CHARLESTON, W.Va. — House and Senate finance committee members continued meetings Thursday with representatives of state agencies while a Berkeley County senator criticized the process.
The Republican-controlled committees spent several more hours on the fourth day of the special session asking questions about specific state budget accounts. Budget cuts are part of a three-pronged plan to fill a $271 million revenue hole for next fiscal year’s state budget.
The theme of the day for some Senate Democrats was to criticize the Republicans for not having a budget plan more than two months after the 60-day regular session and six weeks before the end of the fiscal year.
“This is just not a proper way of conducting ourselves,” Sen. John Unger (D-Berkeley) said about the meetings with state agency leaders. “We have never done it this way. What I’m afraid of is that we’re setting it up for a witch hunt here. We’re setting it up to try and embarrass people.”
Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Hall shot back that the process was about an open legal discussion of the issues.
“I can do it (the plan) in the dark and hand it to you or I can give you the opportunity to participate,” Hall said.
Unger later said the Thursday morning meeting “was productive.” Hall promised the only cuts to be considered for the state agencies would directly correspond to what the agency leaders said they could do during the open meetings.
Meanwhile, Del. Patrick Lane (R-Kanawha) introduced two bills Thursday that are not part of the governor’s special session agenda. One bill (HB 104) would “redirect certain racing and gaming revenues from greyhound development and racing funds to the State Road Fund” while (HB 105) would end transfers to the Licensed Racetrack Modernization Fund and put the money in the general revenue fund. Lane said the two bills combined would bring about $24 million to budget formula.
House of Delegates Communications Director Jared Hunt said the House believes it has the backing of prior case law to introduce bills not on the governor’s call.
“If you look at the letter we originally sent the Governor, we stated we believed applicable case law gives us the flexibility to add these items in order to accomplish the broader purpose of the call, which is to pass a balanced budget,” he said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee began working on a bill Thursday afternoon introduced by the governor that allow him to furlough workers under his executive order powers if there’s not a budget by July 1.
More committee meetings and floor sessions are scheduled for Friday at the state capitol.