Legislature Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Legislators Call For Action Following Fatal Neglect Of Boone County Teen

A Boone County teen was found deceased in her home earlier this month. Police say she was emaciated to a near skeletal state. It’s now come to light via a Freedom of Information Act Request filed by West Virginia Watch that the child was being homeschooled.

After a legislative session that swirled with debate around homeschooling and child welfare, some are left wondering what could have been done to avoid this.

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, said sources in Boone County have confirmed that the teen had not been in school since 2019. He says while he doesn’t want to name blame, the legislature should consider contributing factors.

“She was a living, breathing teenager. Like any other teenager that had a right to life, and that was she was deprived of that in a horrific way,” Woelfel said. “So it’s a wake up call for everybody in the legislature.”

Woelfel was the lead sponsor of a bill that would set up a critical review team tasked with discussing incidents involving deaths, and near deaths of children in the state. It passed unanimously in the Senate but was never voted on in the House of Delegates.

Woelfel has asked the governor to allow the bill to be considered in the upcoming special session.

No $465M COVID-19 Education Funds Clawback Justice Says

Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that West Virginia will not face a clawback of $465 million in COVID-19 money from the U.S. Department of Education, alleviating concerns raised by state lawmakers during the final days of the legislative session in March.

The Republican governor said in a statement that federal officials approved the state’s application for a waiver for the money, which was a portion of the more than a billion dollars in federal aid the state received to help support students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to receive the money, the state needed to keep funding education at the same or a higher level than before the pandemic. In other words, the federal money could supplement existing state investment in education but not replace it.

For federal spending packages passed in 2020 and 2021, that meant a dollar-for-dollar match. For 2022 and 2023, the federal government examined the percentage of each state’s total budget being spent on education.

Those regulations were waived for West Virginia in 2022. As lawmakers worked to finish the state budget in March at the close of the session, the state had not been approved for a waiver for 2023.

The question threw the state’s budget process into disarray and caused uncertainty in the days before the 60-day legislative session, with lawmakers saying they would pass a “skinny budget” and reconvene to address unfinished business in May, when the financial situation is clearer.

Justice said then that his office was negotiating with the federal government and that he expected a positive resolution, citing funds dedicated to school service and teacher pay raises each year since 2018 — when school employees went on strike over conditions in schools.

On Friday, he praised the federal government’s decision, and he said he was never concerned the waiver wouldn’t be approved.
“This announcement came as no surprise and was never a real issue,” Justice said.

He also said the state has dedicated money to building projects and putting teaching aides in classrooms to improve math and reading skills. The state said it spent $8,464 per K-12 pupil in 2024, compared with $7,510 during Justice’s first year as governor in 2017, according to documents submitted to the federal government.

But because state spending increased overall — from $4.9 billion in 2017 to $6.2 billion in 2023 — the percentage marked for education decreased. The key metric eliciting pause from the federal government was an 8% decrease in the education piece of the budget pie — from 51% in 2017 to 43% last year.

Justice said the state’s investment in education speaks for itself: State leaders also approved $150 million for the state’s School Building Authority in the state budget for the fiscal year starting in July.

Justice Vetoes Bill To Expand Size Of Renewable Power Projects

Justice on Tuesday vetoed House Bill 5528. The bill would have let power companies build individual solar or wind projects up to 100 megawatts.

Gov. Jim Justice has vetoed a bill that would have expanded the size of renewable electricity facilities in the state.

Justice on Tuesday vetoed House Bill 5528. The bill would have let power companies build individual solar or wind projects up to 100 megawatts.

Current law allows for projects of 50 megawatts. But it also includes a sunset provision that ends the window for such projects early next year. HB 5528 would have lifted the provision.

The bill passed by wide margins in both chambers: 61 to 36 in the House and 32 to 1 in the Senate.

The veto comes as utilities are expanding renewable power, especially solar. Mon Power’s Fort Martin solar facility in Monongalia County became operational in January. It produces 19 megawatts.

Mon Power is building two other solar projects and seeking approval for two more.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced funding up to $129 million to construct a solar facility on two former coal mines in Nicholas County. The governor’s veto should not affect the project.

