare and children’s issues.
“It’s not necessarily what’s on the call this legislative special session, but what’s not on the call,” Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said.
“We’ve had a lot of issues regarding children in this state, regarding rules along homeschooling and keeping children safe, and they were unable to do anything about that in the special session,” Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said.
The Legislature will reconvene on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. to consider the remaining bills.
Gov. Jim Justice has issued a proclamation calling for the West Virginia Legislature to convene for a second Special Session of the year starting Monday, Sept 30, 2024. Both chambers will gavel in at 11 a.m.
There are 27 items on the call, including one to pay for costs of the session itself. Most of the remaining 26 items are supplemental funding requests with excess revenue from the 2024 fiscal year. Those funds must be appropriated to state programs or sent to line items like the rainy day fund.
The first five items on the call are of special note.
1. Calls for an additional 5 percent personal income tax reduction over and above the 21.25 percent decrease last year and the triggered 4 percent from this summer that was included in the previous cut.
3. Allows public charter schools to apply for School Building Authority money.
4. Authorizes the state to work with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission to create a system for the control of sources of radiation for the protection of the public.
Despite numerous calls to address issues relating to homeschooling, Justice said Friday that would be better left to the regular session which begins in February 2025. Justice will no longer be governor at that time.
Once the session gets underway, bill status may be found here.
Justice released the following statement:
“As I call this Special Session, the goal is clear that we need to help the hardworking people of West Virginia. I’m hopeful that we can get another personal income tax cut across the finish line. I’ve said it time and again: nothing will help our population grow, create new opportunities, and drive economic progress in West Virginia like eliminating our personal income tax. We’re on the right track, but we need to keep pushing forward. The growth and momentum we’ve built during my time as governor is off the charts. It’s truly been a rocketship ride. We’ve also minded the store, and because of that we now have the opportunity to get these things done.
“We also need to do something to help hardworking families afford childcare. Right now, families across the country are struggling with extreme childcare costs, and we can’t sit on the sidelines and watch it happen in West Virginia. We need to step in and help. That’s why I’m again asking for a childcare tax credit to lower costs for families. This will make things a lot better for working families.
“There are additional things to address, such as more money for our schools and our nurses and getting major water, sewer, and infrastructure projects across West Virginia completed.”
It’s estimated that one-third of children in the state who need child care are not receiving it. Gov. Jim Justice, who is running for United States Senate, said he will call the West Virginia Legislature into a special session on Monday to address child care in the state among other things.
A Place to Grow in the Fayette County city of Oakhill struggles to pay its employees a competitive rate, and even keep its doors open. It’s one of many child care facilities that faces an uphill battle in staying afloat, while many others in the state have closed.
As the supply of child care is decreasing, demand is high. Parents in the state are struggling to find support. In West Virginia, there are an estimated 20,000 children who need a spot in a child care facility.
In a normal, functional market, when demand is high the cost of a product rises. Typically, so does supply.
However, the child care market is laden with failures.
Katelyn Vandal, who runs A Place to Grow, says she is caught between an economic rock and a hard place.
“Families can’t afford to pay more, and we can’t afford to operate for less,” Vandal said.
Katelyn Vandal said that many parents are on a waitlist for her day care. It’s one of two in Fayette County, the other is in Montgomery which is about a 30 minute drive away. Briana Heaney/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Most enrolled families couldn’t afford a price increase and would opt for alternative care options like leaving the workforce and staying home, Vandal said.
But that’s complicated too. If parents aren’t working, they might not qualify for government assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“It’s a vicious cycle if you can’t afford it, or if you can’t find it,” Vandal said. “Either one leaves parents in an impossible position, which sometimes leads parents to making desperate decisions with their children.”
Many of Vandal’s clients get a fixed government subsidy, so the state and federal government decide how much daycare centers will be paid for each child. That is referred to as the child care reimbursement rate.
So Vandal’s daycare center — and most others — operate with extremely thin margins, barely able to cover their monthly expenses. They can’t afford to have a vacant spot for long, so they need a waitlist.
And they have them. To the point that expectant mothers are already getting in line for child care, and still aren’t guaranteed a spot.
“I have six infants on my waitlist that are not even born yet,” Vandal said.
Finding Workers
Meanwhile, Vandal says it’s hard to hold on to workers because their pay is so low. But she can’t afford to pay them anymore.
