At the legislature today, after the Senate worked on the Charter Schools bill for weeks during the session, the bill is now in the hands of the house which has just nine days to consider it. We’ll have an update. And the number of damage claims against the state for potholes are rising. What one lawmaker says can be done about the condition of West Virginias roads. These stories and more coming up on The Legislature Today.
Tag: West Virginia Legislature
Senate Backs Bill Amending Election Contribution Laws
During an evening session on the final day to approve bills in their originating chamber, members of the state Senate passed a bill that would make major changes to election contribution laws in West Virginia.
The body began debating the bill more than a week ago that when introduced would have removed all contribution caps for candidate donations and allowed corporations to begin giving to West Virginia races.
Members of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee debated the bill Tuesday striking many of the provisions Senators previously objected to and adding stricter reporting requirements.
Senate Bill 541, as approved by the chamber Wednesday evening on a 28-6 vote, would raise the current individual contribution limits from $1,000 to $2,600, the federal contribution limit, and index it for inflation.
Corporations will continue to be barred for donating to candidates in the state under the bill, but the legislation also prohibitions donations from unions, a new provision. Senate Judiciary Chair Charles Trump explained on the floor Wednesday while they cannot give directly, union and corporation members are still able to form political action committees to contribute to candidates should the bill become law.
Reporting requirements were Democratic Sen. Mike Romano’s main focus who told the body before a vote he said had problems with the bill, but would support it because of the reporting changes.
The bill requires third party organizations, like political action committees, disclose only the names of donors who give up to $250 to the Secretary of State’s Office. Donors who give above that amount will be required to disclose more information, like addresses.
The Secretary of State’s Office under the bill is required to maintain a searchable online database of campaign contributions and disclosures.
“This bill more than any other measure we take here will allow for clean, honest, transparent, accountable elections,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael, the bill’s lead sponsor, said Wednesday.
“We can never stop the dark money, we can’t shut it down, but we can make sure it’s disclosed, who the contributors are to these entities.”
Carmichael said increasing contribution limits and requiring more disclosures will allow candidates to maintain control of their message during an election instead of being defined, as they often are, by third party messaging.
The bill will still need to be approved by the House of Delegates before it can be sent to the governor for a signature.
House Overrides Governor's Veto
At the legislature today, it’s crossover day which means members of both chambers have plenty of work to do. Senators say they will complete their calendar of bills long before the midnight deadline, But the House came to a halt this afternoon as members of the minority teamed up with some Republicans in an effort to kill a controversial bill, reading all 41 pages of it on the chamber floor. That story and we’ll talk with the leader of an education organization about the major bills lawmakers have considered so far this session, on The Legislature Today.
Senate Committee Proposes Extended Deadline for Common Core Repeal
Senators continue to move on a bill that would repeal Common Core standards in the state Tuesday by proposing amendments during an Education subcommittee meeting.
House Bill 2934 was approved over the weekend by the House of Delegates and called for a total repeal of the math and English standards by July 1, 2015.
During multiple meetings this week, state Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Martirano pleaded with lawmakers to extend the repeal deadline and Tuesday members of the subcommittee listened, extending the deadline for Common Core repeal until July 1, 2016.
“It’s a very, very heavy lift,” Martirano said after the meeting of the 2016 date. “I feel it’s a very ambitious schedule.”
Ambitious because Martirano said the bill will cost the state Department of Education an estimated $113 million for meetings of teachers to rewrite the standards, for new classroom materials and standardized test aligned to the new standards and professional development for teacher across the state who will need to be updated on the new requirements.
Delegate Jim Butler, a sponsor of the bill, said he believes members of the House can agree to the one year extension.
“We all want to be thoughtful about the whole process and realize that things take time,” he said after the subcommittee meeting.
“We’re going to finally be able work together and come up with some good standards for West Virginia.”
The subcommittee also added requirements to the bill that educators must look to pre-2010 California, 2006 Indiana and 2001 Massachusetts English standards as a model for the new West Virginia content standards. Educators must use those same standards with the addition of 2008 Washington state standards as a guide in math.
