Another legislative session is ready to launch.
A new governor, Patrick Morrisey, will set the tone with his first State of the State address at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
West Virginia MetroNews will carry the address live.
“This is an opportunity to really set forth the agenda for the state and the things that West Virginia needs to do to be that shining state in the mountains,” Morrisey told reporter Amanda Barren of the Nexstar television stations this week.
“I know during the inaugural we talked a lot about the importance of West Virginia stepping out, being more competitive with other states that we touch. Now we put a little bit more meat on the bones, and we’re talking a little bit more about how we’re going to be operating that 60, 90 days, for the rest of the year.”
Morrisey’s administration has projected a $400 million budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, so that is likely to be a focal point right away as the Legislature works toward a budget agreement.
“We’re going to release the budget on Wednesday night, and I think even third grade math students and others across the board are going to see this is reality. This is what’s going on. And I actually think the legislature will see that and agree with that as well,” Morrisey said in the television interview.
Morrisey, a Republican, has also talked regularly about running government more efficiently. Although that could mean cutbacks or consolidations in some areas, he has not yet described many specifics. The biggest spending areas for state government area healthcare and education.
“We’re going to see some reductions in certain areas, and we’re going to be very proactive in terms of putting West Virginia in a pathway to succeed,” Morrisey said.
The Republican governor has described wanting to compete on more even terms with surrounding states, including in areas like pay for public employees. And he has regularly said he wants West Virginia’s school choice options to be even more potent.
Both chambers of the Legislature will gavel in earlier Wednesday, prior to Morrisey’s evening speech.
Members of the House of Delegates are anticipated to adopt the rules for how they’ll operate during this 60-day session. Delegates will also introduce bills and conduct some additional House business before recessing until later in the evening.
“How do we, as a legislature and collectively as a government, position West Virginia to be the best place we can possibly make it to live, work and raise a family in?” House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, said during a recent Legislative Lookahead preview of the session.
“That will continue to be my principle philosophy behind setting agendas for the House of Delegates.”
The state Senate will gavel in with new leadership. Senator Randy Smith, R-Preston, emerged as the winner to lead that chamber this year. His leadership team will be mostly new, too, including Patrick Martin as the Senate majority leader and Jay Taylor as the majority whip.
During a joint appearance with Morrisey a couple of weeks ago, Smith said he’s optimistic about getting started.
“We’re on the same plane with things that are important to us to move West Virginia forward,” Smith said.
“This is going to be a great session. We’ve got a lot of problems to solve, but we’re all on the same page with these issues.”
On Thursday, the work of the Legislature will get fully underway.
MetroNews’ “Talkline,” hosted by Dave Wilson and T.J. Meadows, will broadcast from the Capitol throughout the 60-day session. MetroNews will also feature “Capitol Report” updates each day.