Tag: State Legislature

Governor Calls Legislative Special Session For Proposed Personal Income Tax Cut

Gov. Jim Justice has called a special session of the state legislature for Monday, July 25.The special session call contains one item: the governor’s proposal to reduce West Virginia’s personal income tax.

Gov. Jim Justice has called a special session of the state legislature for Monday, July 25.

The special session call contains one item: the governor’s proposal to reduce West Virginia’s personal income tax.

Under the proposal, an aggregate 10 percent tax cut would be retroactive back to January 1, 2022.

The full text of the proposed legislation can be read here.

In a press release announcing the special session, Justice reiterated his desire to completely eliminate the state’s personal income tax, and said the proposed cut would “get the ball rolling.”

Justice and proponents of personal income tax reduction in the legislature have categorized the state’s personal income tax as a burden they hope to lift from West Virginians, enticing new residents to relocate to the state in the bargain. They cite states like Florida, Texas and Tennessee as examples of growth and immigration without the imposition of a personal income tax.

A prior attempt to reduce the personal income tax during the legislature’s 2021 regular session failed after the House rejected a Senate proposal to raise other taxes to balance the state budget. Under this proposal, there are no proposed tax increases to offset the losses, estimated to be $250 million annually.

Five State Lawmakers Request Special Session For Coronavirus Response

A handful of state lawmakers filed a petition with the state’s highest court on Friday, arguing that Gov. Jim Justice didn’t have the authority to issue executive orders opening and closing state businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The filing in the state Supreme Court of Appeals says the governor should have called a special legislative session and instead “usurped the power” of that branch by issuing his stay home order, and later by implementing “a safer at home” plan for reopening. 

The filing was signed by Delegates Marshall Wilson, I-Berkeley, Tom Bibby, R-Berkeley, Tony Paynter, R-Wyoming, Jim Butler, R-Mason, and Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood. 

The petition further alleges the entire state Legislature has “been wholly excluded from their responsibilities as the elected representatives of their constituents.” 

“The Governor has exceeded his lawful authority in declaring a perpetual and unrestricted ‘State of Emergency’ in West Virginia due to COVID-19,” the petition states, “wherein he unilaterally has asserted, and continues to assert, the power of both the executive and legislative branches of State government.”

This petition comes as Justice, a Republican, continues to relax social distancing orders week by week. 

Some have said Justice opened the state up too quickly, while others have said he didn’t have the authority to close things in the first place. He called criticism from both sides “nothing but garbage” and the lawmakers’ claims “soapboxes for somebody to get some level of notoriety” in his daily press briefing Friday, shortly after the lawmakers gathered outside the Capitol for their own briefing.

It’s unclear if a special session could happen. Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw and Senate President Mitch Carmichael did not respond to requests for comment.

The filing asks for the court to agree with the lawmakers that the governor’s actions were unconstitutional and compel Justice to involve them. It’s unclear when the court might consider the filing, but the lawmakers have requested oral arguments.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

January 28, 1864: State Legislature Authorizes W.Va.'s First Flag

On January 28, 1864, the state legislature authorized West Virginia’s first flag. The new flags were presented to each of the state’s military regiments before the end of the Civil War. Consequently, these first state flags are commonly referred to as regimental or battle flags.

The legislature didn’t specify a design for the flags, but they all looked similar to earlier Union regimental flags, featuring dark blue silk with a golden fringe. One side displayed the state seal, which had been designed months earlier by Joseph Diss Debar. The other side featured the national coat of arms and an eagle with a shield protecting its breast, arrows in its right talons, and an olive branch in its left. One of these original battle flags is now on display in the West Virginia State Museum.
The look of today’s West Virginia flag didn’t evolve until the early 1900s. One version was created for the 1907 Jamestown Exhibition and a slightly adapted design was developed for the state’s 50th anniversary in 1913. The legislature officially adopted our current state flag with a specific design and size in 1929.
 

DHHR Continues Source Water Protection Plan Hearings

Since July 1, the state Bureau for Public Health has been holding public hearings across West Virginia to discuss proposed Source Water Protection Plans.

The plans are the result of legislation approved after a 2014 chemical spill in Charleston left hundreds of thousands of people without usable drinking water for days.

Monday evening was the second time citizens in the Kanawha Valley—those who were directly impacted by the spill—were able to comment on their local plan.

The public hearing in South Charleston focused on West Virginia American Water’s proposal submitted this summer. The company is one of 125 utilities required to submit the proposals, and Scott Rodeheaver, Assistant Manager for the Source Water Protection Program at DHHR, says public hearings are being held to discuss each one.

“It varies from place to place what the exact issues are,” Rodeheaver said, “but I think the people that come are concerned about the long term quality of the water supply in their area.”

Only six people attended Monday’s hearing, including Phil Price. He’s a semi-retired analytical chemist who works with the Charleston-based group Advocates for a Safe Water System. Price claims West Virginia American Water’s plans are not adequate.

“Many, many, many, many of the hazards upstream from our intake are excluded from the plan,” Price explained. He points to Yeager Airport as one of those hazards. But Laura Martin, the company’s External Affairs Manager, says her utility is prepared.

“What is outlined in state law is a zone of critical concern and then a zone of peripheral concern, and if we feel that there are entities or aboveground storage tanks or other facilities located outside of those, we have included them in our plan,” Martin said.

The plans need final approval from the DHHR before taking effect.

Six More W.Va. Cities Approved for 'Brunch Bill' Ordinance

The West Virginia Municipal Home Rule Board has approved six more cities to sell alcohol at restaurants, wineries, distilleries, and private clubs on Sundays before 1 p.m.

Charleston, South Charleston, Bluefield, Martinsburg, Clarksburg, and Lewisburg have all been approved to pass city laws on what’s commonly referred to as the brunch bill.

Shepherdstown was previously the only town or city in the state to have a home rule ordinance allowing the sale of alcohol as early as 10 a.m. on Sundays.

The state Legislature passed a brunch bill this year, but it requires county commissions to put the issue on a referendum. County residents would then be able to vote on the provision in the fall.

Fewer than ten county commissions have passed the county referendum for the November ballot.

W.Va. House Speaker Calls for a Review of Flood Protection Plan

West Virginia House Speaker Tim Armstead is urging state lawmakers to revisit a more than decade-old flood protection plan to find ways to avoid a repeat of the disaster that killed at least 23 people last month.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Armstead released a statement Tuesday that he wants a “comprehensive review” of the plan to be a focus of study in interim legislative committee meetings.

Armstead’s statement follows a Sunday Gazette-Mail article that detailed how a multi-agency task force’s recommendations for a flood protection plan had not been acted upon ever since the plan was released in 2004.

The plan called for better management of flood-plain construction, improved flood warnings, tougher building codes and better public education efforts.

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