CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State lawmakers will gavel into special session at 11 a.m. Thursday to consider the allocation of $250 million in state revenues to various state agencies.
The money comes from current budget year surplus funds.
“What we’re doing is managing the surplus,” Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, told MetroNews Wednesday.
Lawmakers allocated $150 million in surplus revenue to more than 400 highway projects in a special session earlier this month.
The fiscal year ends June 30. State law requires 50% of any budget surplus carried into the new fiscal year be put into the Rainy Day Fund. Gov. Jim Justice said last week the fund is already at record levels.
“We’ve done great in our state. We have a tremendous surplus and we want to absolutely put that to good use,” Justice said.
Blair said the Rainy Day fund would have a balance of approximately $1 billion later this year.
Some of the $250 million will go to agencies that found themselves in the ‘surplus section’ of the new budget that was passed by lawmakers earlier this year including higher education. That’s included in one bill that lawmakers will consider.
Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said Wednesday lawmakers were sent a video infomercial from Gov. Justice promoting the list. Blair said Justice’s office has done a good job leading up to the special session.
“Kudos to the governor’s office, they’ve worked very well with our team,” Blair said.
Blair said Senate Republicans have held one caucus and will hold a second caucus Thursday morning to go over the governor’s proposals.
Justice has sounded confident heading into the session.
“So we’re going to call the folks back in and try and get their blessing and try to move forward on a lot of wonderful projects,” he said last week.
Other proposed funding includes $30 million for State Park expansion projects; $17 million to the Governor’s Contingency Fund for matching dollars for flood-related new school construction projects in Kanawha and Nicholas counties and $5 million to the Division of Tourism for economic development projects associated with the recent designation of the New Gorge National Park & Preserve in Fayette County.
Mine reclamation
Blair said the session will also include a resolution calling on the federal government to allocate $8 billion to West Virginia for mine reclamation costs.
Blair noted earlier this month that the White House Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization has identified nearly $38 billion in existing federal funding that could be accessed for infrastructure, environmental remediation, community revitalization, and jobs to support hard-hit energy communities.
“If the government is going to destroy all of these things then they have a responsibility to jump on board and help us out with this and the $8 billion out of $38 billion is a fair deal,” Blair said Wednesday.
The recently created Joint Committee on Mine Reclamation is scheduled to meet at 9:30 Thursday morning to take up the proposed resolution.
Regional Jail bills
Gov. Justice has also included on the special session call a bill that freezes regional jail per diem rates at their current level.
As of now the $48.25 daily rate counties pay the Regional Jail Authority to house inmates is scheduled to increase by 14% to nearly $55. Justice’s bill puts that increase off for a year.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper says lawmakers should take that time and come up with solution. He said counties are swimming in jail bill debt.
“The legislature needs to do something about this,” Carper said. “The leadership of the legislature has promised local government, local taxpayers, that they know this is an unfair system and they are going to fix it.”
Carper said a dedicated revenue stream is needed.
“They could put $3 on an inspection sticker, $2 on a license plate, a dollar on a boat trailer, whatever it takes. There needs to be a revenue source,” Carper said.
Senate Confirmations
The state Senate will also consider four nominations from Gov. Justice for positions on the Educational Broadcasting Authority. Lottery Commission and Broadband Enhancement Council. The Senate Confirmations Committee is scheduled to meet at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.