The bill still needs to be approved by the full Senate and House of Delegates before Governor Tomblin will be asked to sign off on a repeal.
Warriors and Veterans to Agriculture Seeks Legislative Funding
At the legislature today, bills to repeal West Virginia’s educational standards and loosen up the state’s campaign finance laws were up for discussion in the senate. These stories and more coming up on The Legislature Today.
House Overrides Veto on Abortion Bill
For the first time in more than twenty years, members of the legislature are on their way to overturning a gubernatorial veto.
According to Speaker Tim Armstead’s office, the last time such a vote was taken was in 1987 under the late Governor Arch Moore.
The two thirds vote of both chambers overturned his decision on a portion of the 1988 budget, but lawmakers this year have a slightly different situation on their hands as they consider a vote to overturn the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
Update March 4, 2015, 4:55 p.m.:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael said the Senate did not receive the House of Delegate’s message of a vote to override the governor’s veto before their morning floor session preventing them from taking up the bill Wednesday.
Carmichael said the chamber, however, is under no time crunch to reconsider House Bill 2568. Members of the Senate have until the final day of the session, March 14, to consider a veto override.
Update March 4, 2015, 9:55 a.m.:
The House of Delegates voted 77-16 Wednesday to override Governor Tomblin’s veto of the pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
Delegates Linda Longstreth, Tim Miley, Linda Phillips and Patsy Trecost–who had all originally voted in support of the bill–were among those who disapproved of the veto override.
In a news release Wednesday, House Speaker Tim Armstead called the override a “historic step” and noted that it was the first time the chamber has passed a veto override since 1987.
“I am confident that the Senate will follow suit and that this will be law of West Virginia. I believe that the Pain Capable Unborn Protection Act is constitutional and will withstand any constitutional challenge,” said Armstead.
The action will now be sent to the Senate.
From Our Original Post
For the second time in as many years, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed a bill that would ban late-term abortions. Republican leaders in the House say they’re planning to override the measure.
In a news release Tuesday, Tomblin announced his veto of The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The bill would ban the practice 22 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual cycle, or 20 weeks post fertilization, the point at which supporters of the bill say the fetus can feel pain.
In Tomblin’s veto message to House Speaker Tim Armstead, he cites decisions from the United States Supreme Court in stating that the bill is unconstitutional.
Tomblin also issued a statement to the media.
“As reflected in my voting record during my time in the Legislature, I believe there is no greater gift of love than the gift of life. As governor, I must take into consideration a number of factors when reviewing legislation, including its constitutionality,” said Tomblin in Tuesday’s statement.
“At the start of the regular session, I urged members of the Legislature to consider a compromise that would help us establish legislation that would pass constitutional muster. Having received a substantially similar bill to the one vetoed last year on constitutional grounds, I must veto House Bill 2568.”
Democratic members of the Senate fought the bill on the floor last week, calling it unconstitutional and against the precedent set by the United State’s Supreme Court in 1973 with Roe v. Wade.
Tomblin vetoed a similar bill following the conclusion of last year’s session in a Democrat-led legislature. Tomblin refused to call a special session that would have allowed lawmakers to reconsider the bill.
According to the Associated Press, both bills resemble a law struck down in Arizona in 2013 that the U.S. Supreme Court later decided not to reconsider.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey expressed his disappointment in Tomblin’s veto and urged legislators to override it. He also promised to defend the bill if challenged in court.
“It is long-past time that limits are placed on abortions in West Virginia. Currently West Virginia law does not limit how late an abortion can occur,” said Morrisey in a statement issued Tuesday.
“While no one can predict with certainty how a court will rule, I believe that there are strong, good-faith arguments that this legislation is constitutional and should be upheld by the courts. If the Legislature overrides this veto and the law is challenged, I will defend it in court.”
Whitney Burdette of The Charleston Daily Mail reports that House leaders are already planning to override Tomblin’s veto of the bill.
Republicans now control the legislature. Only a simple majority is needed to override the governor’s veto.