CHARLESTON – Lawmakers in the West Virginia Legislature burst into action just after 10 p.m. Saturday when Gov. Jim Justice announced they tentatively reached a deal with Senate leadership for the states 2018 budget.
In a news conference at 10 p.m., Justice said he and Senate President Mitch Carmichael had struck a deal to fill an estimated $500 million budget hole without cutting the states education system or the Department of Health and Human Resources, and instead rely on an increase to the sales tax and establishing a commercial activities tax.
At press time, the final budget for fiscal year 2018 remained in limbo, and it was unclear whether lawmakers would meet Justices mark or opt for a special session on the matter.The announcement came after a day when the legislature approved measures involving access to abortions for girls 18 years and younger and two days after the legislature established parameters for the state’s medical marijuana industry. Justice announced the deal in the news conference, saying he and Carmichael reached a deal near 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Wouldn’t it be nice for everybody to leave here at 12 o’clock tonight and know we didn;t hurt an autistic kid; we didn’t take away from a terrible situation our seniors are in; we didn’t really strip away or hurt our education process?” Justice said. “We found a pathway to really do some real goodness and put West Virginia on a trajectory that is like nobody’s business.”The announcement left members of the House in somewhat of a scramble, with House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, and House Finance Committee Chairman Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, quickly leaving the House chamber after the conference ended.
The 0.00045 percent tax on businesses’ gross receipts has been estimated to bring in $45 million in revenue. Justice has described the tax as taking one penny for every $4 spent in the Mountain State. The other part of Justices agreement with the Senate included his new roads plan, which was approved in a separate bill earlier Saturday.
Per Justices proposal, lawmakers agreed to hold a voter referendum this year on issuing $1.6 billion in bonds to rebuild state highways and bridges. The House adopted the Senate language for the referendum that removes references to specific taxes. The House voted 84-11 on Saturday. Justice proposed a major roads program using bonds to restore infrastructure and put thousands of West Virginians to work.He proposed increasing the gasoline tax by 4.5 cents a gallon and raising some Department of Motor Vehicle fees and expressway tolls to support bonds issued over four years. The state would also apply for matching federal highway funds. The Senate passed legislation to raise the gas tax two weeks ago, which doesn’t require voter approval, but the House had not advanced the measure as of press time Saturday.
Justice said the gas tax was part of his agreement with Carmichael on Saturday. Justices announcement came as the budget seemingly was up in the air.Earlier in the week, Justice announced he planned to extend the legislative session by one day to complete work on the budget if lawmakers didn’t approve one by the end of the regular session. As of 11:30 p.m. Saturday, members of the Senate and the House of Delegates were about $180 million apart in their proposals to balance an estimated $500 million budget hole for fiscal year 2018.
The Senate on Wednesday advanced a budget that would cut about $160 million of state spending, including a $41.5 million reduction in higher education funding. In the House of Delegates, a narrow 52-48 vote approved applying the state’s 6 percent sales tax to previously exempt businesses while lowering the overall sales tax more than a cent over three years.The Senate budget would equate to a 15 percent reduction to state funding for the state’s universities and colleges. The Senate proposal also provided that the Department of Health and Human Resources would lose almost 3.7 percent across the board.
The Senate’s original budget proposal included a rate of overall spending of about $13 billion, including about $4.1 billion of the state’s general revenues. The budget plan the House approved Wednesday evening would make about $75 million in new cuts overall, including nearly 6 percent from higher education with remaining state support not earmarked specifically for individual schools. Justice also proposed smaller cuts for state colleges and universities than the Senate.In the House of Delegates, a narrow vote approved applying the state sales tax to cellphone services, barbering and contractors, all of which had previously been exempt.The bill also approved cutting the sales tax to 5.5 cents on a dollar in July 2018, dropping it to 5.25 cents a year later and cutting it to 4.75 cents two years after that depending on revenues. Both sales tax measures would take effect in July 2018.
Medical marijuana in the Mountain State
On Thursday, lawmakers, some almost begrudgingly, approved a measure to make West Virginia the 29th state to cultivate a medical marijuana industry.Senate Bill 386, also known as the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act, establishes the legislature as the rule-making and oversight body for the medical marijuana industry. The West Virginia Bureau of Health would be responsible for overseeing certification, permitting and licensure within the industry. The proposed law sets tight parameters as to how marijuana can be consumed, including pills, oil, topical treatments and mists.
The law also established a process by which people who are prescribed medical marijuana would be issued a certificate, which they would use to obtain a license to get their prescription. The license would cost $50 and have to be renewed annually. The measure also establishes a fee structure for opening a dispensary or beginning a medical marijuana growing operation.
The bill completed its journey against big odds in the GOP-led legislature following a sometimes contentious journey through the House starting March 30. At times there were rumors the bill would be killed by House leadership, and the House eventually approved a measure that had stricter regulations and established the legislature as the major rule-making and oversight body for the medical marijuana industry, instead of the state’s cannabis commission.
credit:herald-dispatch.com