The state Legislature’s top leaders say they are willing to consider Gov. Jim Justice’s proposals for a special session announced for the end of this month, but they need to hear more specific details.
Justice announced he’ll call a special session for Sept. 30 for lawmakers to consider tax cuts, support for childcare, and the appropriation of supplemental funds to address other needs in West Virginia. But the governor’s announcement acknowledged that “final details are still being discussed.”
“I’m not sure we know yet,” House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“I think the governor has said publicly he’d like to see us consider additional income tax reductions at this time, but I don’t think we know how he will specifically propose that we do that.” He added, “I’m reserving judgment until we have a proposal in hand.”
Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said he is still weighing that additional tax cut proposal versus other financial demands of state government.
Blair said the overriding question is “how you go about being able to do this and also convincing the urgency of it.”
“We’ve got to also factor in that you’ve got a new governor coming in as well, and something we do today could actually be unwound in February and March. So I don’t necessarily know about the urgency of being able to do this other than trying to lock down the future of this 5 percent.”
Justice first called for the 5% reduction on July 1, the start of a new fiscal year, catching legislative leaders by surprise.
The state instituted a 21.25% personal income tax cut this year in a package that included further automatic reductions under certain economic conditions.
West Virginia hit those economic conditions, which triggered an additional 4% personal income tax cut to go into effect.
Justice wants another 5% on top of that. His second term as governor ends in just a few months, and he is running as a Republican for United States Senate.
“I’ve promised you that I’m going to run through the finish line and work every day as hard as I can for the voters, for the Toby and Ediths out there. Inflation’s eating us up right now. We all know that. Toby and Edith need us,” Justice said in a video announcement of the special session topics, using his term for average West Virginians.
“So I hope in every way, everybody in the Legislature hears that voice. Those people, it’s their money. And with all in me we can do it. We can do it; we can do it right now. We need another tax break.”
Current lawmakers have generally expressed caution about the governor’s 5% tax cut proposal because other tax cuts are still going into effect and because there are additional spending commitments also still going into effect — like the continued rollout of the Third Grade Success Act and estimated additional costs for more Hope Scholarship enrollment.
“I’m a fiscal hawk,” Blair said. “I’m concerned, personally, and I think a lot of my members are in the Senate that if we’re going to do an extra $110 million tax cut, we have to make sure that we do not create a point in time that we look back and we failed and future legislators may have to end up coming back and increase taxes.”
Democrats in the Legislature are still considering the tax cut possibility as details are made available, said Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha.
“I don’t think that we’re fully against it, but would like to see what those numbers look like,” Young said on “Talkline.” “We haven’t seen bills yet so, kind of hard to say.”