“I haven’t been able to give my employees the raises they deserve, and they deserve raises,” she said.
Vandal said she has lost many of her best teachers because they had to take higher-paying jobs.
“If I said to you, ‘I’m going to give you eight two-year-olds and pay you $12 an hour,’ most people are going to run for the hills,” she said. “That’s a whole lot of work. And it’s hard if you want to do it for $12 an hour, when you can make $14 at Sheetz.”
In West Virginia, the average child care provider who has state accreditation makes less than the average retail worker or fast food worker. They make around half of what preschool and kindergarten teachers make in the state.
Child care is often referred to as the workforce behind the workforce. One child care provider can make it possible for around 4-12 parents to go to work.
In West Virginia, 97 percent of this industry is women, making it the most female sector of work in the state.
After a rally outside the capitol rally goers “paraded” through the capitol building. Briana Heaney/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
There are federal and state safety requirements for the ratio of children to adult caregivers. For every four infants in care, there has to be at leastone adult. For two-year-olds, the ratio is eight-to-one.
If Vandal doesn’t have enough staffers, she can’t take as many children, which is the reality for many child care centers in the state. Some facilities have the capacity, but don’t have the staffing. So they operate with less children, which hurts their bottom line. It also means fewer spots for parents who need them.
“So that wait list is there, and it looks like there are openings available, but there’s not, because there’s no staffing to maintain it,” Vandal said.
Making It Make Sense
For parents of young children, child care is often the variable that dictates how much they are able to work. With subsidies factored in, Mountain State families pay an average of $10,000 per infant, and $9,000 per four-year-old for child care.
For some low-income families, it doesn’t make fiscal sense to pay this amount, especially if it outpaces their wage. The group of people who leave the workforce to raise children is mostly women. In fact, the main reason women leave the workforce is the availability and affordability of child care.
Briana Heaney/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Getting To Work
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce has advocated for greater subsidies in child care as part of its initiative to make West Virginia more business friendly.
Kristy Ritz is an advocate for child care in the state. She says that without reliable, accessible and affordable child care, the state’s economy suffers.
“It’s such an extremely important part of infrastructure,” Ritz said. “So it’s, it’s just as important as transportation on roads. Because without that piece of infrastructure, we’re not going to have people working.”
Balancing The Budget
Next week, legislators will have a chance to address some of these problems. Namely, the 20,000 children in the state waiting for a spot in a child care facility.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle have indicated they would like the state to do more to address the child care crisis.
Cabell County’s Del. Sean Hornbuckle is the Democratic majority leader in the West Virginia House of Delegates. He says that addressing child care is the number one priority for Democrats. He is focusing on increasing reimbursement rates — the fixed amount that child care providers are paid for children that are on a subsidy.
Sean Hornbuckle, a Democrat from Cabbell County. Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography
“We want as House Democrats to be able to work in a bipartisan manner looking at our reimbursement rates. I mean, that is at the core of this issue, the reimbursement rates that are preventing providers from being adequately staffed,” Hornbuckle said.
Gov. Jim Justice has said that he would ask the legislature to consider legislation similar to a bill that was introduced during the last regular session. The legislation would give parents whose children are in child care a tax credit.
The credit would reimburse families for approximately two weeks of child care per year. Families who receive a child care subsidy would not be eligible for the tax credit.
Other child care tax incentives might also be on the governor’s agenda, including tax incentives for child care providers and state businesses.
Hornbuckle and other Democrats, like Del. Joey Garcia of Marion County, say that won’t be enough.
“Thank God the governor is calling this. But it cannot just be this tax credit,” Garcia said at a Democratic Press Conference in Parkersburg on October 10. “We have a number of different solutions that we’re ready to work on.”
Senate Finance Chair Eric Tarr, a Republican from Putnam County, says he is not totally on board with the tax cut or subsidies towards child care. He says the budget is already tight, and he’s not convinced that subsidizing child care will help the state’s economy.
“You’re playing favorites when you do tax credits,” Tarr said. “To me, that doesn’t help with West Virginia’s competitive ability in the market nationally to attract people and to attract businesses.”
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam. Will Price/WV Legislative Photography
Tarr said he has questions around whether there really is a crisis, where child care deserts are, and if money will fix the issue.
