CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The bill dealing with provisions for a temporary shutdown of West Virginia’s state government, if no budget agreement is reached before July 1, is going to the House of Delegates floor without language addressing the use of the Capitol Dome light.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee voted to remove that provision from the proposed bill Wednesday morning at the State Capitol where a Special Session continues.
“I don’t like the way the beacon’s been used as a political prop, but I’m wondering if this is the place,” said House Judiciary Committee Chair John Shott (R-Mercer, 27).
In March, Governor Jim Justice ordered the lighting of the beacon at the top of the State Capitol Dome as lawmakers considered $50 million in cuts to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. Such cuts, Justice said, would constitute a public health emergency.
Up to that point, use of the light had coincided with declared States of Emergency for disasters — like the June 2016 Flood.
Delegate Kelli Sobonya (R-Cabell, 18) remembered the day first responders were recognized for their flood work during the 2017 Regular Legislative Session.
“They arrived at the Capitol to see the emergency light, the beacon, lit up for a State of Emergency and, to me, that was a slap in the face to those, the first responders, who worked in the flood situation and the families who lost family members,” Sobonya said.
Keeping the provision in, Delegate Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha, 37) argued, could have jeopardized the entire bill which hinges on a signature from Governor Justice. “It’s answering a political stunt with another political stunt and we should just take it out,” he said.
Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer agreed. “I just don’t think this is appropriate in this very critical piece of legislation where we are making sure that, as we approach this precipice, that our employees will have certain protections and guarantees.”
Overall, the bill deals with the details of how public employees will be furloughed if there is no agreement on a state budget before July 1 and Governor Jim Justice declares a fiscal emergency.
“There’s just not a lot of precedent out there, probably fortunately, for what could happen and how it’s handled,” Shott told the committee. “We’re not exactly on unplowed ground, but it hasn’t been plowed very often.”
Members of the House Judiciary Committee passed their own furlough bill that differed from both what Governor Justice had submitted to the Legislature and what the House Government Organization Committee advanced a day earlier.
In a previous version of the bill, the following state employees would not be subject to furlough in a declared fiscal emergency:
– Employees of the West Virginia State Police who, in the regular course of their employment, investigate crimes or patrol, and their essential support staff
– Conservation officers employed by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
– Essential employees of the West Virginia Intelligence Fusion Center
– Essential employees of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
– Employees of the West Virginia National Guard
– Employees of the West Virginia Capitol Police
– Correctional officers located at either a prison or jail, and their essential support staff
– Employees of state hospitals
– Employees of the West Virginia Department of Highways who perform necessary emergency services during a non-fiscal emergency.
The House Judiciary’s bill appeared to grant discretion in other employee cases.