CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Republican-dominated state Legislature concluded a 60-day session Saturday marked by budget disputes and controversial bills on social issues that made progress but ultimately went nowhere.
Lawmakers met behind closed doors Saturday to agree on a budget of just under $5 billion, bills that would cut unemployment benefits, a Social Security tax cut and a 5% raise for teachers and other state employees, among other legislation. These proposals are now on the desk of Republican Governor Jim Justice, who is expected to sign them.
The Social Security benefit cuts and wage increases were passed after the budget process was thrown into chaos this week when lawmakers learned that the Justice Department was negotiating with the federal government over a potential clawback of $465 million in COVID-19 funding dollars.
Lawmakers debated several versions of the budget before reaching a final decision, which left out several priority items, including a tax credit to make child care more affordable for families and money for a new agriculture lab at West Virginia State University.
Lawmakers plan to meet for a special session to discuss these topics in May, when the situation with the U.S. Department of Education is clearer, legislative leadership said.
Lawmakers additionally passed bills Saturday to allow the sale of raw milk with a warning label about the increased risk of foodborne illness and to allow virtual public school and private school students to opt out of mandatory vaccines.
Another successful bill would allow public school teachers to teach intelligent design, the theory positing that certain features of life forms are so complex that they are best explained by an origin from an intelligent higher power, rather than an undirected process such as natural selection. Intelligent design is predominantly regarded by the scientific community as a religious belief and not a scientific theory.
Social issues dominated most of the conversation during the session, but many did not make it to the finish line.
As the clock approached Sunday’s midnight deadline to pass bills, Democratic Del. Mike Pushkin discusses a proposed constitutional amendment that would have been placed on the ballot to ban non-US citizens from voting in West Virginia elections, which is already illegal. .
“I just don’t think there’s a need to change the constitution that’s already in the state code, something that isn’t happening yet. It’s hard enough to get our citizens to vote,” Pushkin said, looking at his watch.
“I would like to encourage all citizens to vote. When you vote, think about who you are voting for,” Pushkin, one of 11 Democrats in the 100-member House of Representatives, said just as time ran out.
Earlier in the session, the House of Representatives passed a bill to make schools, public libraries and museums criminally liable for distributing or showing “obscene” material to children. The Senate never passed that bill, or failed bills passed by the House of Representatives that would have limited health care for transgender adolescents and allowed teachers and other school employees with certain training to carry weapons on school campuses.
The Senate passed a bill that would allow a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group to be viewed in public schools, but the measure failed to gain traction in the House of Representatives.
There was also no time left on Saturday for lawmakers in the House of Representatives to vote on final approval of a Women’s Bill of Rights, which would almost certainly pass. Democrats labeled the proposal a dystopian bill that would give women no additional rights while simultaneously allowing the Republican Party to oppress transgender people. people.
According to the legislation, ‘equal’ does not mean ‘the same’ or ‘identical’ with regard to equality of the sexes. The proposed language in state statutes and official public policy would define a person’s sex as determined at birth, without allowing for substitution of gender equality terms. The bill would also provide that certain male and female environments, such as athletics, locker rooms and bathrooms, are not discriminatory.
The bill was championed by Republican women in the legislature, including Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, who said that “radical feminists” have “sought a world where men and women are treated exactly the same in all circumstances, regardless of physical differences.”
“The Women’s Bill of Rights aims to stop this radical agenda,” she said, supporting the legislation.
The unemployment bill, which was rushed through the legislative process in the final days of the session after hours of debate, confused some lawmakers, even those who chose to support it.
The bill would increase job search requirements for unemployed workers receiving benefits and freeze the rates these individuals receive at the current maximum of $622 per week, instead of an inflation-adjusting system. People could also work part-time while unemployed and looking for full-time work. Current average benefits are approximately $420 per week.
The bill was a compromise of an earlier version of the legislation that would have reduced the number of weeks allowed for unemployment benefits from 26 to 24 and would have started benefits at 70% of the recipient’s average weekly wage before losing work and losing benefits. reduce the amount of unemployment benefits. time the person is out of work without getting a new job.
Advocates say they worry about the long-term solvency of the state unemployment fund. But Del. Democratic Del. Shawn Fluharty said the bill sends a bad message.
“Here we are, year after year, finding ways to find out who actually built this state: the workers,” Fluharty said.
The Social Security tax cut bill follows a law signed in 2019 that reduces income taxes on Social Security benefits over three years for the state’s lowest earners, defined as those filing less than $100,000 jointly and $50,000 for a person.
The proposal approved by the Legislature on Saturday would eliminate the tax for all others, including over a three-year period. The tax would be reduced by 35% this year, retroactive to January 1, and by 65% in 2025. The tax would be completely abolished by 2026.