Dems say expected budget-focused special session shouldn’t tack on ‘red-meat bills’

Democrats in the House of Delegates talk to reporters Monday about their priorities for the upcoming special legislative session. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch)

The 2024 Legislative Session was largely ransacked by budget drama, which culminated in many high-profile bills petering out on the final night. A special session looms where lawmakers will likely deal with unfinished business — budget-related and otherwise.

A special session is expected in May, though when it happens is entirely up to Gov. Jim Justice. He is also the only one who can decide which bills lawmakers will take up.

On Monday, House Democrats held a press conference at the State Capitol to lay out their priorities, calling on the governor to leave out “culture war” bills in an election year. They referenced a controversial “Women’s Bill of Rights” and legislation that would have opened up librarians to felony charges — both of which failed to pass despite heavy Republican support.

“A special session is not a do-over for red meat bills [and] for divisive bills that pull West Virginians apart,” said House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell. “Everyone would agree that we wasted a lot of precious time for West Virginians during our regular session.”

He continued, “We don’t have the final say on the agenda. We are asking Gov. Justice and the Republican majority party to truly work with us in a bipartisan manner. We know that we have things that can get across the finish line, to help with actual opportunities that the state has before us and also focus on solving real problems.”

Special session details are scant, and both Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, did not return a request for comment for this story.

Last August, Justice called for a special session on a Sunday evening — it included 44 bills that were considered by both the House and Senate by that evening.

This time around, the governor has indicated that he’ll ask lawmakers to take up a combination of his priorities that never made it to floor debate — like his idea for a child care tax credit — along with fixing issues in state health department agencies’ budgets.

The budget, passed in the final hours of the session, included a slash in state funding for people with disabilities — a system that is struggling to retain care givers and decrease the number of people unnecessarily institutionalized. The funding decrease, which was a surprise to many in the House of Delegates, prompted 38 Republicans and Democrats to vote no on the budget bill in the late hour.

The governor called it “an absolute dog’s mess,” and cited concerns for losing federal match dollars but still signed off on the budget.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said Justice must address “drastic cuts” to the state’s waiver program for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which provides services and housing for vulnerable individuals.

“That’s money from Medicaid … and with that particular part of the fund is used to help families take care of their loved ones, who are in the most desperate need of health care in West Virginia,” he said. “We’re going to ask the governor to fix that – to put that money back.”

The state is also facing a $147 million state funding shortfall for fiscal year 2025, which Democrats hope will be addressed in the special session.

Other House Democrats laid out their wish lists for bills that could be on the governor’s call: combatting increasing utility bills, addressing statewide EMS shortages, funding a proposed Agriculture Lab at West Virginia State University and improving the state’s child care desert.

Top Republicans had indicated support for addressing child care shortages this year, including providing incentives for businesses to provide childcare. But efforts stalled out ; no child care bills made it to the House floor for debate.

“Throughout the session, we had a suite of about seven bills that could help childcare and it would help everyone involved,” said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha. “We fought for those all session, and we didn’t see any of them. In fact, we saw a massive cut in childcare funding … We don’t think it’s acceptable at all. So, we’re looking forward to focusing on child care in this special session that’s coming up.”

Lawmakers will gather for interim meetings April 14-16 in Charleston. The meeting schedule has not yet been posted.

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