The state Senate and House of Delegates convened very briefly today after snow, ice, freezing conditions and power outages across the state chilled activity.
The Senate’s floor session at 2 p.m. lasted less than a minute.
“With the governor having declared a state of emergency in all 55 counties, I declare the absence of a quorum,” Senate President Randy Smith, R-Tucker, formally noted from the podium.
Both chambers already had canceled all their committee meetings today. The floor sessions occurred mainly to put matters off to the next day, in hopes of more manageable weather.
A very brief House floor session at 1:30 p.m. was led by Delegate Clay Riley, R-Harrison. The House went through more formalities than the Senate did — but did not vote on any bills. Attendance appeared thin.
The House clerk, Jeffrey Pack, led the daily prayer and observed the difficult weather conditions. “We want to take a moment to lift up our prayers for the folks that are out clearing the roads and working to restore power, keep them safe and keep them warm,” Pack said.
He continued, “We pray for those without power across our straight state that that you might bring them safety and that you might bring them comfort.” And he concluded by praying, “We also ask that you might be with the folks as they travel back for our session tomorrow and the remainder of the week.”
Both the House and the Senate announced that they’ll be in session Tuesday, although the House backed its floor session to 1 p.m. because of expected low temperatures.
The first meetings in the House on Tuesday are finance and judiciary — both at 11 a.m.
The Senate’s committee schedule on Tuesday starts with government organization and education — both at 9:30.
Earlier Monday at the Capitol, Gov. Patrick Morrisey hosted a press conference to provide updates about the weather and power outage response.
“We know that conditions across the state remain hazardous, and I want all West Virginians to do everything they can to stay safe,” Morrisey said.
The governor took note of freezing conditions that are expected to last the rest of the week.
“Most importantly, we’re watching the weather like you are,” Morrisey said, “trying to analyze how cold it’s going to be in the upcoming days.”