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Gov. Justice calls special session for budget

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday called state lawmakers back to Charleston next week for a special session on the budget, and he challenged the legislators to vote “yes” on the proposal that will be before them.

The special session is set to begin one week from today, on May 4.

“There has been a lot of dialogue going on, and I do really believe we’re on the verge of doing something great for the people of West Virginia,” he said. “If we can just get everyone to buy in, this could be a bipartisan effort of which we all can be proud.”

Justice vetoed the 2018 budget approved by lawmakers during the 60-day regular session.

“The budget presented to me would have devastated higher education, cut K-12 education, and would have literally killed thousands of people as we walked away with (state Department of Health and Human Resources) cuts,” he said. “We would have walked away from teachers’ pay raises, our veterans and marketing our state with tourism dollars … .”

Justice noted legislators’ reluctance to include $105 million for his “Save Our State” plan to repair West Virginia’s highways and bridges.

“We would have thrown away 48,000 (road construction) jobs, and the ability to fix potholes and existing roads,” he said. “We would also be draining $90 million from our Rainy Day Fund. Our bond rating has already downgraded, and now it would be downgraded more.

“If we had done that, what would the plan have been? The $64,000 question is, ‘What is the plan?'”

Justice said he didn’t see how any legislator could walk away from opportunities “that may never come again.”

“If you vote against all the goodness I’ve proposed, you will be walking away from the DHHR, our vets, tourism, higher education and losing 48,000 jobs on our roads,” he said. “If you are willing to do that, the only friend you have will be a dog. You will have to find a friend somewhere. This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime.”

House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, expressed doubts the Republican-led Legislature will approve the budget ideas set forth by the Democratic governor.

“I’m saddened that the governor continues to refuse to acknowledge the reality that his current plan still does not have the support of the majority of the House of Delegates,” he said. “We have repeatedly tried to get the governor to work with us on a realistic framework that could garner the support of the House of Delegates, but the governor has repeatedly shut the door in our face. Until he begins to accept reality, we will get nowhere in this budget debate, resulting in a prolonged special session that could have been avoided had the governor been willing to work with the House.

“I believe most West Virginians are wondering why the governor would call a special session without an agreed plan, and after closing the House majority — the members elected by the people — out of the process,” Armstead continued.

Armstead said Justice was presented with a budget that would have avoided the special session.

“He vetoed that budget and continues to misrepresent to the people what that budget contained,” Armstead said. “That budget contained no cuts to the classroom school aid formula and the cuts to higher education amounted in most cases to less than 1-2 percent of each college’s overall budget. The doomsday picture the governor continues to paint about our responsible spending plan is simply not true.”

Armstead said to this point, Justice has “refused” to speak with House leadership.

“So long as he continues to turn a deaf ear to the concerns of the House Republicans and the citizens we represent, Governor Justice will continue to hold the padlock to shut this government down on July 1,” Armstead said. “I sincerely want to avoid a shutdown and the calamity it will create, and I hope the governor will begin to work with us on a realistic way to avoid that.”

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