West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has appointed Daniel W. Greear to a vacant judicial position.
Greear fills a vacancy in the 13th Judicial Circuit Court created when Judge James Stucky retired. Greear most recently served as chief of staff for House of Delegates Speaker Tim Armstead. He lives in Kanawha County with his wife and two sons.
Stucky, who retired in April, spent 21 years presiding over cases in Kanawha County.
Greear will serve until a judge is chosen by special election during the Nov. 8 general election. The special election is required because more than two years were left on Stucky’s term.
West Virginia House Speaker Tim Armstead announced he will step down from his work in the Legislature in 2019 and could be looking to sit on the West Virginia Supreme Court.
In a statement from the West Virginia Republican Party, chairwoman Melody Potter said Armstead has been a leader for the Republican party as both the speaker of the House and as the former-minority leader.
Armstead took on his post as Speaker in 2015. He was chosen by the chamber to fill that role after the West Virginia Legislature switched to a Republican majority – the first in more than 80 years.
According to his biography on the Legislature’s website, Armstead was first appointed in 1998 to fill a vacant seat following the death of Delegate Dick Henderson.
He went on to be minority leader for four years leading up to his move to speaker.
Outside the state Legislature, Armstead is an attorney and received his law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.
He said in an interview with reporters, he might be looking to the state Supreme Court next.
“I’ve always had an interest, and as an attorney, I think I could contribute to a sound court,” Armstead said, “but again, I’ve not decided that I’m absolutely going to pursue that, but it’s high on the radar screen at this point.”
Armstead is married with one daughter. He is a resident of Elkview in Kanawha County.
Governor Jim Justice made a stop at Fairmont State University on Thursday as part of his Save Our State tour, a statewide tour to promote his budget plan.
Justice asked lawmakers in his State of the State Address for more than $450 million in tax and fee increases, something Legislative leaders strongly oppose. On Monday, Justice released a second potential budget plan with smaller tax increases, but he said lawmakers still haven’t acted on any of his proposals.
“I put stuff on the table in the State of the State and nobody did anything,” he said at FSU. “And all of the sudden we’re a third of the way into the session, and who knows what in the world we’re doing.”
Lawmakers traditionally do not vote on a final budget bill until the end of the legislative session.
Justice repeated many of the same messages that he’s been sharing with West Virginians since he began the tour a few weeks ago: he warned the audience that the state’s economy is suffering, he reminded them that he isn’t responsible for creating the suffering, and he said that everyone should be prepared to make sacrifices to help West Virginia recover.
Credit Jesse Wright / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice talks about his budget proposal during a stop on his Save Our State Tour on Thursday, March 3, 2017, at Fairmont State University.
The Governor has stated that if the West Virginia Legislature doesn’t pass revenue measures during this legislative session, FSU, along with other colleges, could be completely eliminated from the state budget.
“We’ve all got to pull the rope and run up the hill together,” he said at FSU, using a metaphor of tugging a rope to illustrate how he thinks the state should face its uphill financial battles.
After Justice’s speech, FSU President Maria Rose said that the university continues to do its part to pull that metaphorical rope.
“We have experienced a number of budget cuts at the university and at (Pierpont Community & Technical College) over the past couple of years,” she said. “We have tried to trim our budgets as much as we can. We have tried to keep tuition at an affordable rate.”
She added that the potential of a future without FSU would be devastating for the local economy.
“I think the city of Fairmont needs to think about what the city would be like if the city and community college were not here,” she said.
In response to Justice’s budget press conference on Monday, Republican House Speaker Tim Armstead and Senate President Mitch Carmichael issued a joint statement stating that they were pleased to hear that the governor had listened to some of their concerns, and hoped to continue working with him on the budget this session.
Justice also made a Save Our State tour stop at the Randolph County Senior Center on Thursday.
The West Virginia House and Senate met for the first day of the 2017 regular state Legislative session Wednesday.
The first official day of the 83rd West Virginia Legislative session began as House Speaker Tim Armstead and Senate President Mitch Carmichael gaveled in Wednesday.
Both chambers’ floor sessions were conducted without issue, but a large number of bills were introduced. In fact, 211 bills in the House and 198 in the Senate.
Speaker Armstead says the budget will be a major focus this year – West Virginia is facing a $600 million dollar shortfall – but he hopes it won’t be an overshadowing issue.
Armstead says he and other legislative leaders are eager to hear Governor Jim Justice’s State of the State address this evening, and he says, regarding the budget, the state will likely see cuts rather than an increase in taxes.
“The people of West Virginia are taxed too much,” said Armstead, “and so we’re going to have to right-size our government, make some cuts, do those in a responsible manner, but do it in a way that truly creates a government that reflects the ability of the people of West Virginia to fund government.”
Governor Justice said on the campaign trail he would not increase taxes.
Armstead also says he wants to see significant progress in changes to the education system and how the drug epidemic is handled, and make some legal and regulatory reforms.
Tune in this evening at 7:00 for Governor Justice’s State of the State address live on radio, television, and online. See wvpublic.org for more information.
The leader of West Virginia's Senate says lawmakers will consider overhauling the state's tax structure this year, including a possible shift from an…
The leader of West Virginia’s Senate says lawmakers will consider overhauling the state’s tax structure this year, including a possible shift from an income tax to a consumption tax.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael says he has appointed a special committee to examine possible revisions with its report expected in about two weeks.
Addressing journalists Friday, Carmichael says he agrees with House Speaker Tim Armstead that government cuts are needed to help address a projected $500 million budget deficit in the fiscal year that starts in July.
Both leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Jim Justice say they don’t want to saddle West Virginians with higher taxes.
However, both lawmakers say they’ll be considering ending various sales tax exemptions, which apply to services by lawyers and accountants among others.
The leader of West Virginia's House of Delegates says state government cuts are on the agenda for the legislative session starting next week.Speaker Tim…
The leader of West Virginia’s House of Delegates says state government cuts are on the agenda for the legislative session starting next week.
Speaker Tim Armstead says a projected budget deficit up to $600 million next year is on everyone’s minds.
According to the Kanawha County Republican, legislators want to put the state on track to improve its economy and avoid similar future issues.
Broadening the tax base, reducing regulation and establishing an automatic right to appeal civil judgments are on his list for the two-month session.
Tax reform proposals include removing sales tax exemptions, which apply to services provided by lawyers and accountants among others.
Armstead says further measures to address drug addiction and expand broadband service, as well as a process for legislative redistricting after the 2020 census, will get attention.
