Auditor Mark Hunt defended his office’s contract amounting to $5,000 to employ state Senator Jay Taylor for a few weeks.
Taylor’s contracted work has been questioned by state Treasurer Larry Pack, a Republican, and leaders of the state Democratic Party. One of the main questions has been whether it’s appropriate for an elected member of the legislative branch to perform paid work for an agency of the executive branch.
Hunt said Taylor should not be considered an employee because of the contract nature of the work, the short term and lack of benefits.
“I mean, Jay was substitute teaching when he took this contract. He continued to substitute teach. Jay didn’t have any benefits, so we think that there’s no way in the world he could be considered an employee,” Hunt said on MetroNews Talkline.
Speaking on radio, Hunt said contractors save the state money because they don’t receive benefits and that Taylor’s contract was necessary because of staffing shortages at the time of the work. The work, Hunt said, was at a local government services office in Clarksburg.
Hunt maintained that the contract was legal and beneficial, and he would hire Taylor permanently if he left the Senate.
“I think he was the only person at the moment, because we were in a real bind,” Hunt said, adding that Taylor has a degree in computer engineering and a masters in business administration.
“I almost felt guilty for the guy with MBA working it out over about $18 an hour. The goal was to see if he wanted to keep the job on a permanent basis or the contract on a permanent basis, but we explained to him, you know, if you want that, you’re going to have to leave the Senate, and Jay decided not to leave the Senate.”
Hunt and Taylor, both Republicans, served together in the West Virginia Senate for about a year, from Dec. 1, 2022, to Jan. 13, 2025. Both were elected to the Senate in the 2022 general election. Their overlapping terms ended when Hunt left the legislature to be sworn in as the West Virginia State Auditor.
Hunt hired Senator Taylor in November 2025 for contract work that lasted about two months.
Taylor’s hiring followed a request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General on Oct. 16, 2025 “on a sitting member of the West Virginia Legislature also serving as either a contractor or an employee of an agency within the executive branch of our state government.”
The two-page response from Attorney General J.B. McCuskey said the answer regarding employment was clear: “a sitting member of the West Virginia Legislature cannot, under any circumstances, serve as an employee of an agency within the executive branch of our state government,” according to the state Constitution.
But on the contractor role, McCuskey wrote that “without more information, we are unable to offer an opinion as to whether a ‘contractor’ role would offend any prohibition.”
Still, he identified several “legal red flags” and “obvious restraints.” He said a contractor role could be considered “de facto state employment” if the person assumes the functions and duties of a full-time employee, which would violate the constitutional prohibition against legislators holding state employment.
McCuskey concluded by writing “All the above suggests that a person should exercise caution before purporting to act as both a ‘contractor’ of an executive agency and a sitting legislator.”
The questions about Taylor’s work for the state auditor were first laid out in a report in Dragline, which is published in association with the West Virginia ACLU.
Among Dragline’s findings were emails from Taylor’s state-issued account suggesting the contractor pay was not enough:
“I appreciate the opportunity, but $20 an hour is only $40K a year. And as a contractor I have to do my own taxes and benefits. That really puts me close to minimum wage. I figure this is a just an oversight as I believe the regular state job was supposed to be $75K with benefits.
“Since I’m not doing that and doing the contractor route my hourly should be considerably more. If a $75k salaried job comes wrapped in the warm blanket of full benefits, a contractor must knit their own blanket — health insurance, retirement, payroll taxes, time off, everything. That means the hourly rate must rise to cover the ‘hidden’ value of benefits.”
Following the Dragline report, the state Democratic Party then began asking whether Taylor’s paid work for the auditor was appropriate.
The Democrats asked why Taylor did not disclose the contract and income from the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office on the Financial Disclosure Statement he filed with the West Virginia Ethics Commission on Feb. 2.
“Senator Taylor knew from the beginning that this arrangement raised legal and constitutional concerns,” said state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin, who is also a state delegate.
“That makes it all the more important that he be completely transparent about the nature of his relationship with the Auditor’s Office and any compensation he received.”
Taylor told MetroNews today that the financial disclosure form will contain the information next year because he was not paid until Jan. 8 of this year. “I do appreciate the reminder from the State Democrat Chairman and look forward to continue working with him on important issues for West Virginia,” Taylor said.
State Treasurer Larry Pack started asking his own questions about the arrangement this week, sending a formal request for information to Hunt.
Pack requested copies of any documentation establishing that Taylor was hired as a contractor rather than an employee, copies of every invoice Taylor submitted during his tenure, detailed time logs or time sheets for the specific hours billed on those invoices and any Statement of Works or specific deliverables Taylor was expected to complete.
And the treasurer sought confirmation of Taylor’s current status within the auditor’s office, including documentation of any subsequent or ongoing contract relationships.
“We’re questioning as to whether it’s legal or not, or really whether it’s constitutional to be able to do that,” Pack said on MetroNews Midday.
“It’s all about separation of power, trying to make sure we’re following the Constitution. We couldn’t discern from the information that we had whether it’s appropriate or not. So we’re asking for additional information.”
On Talkline, Hunt said he would respond to Pack’s questions. But he had his own question about whether any of this is under the authority of the treasurer.
“Larry Pack’s a dear friend, and Larry Pack — I won’t say anything negative about Larry Pack — but he’s actually out of his lane. He’s asking the state auditor a question as to how we do assumptions on the day-to-day business,” Hunt said.