CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Republican-majority state legislature adjourned Saturday after a 60-day session in which a budget dispute and a controversial social issues bill advanced but ultimately failed.
Lawmakers met behind closed doors on Saturday and reached agreement on a budget of just under $5 billion, a bill to cut unemployment benefits, cut Social Security taxes and provide a 5% raise for teachers and other state workers. The proposals now go to Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s desk, where he is expected to sign them.
Social Security’s budget comes after the budget process was thrown into turmoil this week when lawmakers learned the Justice Department was negotiating with the federal government over the potential recovery of $465 million in COVID-19 funding. