Tag: West Virginia Legislature 2016

House Passes Budget Bill Despite Likely Veto

With a deadline of July 1 to avoid a government shutdown, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed its version of a budget Friday on a 61 to 37 vote.

The bill passed despite anticipation that — even if it clears the Senate intact — it’s likely to be met with a veto when it lands on the Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s desk.

Those who voted for the bill argued that it funds the public employee health insurance program, the PROMISE scholarship and prevents furloughs and layoffs of state workers.

Before putting the bill up for a vote, House Finance Chair Eric Nelson told his fellow delegates it was their “constitutional duty” to get a budget passed by July 1.

Many House Democrats, who helped to vote down a 45 cent increased tax on tobacco earlier in the week, voted against the budget bill. They had argued that the projected revenue of $78 million annually on the tobacco tax wasn’t enough to help fill a $270 million budget gap for the Fiscal Year 2017.

Governor Tomblin has promised to veto a budget that relies heavily on the Rainy Day Fund. 

“Governor Tomblin has repeatedly indicated that a fiscally responsible, structurally sound budget must include revenue enhancements as well as the cuts his budget submission included during both the regular and special sessions,” Tomblin spokesman Chris Stadleman said in a statement following the vote. 

House Minority Leader Tim Miley acknowledged Tomblin’s promise by voting against budget and called on Republicans to work with his party to find a more substantial revenue measure.

“Instead of heeding his advice and that of Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss, the majority continued to, nonetheless, take significant amounts from the Rainy Day Fund–which will only hurt us moving forward,” said Miley.

“They’ve not been willing to address any revenue enhancements to speak of beyond the one vote on the tobacco tax.”

Chairman Nelson he would entertain additional revenue options as well. 

“Next week, we will continue to work on this and–the nice thing about any legislation–we can direct any monies into our Rainy Day Fund,” said Nelson following the vote.  

“So, any new monies would reduce the 143 million that’s coming out of it right now. It can be done very easily without having to redo the budget.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for their consideration. 

Final Day Protest Calls on Voters to 'Remember in November'

Editor’s Note: For the latest updates on the final day of the legislative session, be sure to keep checking our live blog.

As lawmakers made their final decisions inside the House and Senate chambers, hundreds of protesters gathered just outside the Capitol to voice their displeasure with the 2016 Legislative Session.

The protestors’ rallying cry, “Remember In November,” was a call to action for voters to express their outrage with lawmakers at the polls in the coming election.

At issue with the group was the passage a number of pieces of legislation that organizers said attempt to silence West Virginians in favor of special interest groups. These include the passage of Right-to-Work, the repeal of prevailing wage, and the passage of a bill requiring the drug testing of welfare recipients. Protestors also denounced the legislature for their consideration of the Religious Freedom Protection Act, which they said simply gave license to discriminate.

Joe Solomon, who works at Taylor Books in Charleston, organized the rally.

“I saw so many people coming in the shop with looks of despair and depression on their face,” Solomon said, “You see every day in the paper another op-ed or another article that’s crushing the soul of the state and discriminating against another group of people. And I thought, ‘This thing is isn’t going to end on a whimper, is it?’”

Solomon said he expressed his concern on Facebook, which quickly gained support from various groups. Speakers at the rally included members of the NAACP, Fairness West Virginia and the Appalachian Workers’ Alliance, among others.

“I think the peoples’ message is pretty clear. They’re saying, ‘Look, we might have our difference but we’re all united because we’re being silenced, and everything we could possibly dream of for our causes are being trampled on. We’ve got to come together, build power together, and build enough people power to drive home a true peoples’ agenda.’”

Sabrina Shrader, a resident of Mercer County, has filed in the November elections to run for the House seat for the 27th District. Shrader said she saw number issues that influenced her decision to run.

“I grew up in McDowell county, grew up in a generation of poverty,” Shrader said. “For most of my life I felt like I didn’t matter. I few years ago I started to get involved in the political process, and saw that it was working wrong for the people. I want to run to speak for the peoples’ issues.”

At the rally ended with members of the crowd pledging to register to vote, register their friends and encourage others to get the polls. 

Live Blog: The 2016 Legislature's Final Hours

Live video of the floor sessions will be available via the West Virginia Channel. Also be sure to follow along with our news team on Twitter @wvpublicnews. 

For a look back on what’s happened this session, take a look at this season’s episodes of The Legislature Today.

Update: Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 1:15 a.m.

Over the next two days, lawmakers will focus solely on the state’s budget. With a revenue deficit predicted to be more than $450 million in 2017, Senators and Delegates appear to be forced to choose to either raise revenues, cuts agencies, or dip into the state’s Rainy Day fund to balance the budget. Senate President Bill Cole predicts they will need to do all three, but the final work won’t come until a special session later.

Most of the work attempting to find a budget solution before Tuesday will come in a conference committee made up of ten members, five from each chamber. In the Senate, three Republicans and two Democrats make up the conferees, but in the House, Speaker Tim Armstead chose to appoint only one Democrat to the budget conference committee, leaving Minority Leader Tim Miley with some harsh criticisms of the Speaker’s decision.

Update: Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 12:15 a.m.

As the 2016 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature came to a close, House Speaker Tim Armstead recaps the accomplishments he feels the House of Delegates achieved this session and discusses the budget challenges ahead.
 

Update: Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 12:01 a.m.

Both the House and Senate have adjourned.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 11:26 p.m.

The Senate has also made conferee appointments for the budget bill, SB 269:

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 11:26 p.m.

The House has appointed conferees for SB 269, the budget bill:

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:59 p.m.

Senators have also approved a compromised version of the voter ID bill. The chamber adopted House Bill 4013 on a vote of 26-8.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:15 p.m.

The House of Delegates passed House Bill 4013, the voter ID bill after it was sent to a conference committee. The bill passed in the chamber 77 to 21 with no debate. The conference committee’s amended version requires voters show some form of identification before casting a ballot. Some of the verifying documents have been removed from the list, including a paycheck or credit card, but documents like a government issued ID, a health insurance card, or a bank issued debit card were kept. The bill also keeps the Senate’s automatic voter registration process required to be set up at the Division of Motor Vehicles. The bill now goes to Governor Tomblin for a possible signature.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 9:56 p.m.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 9:15 p.m.

On the final night of the legislative session, both chambers have approved balanced budgets based on the bill passed in their own chambers, but many pieces of legislation have been lost along the way in the opposite chamber. Governor Tomblin says lawmakers have only two choices: to drastically cut state agencies or come back during a special session to increase revenues. Tomblin discusses what those agency cuts would mean for West Virginia.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 8:43 p.m.

After some debate, the House of Delegates has agreed with a Senate amendment to House Bill 4009, which allows counties to propose and fund road projects by imposing a sales tax that would not exceed 1 percent. The Senate’s amendment changes the county referendum for the tax from 60 percent to 50 percent. HB 4009 passed in the House after adopting the Senate amendment 57 to 40.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 7:35 p.m.

Senators voted 27-4 to agree to the House’s additional amendments to a bill that started as a Common Core repeal. The bill now prohibits the continued use of the Smarter Balanced Assessment, requires a panel of experts in English, math and engineering review the current West Virginia College and Career Ready Standards and recommend changes to the state Board of Education, and says students can only be submitted to a standardized test in grades 3-8 and 11.

 
 
Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 6:25 p.m.

A conference committee has adopted an amended version of the bill to require voters show some form of identification before casting a ballot. The conferees on House Bill 4013 removed some of the verifying documents from the list, including a paycheck or credit card, but kept documents like a government issued ID- even if it does not include a photograph- a health insurance card and a bank issued debit card. The bill also keeps the Senate’s automatic voter registration process required to be set up at the Division of Motor Vehicles. Democratic Sen. Corey Palumbo championed the measure to expand the list of verifying documents. He reacted to the amendments after the conference committee’s final vote. 

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 6:07 p.m.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 5:58 p.m.

The House of Delegates concurred on the Senate’s amendment to House Bill 4334. This bill expands the authority given to nurse practitioners when prescribing medication. The bill permits the signature of a nurse practitioner to have the same force and effect as a physician when it pertains to signing prescriptions. The House also passed an additional amendment which clarifies that the governor appoints the council that will oversee and monitor the APRN’s

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 5:36 p.m.

Senators have adopted a resolution, HCR 36, that calls for an Article 5 Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution for a singular purpose: to require Congress to balance the federal budget except in times of national emergency.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 5:19 p.m.

Senate Bill 298–which would move alcohol sales in restaurants, private clubs, wineries and distilleries on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m.–has passed the final needed approval in the House. The bill would only allow for on-premise consumption and also requires each county to pass a referendum to allow for the move of the sale time. It now heads to Governor Tomblin’s desk for possible signature. 

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:52 p.m.

Senators have killed a bill that would have ended the Licensed Racetrack Modernization Fund, pulling $9 million annually back into the general revenue budget. Before the vote, Sen. Chris Walters successfully amended the bill to take only half of the money, about $4.5 million, annually until 2020 when the fund is set to expire. Even with the amendment, Senators voted down the bill that was presented on behalf of Governor Tomblin.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:36 p.m.

A protest is occurring outside the Capitol today with protesters rallying against the GOP-led legislative agenda this session. 

 
Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:22 p.m.

In a conference committee for Senate Bill 597, parties from the House and Senate agreed on an amendment to the bill that excluded addressing the Health Care Authority, and focused on issues regarding the merger of Cabell-Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center. The Senate’s original amendments to the bill included provisions to reorganize the Health Care Authority, which is currently part of the Department of Health and Human Resources. The agreed-upon version of Senate Bill 597 is scheduled to return to both chambers to be considered for passage.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:06 p.m.

As of 4 p.m., seven bills have been sent to conference committees. They are:

  • HB 4013, Requiring a person desiring to vote to present documentation identifying the voter
  • HB 4174, Exempting activity at indoor shooting ranges from the prohibition of shooting or discharging a firearm within five hundred feet of any church or dwelling house
  • SB 13, Increasing penalties for overtaking and passing stopped school buses
  • SB 283, Creating crime when fire is caused by operation of a clandestine drug laboratory
  • SB 343 Authorizing prosecuting attorneys designate law-enforcement officers and investigators as custodians of records
  • SB 573, Prohibiting municipal annexation which would result in unincorporated territory within municipality
  • SB 579, Eliminating WV Port Authority

The deadline for conference committees to submit necessary paperwork to the clerks’ desks is 8 p.m.
Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 3:27 p.m.

Senators have delayed putting HB 4271 to a vote. The bill  would get rid of the Licensed Racetrack Modernization Fund. The bill pulls the $9 million committed annually to the fund, used to update casino games in the state’s four casinos, in order to help balance the budget.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 2:47 p.m.

The Senate is currently in session, while the House of Delegates is in recess until 4 p.m.

During their most recent floor session, the House of Delegates concurred with Senate amendments and passed 13 bills. The House also appointed conference committees for HB 4013 (Voter ID) and HB 4174 (Exempting activity at indoor shooting ranges from the prohibition of shooting or discharging a firearm within five hundred feet of any church or dwelling house). 

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 1:35 p.m.

The House of Delegates has gaveled back in while the Senate is now in recess until 2 p.m.

Moments ago, members of the Senate confirmed 454 of Governor Tomblin’s appointments for various state boards. On Wednesday, the Senate Confirmations Committee had dropped seven of the nominees from consideration because of their ties to the Democratic Party.

 
Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 11:55 a.m.

Members of the West Virginia Senate have voted unanimously to concur with the House amendments to Senate Bill 298, the brunch bill. The bill will allow voters to decide if restaurants, distilleries and wineries should be allowed to sell alcohol beginning at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. After amending the title, the bill heads back to the House for an additional vote before heading to Governor Tomblin for a possible signature.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 11:50 a.m.

The House of Delegates has recessed until 1 p.m.

During the morning floor session, The House of Delegates agreed to adopt the Senate’s amendments to a bill that would repeal the state’s Common Core education standards and aligned standardized tests. Delegates, however, further amended the bill to remove the requirement to submit high school students to a standardized test. The House also removed the requirement for the West Virginia Board of Education to set assessment standards.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 11:03 a.m.

Senate President Bill Cole gaveled in his chamber about 10 minutes before 11. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael spoke with Ashton Marra before the chamber gaveled in about the final day of the regular session. Carmichael discusses the looming budget issues as well as a political tiff earlier this week when the GOP removed seven names from the Governor’s list of appointees to various state boards.

In the House, delegates have refused to concur with Senate’s amendments to the Voter ID bill. Senators had expanded the list of documents a voter could show at the polls to identify themselves. At this time, no conference committee has been appointed.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:45 a.m.

The House of Delegates gaveled in just after 10:30 this morning, while the Senate has yet to convene.

Update: Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 9:50 a.m.

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are expected to gavel in at 10 a.m. Saturday to begin the 60th and final day of the 2016 session. This post will have rolling updates throughout the day until the Legislature adjourns sine die at midnight.

House Committee Refuses Another Tax Bill

A bill that would reduce the state’s severance tax on coal and natural gas from 5 percent to 3 percent has been postponed in the House.

Senate Bill 705 was taken off the table for lawmakers this session and instead was turned into an interim study measure during a House Finance Committee meeting Wednesday.  That would give the legislature time to study the effects of the tax cut in more detail during the months between legislative sessions.

The bill passed quickly through the Senate, but with some debate. Some argue the proposed 2 percent cut over two years would help aid a struggling industry, while others say the bill would simply mean government-funded services in coal-producing counties would shoulder the cuts.

House Finance Chairman, Eric Nelson, says lawmakers need more time to consider a bill that would decrease state revenue, especially in a tight fiscal year.

“These taxes, according to that bill, would not have been dropped until fiscal year 2018, so it would have been July 2017,” Nelson said. “What a study does is, it puts much greater emphasis on addressing potentially reducing this tax, helping these industries out, and we can look at that over the next 8 months. Then, at the beginning of next session, then, we are handling a tax reduction that can potentially help some industries. Instead of hitting this in the last few days of this session and rushing into something we will second guess later.”

Lawmakers did approve another measure to cut some taxes for the coal and natural gas industries this session. The bill got rid of a surcharge on the resources that was helping to pay off the state’s Worker’s Compensation Debt. That bill was already signed by Governor Tomblin.

Winfield Teen Hopes Legislature Passes 'Tebow Bill'

A bill named after Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow is making its way through the West Virginia legislature. It would allow homeschooled students in West Virginia to participate in public school athletics in the same way Tebow did during his high school years in Florida.

Senate Bill 105 would allow homeschooled students to play sports at schools that are members of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activity Commission.

This legislation would affect students like 15-year-old Bryson French of Winfield, who is homeschooled by his parents Alan and Jennie French. Bryson has played baseball since he was seven years old.

“I always loved it. I don’t think I was always that good at it,” Bryson said. “I know when I was younger I was always a lot slower. I think the dedication and working hard I gradually got better and better. I plan on taking it as far as I can go, definitely into college.”

Without the bill, Bryson can’t participate in state-sanctioned sports like a teen who attends a public school. That means if Bryson wants to play baseball at his age, he can only play in summer travel leagues.

“Right now, where I play for my travel team, we play 30 to 40 games every season,” Bryson said. “All my teammates are playing an additional 20 to 30 maybe 40 games with their school teams, so I’m missing out on half the season that they get to do. The Tebow Bill would give me the ability to play more games. That would get me up to speed with the rest of them.”

Currently, the bill would allow homeschooled students to play sports for the public school district in which they live, but would not allow them to go outside of the district if the school does not offer their sport.

However, opponents argue the bill is unfair, prioritizing the needs of homeschoolers above those actually enrolled in public schools. Bernie Dolan is the executive director for the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activity Commission, the body that oversees high school athletics.

“Currently as the bill is written right now, homeschooled students, or students at non-member private or parochial schools could participate in athletics at our member schools where they are not enrolled,” Dolan said. “That’s our biggest concern. We feel that our number one rule is, if you’re going to participate for a particular school you should be enrolled in that school.”

Bryson’s dad, Alan French, said his decision to homeschool his four children should not prevent them from participating in athletics, especially in a district where he pays taxes to support the schools.  

“It is a bill that is providing equal access to students, having fully understood that we did not enroll our children in the school system,” French said. “It is still a public opportunity that is given to students to be able to play these sports or do these activities. We are full members of this community, but are being denied the possibility of him participating with other children his age in those sports simply because we’ve chosen an alternative route of education for him.”

According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, nearly 30 states either allow homeschoolers to participate in sports or allow the school district to decide. However, in a state like West Virginia where school districts are laying off teachers due to declining revenues and shrinking student populations, SSAC’s Dolan notes that this bill may also cause a funding issue.

“Schools get money from the state based on enrollment,” Dolan said. “We’d be paying for students who you’re not getting reimbursement from the state.”

Alan French said one solution is for schools to be given extra funding for homeschooled students wishing to play sports.

There are other concerns about the bill as well, like how GPA and attendance eligibility requirements for athletics would translate for home schooled students. Though French said these issues could be resolved by following the lead of other states that allow homeschoolers to play sports, Dolan said he does not foresee any amendment to the bill that would satisfy the SSAC members.

The Tebow Bill has already been passed by the Senate but has yet to be taken up by the House Education Committee.

NAACP Says Bills Could Negatively Affect Minorities

On Civil Rights Day at the Capitol, Local members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the HOPE Community Development Corporation met to persuade lawmakers to advance legislation that benefits the minority community.

Specifically, the groups are concerned about the fate of Senate Bill 649. It would create a Minority Economic Development Advisory Team to address the economic problems facing underserved minority populations in West Virginia.

The bill remains in the Senate Government Organization Committee after being introduced last week and is facing a final deadline for passage by Wednesday, the last day for Senators to approve bills that originated in their chamber.

The groups were also seeking to halt the passage of three bills, House Bill 4240, relating to the Uniform Controlled Substance Act, House Bill 4576, which would increase penalties for transporting controlled substances, and House Bill 4578, which would create a criminal offense of conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Reverend Matthew J. Watts with the NAACP, says while he understands the intentions of these bills, the end result will be higher incarceration rates for minorities.

“These three bills are not only going to cause a growth in our prison population, drain money away from education, job training and substance-abuse programs, and just fill up our prisons that are already overcrowded,” Watts said. “These three bills that are closely connected together and there kind of going under the radar. Nobody is paying much attention to those bills. The NAACP is trying to bring those bills to light so people will pay attention.”

All three bills are on second reading in the House today and up for a vote Tuesday.

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