West Virginia Legislature’s special session enters second day
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CHARLESTON -- Members of the West Virginia Legislature made relatively quick work in passing the majority of bills Monday in the second special session of 2022. But action on an economic development bill will have to wait until today.
Both the state Senate and House of Delegates gaveled in at noon Monday, coinciding with the second day of April legislative interim meetings at the State Capitol Building.
Gov. Jim Justice issued a proclamation Friday calling the Legislature into special session to consider 17 bills. Some of the items included bills that Justice vetoed for technical reasons, bills that didn't make it through the 60-day regular session that ended March 12, and new pieces of legislation.
Lawmakers passed 14 bills by Monday evening, completing action on a majority of the bills by the afternoon. But lawmakers in the House took their time on the main reason for the special session: Senate Bill 2001, relating generally to funding for infrastructure and economic development projects in state.
An attempt to suspend constitutional rules requiring a bill be read on three separate days failed, putting SB 2001 on second reading when the House gavels in again this morning at 8 a.m.
Instead of waiving the committee reference, SB 2001 and the House's version of the bill were sent to the House Finance Committee, which met at 3 p.m. Monday to consider the bill.
SB 2001 is similar to Senate Bill 729, passed by the Legislature on the final day of the regular session. Justice vetoed the bill at the end of March, citing numerous technical errors in the bill making it impossible to implement.
SB 2001 would create a revolving loan fund managed by the state Economic Development Authority to fund loans for business and industrial development projects. Funds will come from $600 million appropriated to the Department of Economic Development in the fiscal year 2023 general revenue budget from end-of-year surplus collections. A minimum of $200 million can be used to finance high impact development projects.
The bill also would make available $200 million to the state Department of Transportation for a revolving loan program, The Infrastructure Investment Reimbursement Fund would cover cost reimbursement for transportation projects. The fund itself would be reimbursed with federal funds as they become available.
"The bill as a whole is really meant to leverage state dollars to the greatest extent possible," said Berkeley Bentley, general counsel for the Governor's Office. "Over the next five years there will be a huge amount of infrastructure money coming into the state. Rather than hoping revenues are there each year, this revolving fund will allow us to take advantage of as much as we can."
Other bills passed Monday include: permitting the use of air rifles when hunting, updating the prescriptive authority for physicians assistants and advanced practical registered nurses, creating the Military Authority Reimbursable Expenditure Account, making changes to the make-up and requirements for various boards and commissions, creating an unemployment compensation insurance fraud unit, making changes to the state Real Estate License Act, an option on electronic hunting and fishing license applications for voluntary donations to the West Virginia University Rifle Team, establishing alternative educational opportunities for elective course credit, and codifying state criminal offenses for flying an aircraft under the influence.
Other bills dealt with state retirement and pension systems. House Bill 212 would add family court judges to the Judges' Retirement System. A similar bill was vetoed by Justice for technical errors. House Bill 216 would increase the multipliers for use in determining benefits in the police officer and firefighters retirement systems. Senate bills 2003 and 2004 make tweaks to the Public Employees Retirement System.
One bill that appears at risk of not making it out of the special session is Senate Bill 2002, reclassifying Bluefield State College as a statutorily exempt school. The bill is on second reading in the House, but the Senate referred the bill to its Rules Committee where bills that don't have support often get parked.
If passed, Bluefield would join West Virginia University, Marshall University, and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine as statutorily exempt schools. Shepherd University and Fairmont State University have administrative exemptions.
In order for the bill to make it before legislative interim meetings end today, it needs a four-fifths vote of members to suspend constitutional rules requiring bills be read on three separate days, otherwise the bill will be on third reading in the House Wednesday - one day after interim meetings end. Lawmakers were already planning to be in Charleston Sunday through today, eliminating the average $35,000-per-day cost of a special session. It is not likely that lawmakers will agree to stay another day in special session.
Justice also amended the special session call Monday and added a supplemental appropriation bill providing $250 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars to the Economic Enhancement Grant Fund through the West Virginia Water Development Authority. The fund will provide matching grants to municipalities for water and sewer infrastructure projects.
"These are major dollars that, with the support of the Legislature, will help make life better for so many West Virginians in all kinds of ways," Justice said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we still have places where access to these utilities isn't as reliable as it should be. It's a problem that goes back decades - long before I walked in the door as Governor. With this Legislation, we'd be taking a huge step forward."
The special session could wrap up this morning once the Senate gavels in at 8 a.m.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com