Legislators, policy leaders set goals for legislative session

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With more than three weeks until the state of this year’s legislative session, lawmakers and policy leaders are already lining up their agendas for what the 60-day period will involve regarding policy.

Eliminating the tax on Social Security income, getting rid of the inventory tax and increasing broadband services are among the issues that could be mentioned when the session begins in January.

Republicans maintain control of the state Legislature following the midterm elections in November with 20 seats in the 34-seat Senate and 59 seats in the 100-member House of Delegates.

Chris Hamilton, chairman of the West Virginia Business and Industry Council, said he is optimistic about the leadership of Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, and House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay.

“Our Legislature has just done an excellent job over the past couple years of identifying these tax burdens and other regulatory obstacles that has just hindered out business and job growth opportunities over the past several decades,” he said.

The West Virginia Business and Industry Council held a summit last week in Charleston, where items discussed included eliminating the burdens to industry and ways to spur economic growth.

“All these rules we have, a lot of them are antiquated. Companies still have to jump through all the hoops,” Delegate Amy Summers, R-Tucker, told MetroNews. “It doesn’t really serve a purpose. We’re trying to get rid of that and make it easier.”

Delegate Amy Summers, R-Tucker

Last week, Hanshaw named Summers as the next majority leader of the House of Delegates.

“We have a lot of new members, so we’ve been listening to all of their constituents’ concerns,” she said. “We’re compiling all that and seeing what things they want to accomplish.”

Senate Minority Leader Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, said he is hopeful both parties cooperate on policy.

“It’s in everyone’s benefit for us to work in a bipartisan fashion to move this state forward. We’re looking at core values and core issues that will move the state along, no issues that are going to divide us and cause controversy,” he said on MetroNews “Talkline.”

One item that could see a bipartisan fix is eliminating the tax on Social Security income. House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison, spoke of such action on a recent episode of MetroNews “Talkline.”

“We need to get rid of that, not just for the citizens that currently live here, but also those who may have left the state and would like to live out their retirement years,” he said.

West Virginia is one of 13 states that tax Social Security benefits.

Miley also spoke about fixing the state’s medical marijuana law; lawmakers attempted in May’s special session to ensure monetary transactions for growers and operators can happen when the medical marijuana law takes effect this upcoming July.

Miley said legislators need to modify who can receive proceeds from related sales.

“Until that happens, I don’t think it’s going to be able to be implemented like it should have been done by now,” he said.

Miley added legislation to build workforce preparedness programs needs consideration.

House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison

Hamilton and other business leaders will be pushing for the elimination of the inventory tax. Fourteen states have such a tax, including West Virginia.

“There was a lot of progress made on that last year,” he said. “We’re starting the process again to eradicate it from the array of business taxes we have. It’s truly a deterrent.”

Miley said while the inventory tax is “draconian,” it should not be a top priority.

“We still have the 18th or 19th lowest business taxes in the country and lower than all of our surrounding states,” he said.

“While we would like to get rid of that, we don’t want to do it on the back of the citizens. Somehow, if that is removed, we have to have a replacement revenue stream that will backfill the revenue that will be lost because that money that will be lost will be lost at the county level and our local school systems will be adversely affected by that.”

Summers said another issue legislators need to address is expanding broadband access, which is something lawmakers have worked on in the past.

“It’s not something we can fix overnight, but working on every year on how we can make that better. It’s essential to so many aspects of our lives,” she said. “We’ve got to make that better, and that’s one of our top priorities.”

The first day of the legislative session is Jan. 9.





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