West Virginia legislature approves road, health and education funding in quick session
(The Center Square) – In a short one-day special session, both chambers of the West Virginia legislature approved seven pieces of legislation to provide funding for roads, education and the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Gov. Jim Justice, who is expected to approve the legislation, convened the special session to get approval for authorizing some of the federal relief funds and some state funds. During last session, the legislature passed a bill that required legislative approval for state spending of certain federally funded money if the costs are higher than $150 million.
Senate Bills 1001 and 1002 allocated $809 million worth of federal funds to the Department of Health and Human Resources. The programs covered include community mental health services, energy assistance, substance abuse prevention and treatment and money for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund.
If signed by the governor, this will provide about $330 million for child care and development, $250 million for the Division of Health and $150 million for the Division of Human Services.
Senate Bills 1003 and 1004 allocated about $94 million in federal funds to the Department of Education for programs, which include additional money for the school lunch program.
Also on the agenda were House Bills 101 and 102, which transferred $150 million from the state’s general revenue fund to cover the costs of road maintenance in all 55 West Virginia counties.
The legislature also approved Senate Bill 1007, which grants debtors more exemptions of property in federal bankruptcy proceedings.
West Virginia was expecting the state revenue to be $400 million ahead of earlier projections, primarily caused by the state’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and elimination of most of the pandemic-era restrictions. With the additional road funding taken into account, the state is still expecting to see revenue about $250 million higher than initial projections.
At the start of the pandemic, Gov. Jim Justice had handled all of the federal funds on his own without consulting the legislature, despite lawmakers urging him to convene a special session before the approval of funds. This led to the legislature passing House Bill 2014 to require legislative approval.
The special session coincided with the legislature’s June interim committee meetings, so lawmakers were already scheduled to be at the capitol in Charleston. Lawmakers thanked the governor for scheduling the session at that time, saying that it saves taxpayer money that would have needed to be spent if he scheduled it at a different time.
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