In a letter to lawmakers Tuesday, Justice said he vetoed the bill to protect the coal industry. Justice himself owns numerous coal companies.

“I fear this well-intentioned bill will further encourage these companies to drop coal generated power and continue to turn toward more expensive options outside of West Virginia,” Justice wrote. “It could also lead to job loss by putting coal mines and coal generating facilities out of business quickly.”

Nearly 90 percent of the state’s power comes from coal, though nationwide, coal use has fallen below 20 percent.

With 99 To Go, Justice Signals Hesitation Over Signing Certain Bills

The governor has signed 73 bills into law, and vetoed one. There are slightly fewer than a hundred bills waiting for action – including some controversial bills.

Most of what Gov. Jim Justice has signed since the legislative session ended are appropriations bills that allot funding to specific state agencies.

Contentious bills, like ones that would reduce unemployment benefits, change the legislative auditor’s office, and loosen vaccine requirements for school-age children are still hanging in legislative limbo.

Justice expressed concern about the vaccine bill that would exempt students from receiving vaccinations who attend private schools or attend public school virtually.

“We’re bombarded with calls, bombarded with calls,” Justice said. “You know, from ‘docs’ and all kinds of different people who say ‘what are we doing, what in the world are we doing?’”

He said he wants to expand freedom but is unclear on the ramifications of the bill, if it is signed into law.

“I had a gentleman just in my office not long ago,” Justice said. “You know, talking about when he was growing up, one of the family members had Polio.”

With ten days left to sign the bill, Justice said it’s premature to say what he will do.

According to West Virginia Legislature website, while the Legislature is in session, the governor has five days to approve or veto a bill. After the Legislature adjourns, the governor has 15 days to act on most bills. However, the budget bill and supplemental appropriations bills must be acted upon by the governor within five days regardless of when they are received. If the governor does not act within these time limits, bills automatically become law without his or her signature.

If the Legislature is still in session when the governor vetoes a bill, a simple majority vote of the members of both legislative bodies is necessary to override the veto.

In cases when a budget bill or supplemental appropriation bill is vetoed, it requires a two-thirds vote of the members of both chambers to override the veto.

Governor Extends Legislative Session

Gov. Jim Justice has extended the legislative session to address the state’s budget.

The governor issued a proclamation Thursday extending the Legislature’s regular session by one day to Sunday, March 10. The proclamation states that “no matters other than the Budget Bill shall be considered during this extension of the regular session.”

An extension is required by the state Constitution if a budget bill hasn’t been completed three days before the end of the session. The budget bill is the only legislation that the state constitution requires the Legislature to pass each year.

A potential clawback of federal money due to education spending was announced last week that required changes to appropriations as recently as Tuesday.

Extending session to address the budget was the norm for many years, but recently legislative leadership has prided itself on completing the budget within the 60 day session.

Senate Approves New I-73 Corridor Economic Commission

The West Virginia Senate unanimously approved an economic commission to identify funding and development opportunities tied to an interstate highway corridor that would span southern West Virginia.

The I-73 highway corridor is currently under construction in southern West Virginia and legislators are looking to parlay the project into an economic opportunity.

West Virginia’s portion of I-73 would connect the state to highways stretching from Michigan to Myrtle Beach. With the region opened to more out-of-state travelers, lawmakers hope economic opportunities will roll in with them.

On Thursday, the West Virginia Senate unanimously approved SB 354. The bill would create an economic commission to advise local industry leaders on development and federal funding opportunities available to them following the project’s completion.

Sen. Mark Maynard, R-Wayne, said the commission hopes to turn the highway’s construction into an economic opportunity for McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wayne counties, which the new corridor will intersect.

He added that the highway construction project would qualify the region for new funding opportunities.

“There’s some federal funding out there available for this that currently the state of West Virginia doesn’t get for highway programs,” he said. “Hopefully we can go after some of that.”

Receiving approval from the Senate, the bill now awaits review from the West Virginia House of Delegates.

“Just by making this [corridor] a real thing, it will solve the economic issues because it will allow interstate commerce,” Maynard said. “At the exit ramps, it will allow development, fast food restaurants and truck stops.”

“The bounds are limitless,” Maynard said.