Day 14: Governor Justice takes his tax cut proposal to the people
“Toby and Edith we owe. We owe ‘em. We owe ‘em. For God’s sakes alivin’ now’s our time.”
Governor Justice invoking his stand-ins for the typical West Virginia voter as he pitched his proposal to cut state income taxes by 50-percent over three years on Monday.
The Governor staged an event from his reception room at the Capitol wearing a black mask because he tested positive for Covid-19 last week. The event, billed as a “town hall,” was live-streamed, and Justice said about his tax proposal that “we have to stay positive and hope the Senate gets us the other third of the way there.”
State of Play:
The House has passed Justice’s tax cut bill, but he’s having trouble getting Senate leaders on board. They’re working on their own plan to cut income taxes by half.
Senate President Craig Blair contends the Governor’s proposal will lead to “financial peril” as MetroNews reports.
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, a newsletter that’s always in need of a caffeine jolt.
It’s Tuesday, January 24th, the 14th day of the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
Today is Soft Drink Day at the Capitol. It’s also West Virginia Veteran’s Administration Day.
Watch for the “Campus Carry” bill to come up when the Senate convenes for its floor session at 11 a.m. today.
S.B. 10 would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry their firearms on college campuses. It’s on third reading, so senators are expected to debate and vote on whether to send it over to the House.
Majority Republicans are likely to argue that carrying concealed weapons is already happening on college campuses and that S.B. 10 would set parameters.
Watch for Senator Mike Caputo (D-Marion). His was the only no vote when “Campus Carry” passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. He said it was insane to put it in state code.
Here’s the Senate Committee schedule:
9 a.m.: Government Organization (208W)
9 a.m.: Education (451M)
1 p.m.: Energy, Industry and Mining (208W)
1 p.m.: Health and Human Resources (451M)
3 p.m.: Judiciary (208W)
3 p.m.: Finance (451M)
As usual, the House will also convene at 11 a.m and is expected to vote on Senate Bill 128, the proposal to rein in the governor’s emergency powers amid frustration in the Legislature with the lengthy Covid-19 emergency Governor Justice declared in 2020.
The bill would require the Legislature to weigh in if an emergency is extended beyond 60 days.
Governor Justice addressed the bill in his opening remarks to the event that was ostensibly about his tax cut proposal. He argued that governors need the flexibility to act quickly.
Here’s the House committee schedule:
9 a.m. – Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, East Wing Committee Room, 215E
9 a.m. – Committee on Banking and Insurance, Judiciary Committee, Room 410M
10 a.m. – Committee on Pensions and Retirement, Finance Committee, Room 460M
1 p.m. – Committee on Technology and Infrastructure, Education Committee, Room 434M
1 p.m. – Committee on Energy and Manufacturing, Judiciary Committee, Room 410M
2 p.m. – Committee on Economic Development & Tourism, Finance Committee, Room 460M
3 p.m. – Committee on Health and Human Resources, East Wing Committee Room, 215E
Not that I’m a great fisherman. In fact, I'm terrible. My wife, however, just plopped down on my keyboard the Bass Pro Shops Master Catalog for this year.
It just arrived in the mail and it’s distracting me, so I’m going to have to leave things here.
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Have a good Tuesday. See you back here tomorrow morning.