The regular legislative session just concluded, but Gov. Patrick Morrisey has acknowledged the likelihood of calling lawmakers back for one or more special sessions.
“Well, we’re likely to have some special sessions this year to tackle some of the tough issues facing West Virginia,” Morrisey said in response to a question on MetroNews Midday.
Governor Morrisey posted a message on social media a few weeks ago saying, “The more work the Legislature gets done now, the less time it will spend in Charleston during the long, hot summer.”
Today, the governor touted the approval of much of his administration’s agenda during the regular session.
Nevertheless, on statewide radio, the governor suggested education issues and financial pressures on the Public Employees Insurance Agency could be among the public policies to address over the coming months.
“I know that education is a really important issue, and I want to make sure that we’re having the best possible educational system for our kids,” he said.
“I want to make sure that we’re paying teachers better, especially when you look at what’s going on — you kind of compare them to the states that we touch. I want to pay more competitively. I also want to continue to move toward the direction of merit based assistance, and we need to be looking at that.”
West Virginia educators did not receive pay raises during the legislative session that concluded Saturday. The state Senate considered a bill, Senate Bill 506, that would have tied teacher pay to regional median housing prices, but that bill did not complete the legislative process.
Senator Eric Tarr, the main sponsor of that bill, said the legislation had significant potential.
“That would essentially set up regions within West Virginia that considered the market compensation for teachers relative to the cost of living and to make us competitive with all our border states,” Tarr, R-Putnam, said on Midday.
“So that would have been extremely powerful legislation to move.”
Senate Finance Chairman Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, was one of the sponsors of that bill and said on the regular session’s final day that he continues to support the concept.
“It’s just unfortunate that sometimes not everyone recognizes a specific problem in one region, and they’re not always willing to help,” Barrett said.
“The problem that we have, specifically in the Eastern Panhandle, is that teacher pay in border counties — whether it be Loudoun County, Virginia, or Washington County, Maryland or others — is a huge disparity from those counties into West Virginia, sometimes $20,000-$25,000 a year.”
Morrisey also described the possibility of a special session focused on the Public Employees Insurance Agency, where rising expenses are tied to steadily increasing costs of medical care and pharmaceuticals.
The five-year outlook for the Public Employees Insurance Agency shows increased overall expense of about 12% year over year over year over year. Over time, that adds up to a 60% cost increase.
“We need to be looking at a PEIA. I think that’s something that’s appropriate for a special session,” Morrisey said.
West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee also told MetroNews that PEIA is a complex issue, perhaps best addressed in special session.
“I really believe PEIA may be looked at in a special session later on this year. It’s a lot more involved and a lot more complicated than you could have divided the time out for in a 60-day session,” Lee said.
Governor Morrisey alluded to other potential topics for special session, too.
“Then, of course, we need to simplify our tax code and provide more tax relief for the citizens. So we’re looking at all those different issues this year and many more,” he said.
“But I’m glad we made it through the first round, the 60 day legislative session — but we’re going to keep working until West Virginia moves the needle, we lift up our standard of living, we drive educational attainment forward and we maintain our values. So step one in the books, but a lot more work to do.”
When asked if he had a comment in response to the governor expressing the likelihood of a special session or multiple special sessions this summer, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, responded with three words.
“We usually do.”