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Tension under the dome

Thursday was a tension-filled day at the West Virginia Legislature as the Senate and the House of Delegates each took up controversial bills that, to a great degree, define the transition of West Virginia from a blue to a red state.

In the Senate, the debate was over the bill repealing prevailing wage, the state’s long-standing policy of paying generally higher union-based hourly wages for state taxpayer-paid construction jobs.  Republicans and the business sector wanted the repeal, while Democrats and labor supported keeping prevailing wage.

There were passionate floor speeches from both sides before the vote, but it was a given that the 18-16 Republican advantage would prevail, and it did. The bill now goes to the Governor.

It was a different story in the House, which took up the bill making West Virginia a right-to-work state.  The GOP holds a 64-36 advantage, but the leadership knew not all Republicans were on board.  That was evident when the House earlier passed 55-44 the bill eliminating prevailing wage.   Eight of the 64 Republicans flipped and opposed the bill (one Republican was sick and absent).

Republicans and Democrats, lobbyists for both sides and even Governor Tomblin’s office worked right up through the floor session whipping votes.  Tomblin opposes right-to-work and his director of legislative affairs, Joey Garcia, was working hard to defeat the bill.  (Tomblin will veto the bill and it will return to the Legislature, where Republicans will try to override that veto.)

Republican leaders had their hands full trying to get to 51.  A few Republicans get labor support and their opposition to right-to-work was a given.  Several others, however, were wavering for a variety of reasons.  Trying to get all members of the GOP caucus headed in the same direction is often described as trying to herd cats.

It would have been a stunning setback for the Republican majority in just its second year if RTW had failed, despite having an overwhelming majority in the House, creating a ripple effect.

House Republicans who cast a reluctant vote for right-to-work would have been upset with some of their fellow party members who flipped.  Additionally, Senate Republicans would have wondered why they went to the mats on a controversial issue, only to see it fail in the House.  Any favored House Republican bills would have then gotten a frosty reception on the Senate side.

In the end, Republicans eked it out 54-46.

Passing right-to-work and repealing prevailing wage are significant victories for the Republican leadership of the Legislature.  They also represent the ongoing shift of the body politic of West Virginia that had its roots in George W. Bush beating Al Gore in West Virginia in the 2000 election, and has extended through the 2014 election where the state elected three Republican members of Congress, the first Republican U.S. Senator in a half-century and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.*

West Virginia has now moved farther into place with its southern cohorts; conservative, religious, Republican and right-to-work.  And that makes the stakes in the 2016 election even higher.

*The Senate was tied 17-17 after the 2014 election, but Senator Daniel Hall flipped from the Democrat to Republican Party giving the Republicans an 18-16 advantage.

 

 

 





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