Day 60: It's your last chance to make a coffee donation
Well, sort of.
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature.
Today is Saturday, March 9, 2024 — the 60th and FINAL day of the second regular session of the 86th West Virginia Legislature — meaning this is the final 60 Days of the year — and maybe, well, ever.
I say “maybe” because the 60 Days editorial board hasn’t really put much thought past next Saturday — when we launch our new project: The West Virginia Weakly. (We’ll have to come up with a new nickname for our editorial board after the re-brand. I’m thinking “Two Weak Guys.”)
A lot of folks seem to have enjoyed what we’ve done under the 60 Days banner, so we’re not planning to kill it off entirely when lawmakers come together for their regular session next year. But we don’t know exactly how we’ll revive our regular coverage of the statehouse once the Weakly launches us to internet stardom.
Also, you may or may not have noticed that we’ve been sporadically omitting our arguably annoying and sometimes unfunny ask for coffee donations. That’s because we’re hoping to build a sustainable model for the Weakly, which includes voluntary paid subscriptions.
Imagine that? Two public media journalists making use of the same model that helps drive public radio and television. We’re not reinventing the wheel here — and we never claimed to be creative or innovative.
A bit of a caveat, though: we may decide to put together some ramblings for paid subscribers only. We’ve been kicking around some ideas for feature stories in addition to the run-of-the-mill content you’ll see in the Weakly, well, weekly.
Anyway, for old time’s sake — and because today marks THE END of a grueling, 60-day-long road for all of us — we’ll shamelessly give you the chance to make one last coffee donation. If everyone who reads this Day 60 edition buys us each a coffee, the work we’ve put in these past two months will have been more than worth it.
Today’s Floor Agenda:
Given that it’s the final day of the regular session, we thought it’d be appropriate to recap what’s passed so far and what remains lingering in the ether. According to the Legislature’s website, action has been completed on 215 bills, with 38 of them signed by Gov. Jim Justice so far.
Hanging over everything is that $465-million federal obligation. It’s delayed the state budget, left pay raises for teachers and State Troopers in limbo and may require a special session in May.
West Virginia Watch’s Amelia Ferrell Knisely reports that “budget negotiations at the Capitol have become a key point of contention for lawmakers at the end of the legislative session.”
The House of Delegates will gavel in at 9:30 a.m. for its longest day of the session. The lower chamber has a rather short calendar today — with only 18 bills up for passage. Here’s a few quick highlights on the agenda:
Com. Sub. for S. B. 280 - Allowing teachers in public schools to discuss scientific theories. This is the bill that could lead to the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution in science classrooms.
Com. Sub. for S. B. 352 - Modifying Unborn Child Protection Act [RIGHT TO AMEND]
Com. Sub. for S. B. 601 - Creating WV Women's Bill of Rights [RIGHT TO AMEND]
Com. Sub. for S. B. 741 - Prohibiting creation, production, distribution or possession of artificially generated child pornography [RIGHT TO AMEND]
Earlier this week, the House Judiciary Committee amended this bill, folding into it the proposal that could open up librarians to felony charges for sharing obscene material with children. Republicans on the panel were frustrated that the Senate has not taken up the library obscenity bill.
The state Senate has an even shorter to-do list. The upper chamber’s floor session begins at 10:00 a.m. for the final day of legislating. A pair of proposed amendments to the state constitution and that pay raise bill for teachers and State Troopers are on the agenda:
Eng. H. J. R. 21 - Amending the Constitution to prohibit persons not United States citizens from voting in any election held within this state
Eng. Com. Sub. for H. J. R. 28 - Protection from medically-assisted suicide or euthanasia in West Virginia Amendment - (Com. amend. pending) - (With right to amend)
Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 4883 - Relating to increasing annual salaries of certain employees of the state - (Com. amend. and title amend. pending) - (With right to amend)
Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 5105 - To eliminate the vaccine requirements for public virtual schools.
Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 4880 - Relating to personal income tax social security exemption - (Com. title amend. pending)
While we’ve already mentioned some of what has already been wrapped up and what’s left on the floor calendars, there are a couple of bills also worth mentioning.
HB 4911 - Relating to the sale of raw milk — This bill is ever so close to passage. But if that’s to happen, the House will need to concur with changes the Senate made yesterday.
SB 841 would make changes to the state unemployment benefits system. The House has moved the bill to its inactive calendar amid some legislative gamesmanship — according to Steven Allen Adams reporting for Ogden Newspapers.
At midnight tonight House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) and Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley) will each drop their gavel and say they’ve adjourned “Sine Die.” It’s the sweetest two words in the legislative vernacular for anyone that’s covered, lobbied or otherwise been involved in a legislature.
The Carpet Rouge will no doubt be packed tonight. Celebrations (for the fact that session is over more than any legislative wins) will be had. Steam will be blown off.
But given the stupid time change, people will lose an hour of bar time. So get those drinks — and your post-session therapy — in quickly.
Committee schedule:
While no established committees will meet today, be on the lookout for conference committees to get together and hash out sticking points on some bills that remain outstanding.
In case you’re unfamiliar, a conference committee happens when the House and Senate pass the same bill, but don’t agree on some part of it — and are unable to get it across the finish line. Conference committee members are appointed (usually a handful of lawmakers from both the House and Senate) and they figure out how to agree on everything that’s been holding things up.
Sometimes conference committee meetings happen off to the side of the House or Senate chamber. Sometimes they take place in a hallway or a small, otherwise discreet room. Sometimes they’re over in 30 seconds and sometimes they can drag on. Sometimes people yell things about the governor (remember the bill in 2021 that sought to limit the governor’s emergency powers?) and a conference committee becomes THE story of the day.
60 Days links: Reading that’s good for you and good for West Virginia. Click on the links to help support the reporters who work at the state Capitol day in, day out.
After bouncing on and off (and then back on to) the active calendar in recent days, The House of Delegates has passed a bill that would require “In God We Trust” to be posted in public schools. As Amelia Ferrell Knisely of West Virginia Watch reports, SB 152 doesn’t provide for funding, but schools can accept donations so the motto can be on display in a school’s main building.
With the clock ticking toward midnight, lawmakers are still trying to figure out what to do about that $465-million dollar federal obligation that’s thrown off the state budget process and aising concerns about public school funding in West Virginia. — Leah Willingham of the Associated Press.
The 60 Days editorial board was discussing this just yesterday and, sure enough, Leah Willingham and Kimberly Kruesi of the Associated Press were savvy enough to notice themselves and write about it. West Virginia’s Legislature has the lowest representation of women in any statehouse around the nation. Under the dome in Charleston, women make up just 16 of 134 members, translating to under 12% of lawmakers.
It’s not often Calhoun County makes news twice in as many weeks, but here we are. A Republican candidate for the House of Delegates has been arrested after leading police on a high speed chase and battering an officer. — Christian Meffert of WOWK-TV.
Before we sign off under the 60 Days moniker (at least for now), we wanted to say thanks for reading and sipping your morning coffee with us. As we’ve said before, we have a lot of fun doing this thing. It’s hard work at times, but we’ve enjoyed the feedback — and the fact that you all seem to get us.
Also, big thanks to House communications director Ann Ali and Senate communications director Jacque Bland. Those two are rockstars for giving us most everything we needed to put this newsletter together.
And, lastly, big thanks to all the hardworking journalists around the Capitol. Take it from us, you should buy them all a drink if you see them out. They most definitely earned it.
We’ll take one, too, while you’re at it.
Resources:
Got any final thoughts on how we did this year? Any ideas for a quirky story that might work for The West Virginia Weakly? Let us know — we’d love to hear from you.