CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State lawmakers return to Charleston Sunday for three days of interim committee meetings that will include a special session highlighted by a bill calling for $150 million in highway maintenance projects.
Interims begin Sunday with five meetings scheduled including a joint meeting of the Oversight Commission on Transportation Accountability and the legislature’s new Committee on Infrastructure.
Lawmakers attending the 5 p.m. meeting are scheduled to hear from representatives from the Department of Transportation, Division of Highways and Division of Motor Vehicles. They’ll discuss the $150 million in improvements Gov. Jim Justice is proposing lawmakers take up on Monday.
Justice announced last week the money for the projects will come from surplus revenue collections in the current budget year.
State Transportation Secretary Byrd White said the projects cover the entire state.
“There are over 400 of these projects planned, and projects in every county,” White said. “Many of these projects are slips and slides, embankment repairs, and small bridge repairs or replacements. They are on the roads where our people live, and the roads that touch their lives every day. We are as committed as ever to making sure all roads across our state are in the best shape they can be and this funding will go a long way toward this goal.”
Seven interim committees are scheduled to meet Monday before or after the noon start of the special session.
Tuesday’s schedule includes nearly a dozen interim committee meetings.