“I want to be able to be helpful to the people who need this,” Tarr said. “I don’t want to be wasting it for the people that don’t, that could take care of their own family if they just made that sacrifice to do it.”
Currently, the state’s budget is tight, and could get a lot tighter. The governor has proposed another income tax cut, along with the tax credit for child care.
This comes while federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, which the state has been using to pay for child care, are expiring. Soon, the state will have to find new ways to cover child care.
Teachers, child care providers, legislators and advocates gathered outside the Capitol and called on Gov. Jim Justice and the legislature to address a child care crisis in the state.
Teachers, child care providers, legislators and advocates gathered outside the Capitol and called on Gov. Jim Justice and the legislature to address a child care crisis in the state.
The advocates rolled up to the event in a school bus, many with children in tow.
Currently child care subsidies in the state are facing a funding cliff and no one knows exactly when the money will run out. The state is using a finite source of federal funds to subsidize child care.
Amy Jo Hutchinson is the campaign director of Moms Rising, the group behind Sunday’s rally. She says if the money runs out, and no other funding comes through, hundreds of child care workers could lose their jobs, hundreds of parents could need to quit their jobs or reduce how much they work, and thousands of children could go without child care.
All this could have a snowball effect on some families who receive other government benefits that have a work requirement, she said.
“We hear that there may be a funding shortfall and 2,000 children may lose their child care subsidies,” Hutchinson said. “That’s 2,000 West Virginia children of working parents. They don’t tell you that there is a work and education requirement to these subsidies. They have to work to get assistance.”
Cynthia Persilly, the Secretary of The Department of Human Resources, says the funds could expire anytime but that the department will give parents receiving subsidies 60 days’ notice if they do run out.
Rising overhead costs for child care and a dropoff of pandemic-era federal funds is deepening the shortage of providers.
The federal government addressed a nationwide trend of closing child care centers by mandating a change in how those centers were subsidized.
In February, the White House mandated that child care facilities be reimbursed based on enrollment instead of attendance. This is in line with how most private child care facilities bill families, and with how nearly all public and private K-12 education is paid for.
The state was already subsidizing child care based on enrollment, it had started doing so during the onset of the pandemic. It was originally funded with Covid-era federal dollars that ran out a year ago.
Even with these extra funds via the change to enrollment available to providers, many centers are continuing to close. The cost of electricity, food and labor has gone up. Passing those increases onto the parents isn’t always an option for care providers, who receive a set subsidy or have multiple families who can barely afford the current price of their child care.
The average subsidy a family receives per child according to the Department of Human Services is $8,064. Since the subsidy covers 85 percent of the care, and the family is responsible for a 15 percent copay, the total average cost of care per year for subsidized child care is $9,487.
For families that don’t qualify for a subsidy, the price is typically much higher.
Laura Shemanga is a public school kindergarten teacher in Fayette County. She doesn’t qualify for a child care subsidy and says she spends a third of her family’s earnings on child care alone.
For her, having child care means she can afford to be a part of the state’s workforce, which has the second lowest labor participation rate in the nation.
“The Department of Health and Human Services states that child care is ‘affordable’ when it is 7 percent or less of your income,” Shemanga said. “Well, I pay more than four times what the department says is affordable. That is outrageous.”
Shemanga says she was raised in the state public school system and wants nothing more than to continue to be a part of that and teach in West Virginia, which is currently experiencing a teacher shortage.
“If you (The executive and legislative branch) cause further chaos and damage to our already very stressed child care situation,” Shemanga said, “I will have to quit my job and stay home and no longer contribute to our economy.”
She said she came to address the turmoil in the child care system.
“I’m calling out the West Virginia Legislature and Big Jim to support the families of more than 2,000 West Virginia children. Programs in Morgantown are closing. Programs in Raleigh County are closing. This is a plea from across the state to support working families so we can support our economy, our state, our future. ”
Del. Kayla Young, a Democrat from Kanawha County, said this is the main challenge facing child care in the state and is hurting the state’s workforce.
“Here in West Virginia, we’re losing child care centers left and right, and we just need to make sure folks can get to work,” Young said. “The easiest way to make sure they can get to work is to provide care for their children while they’re there.”
Justice said he plans to have a special session where these issues could be addressed, but that potential special session has yet to be announced.
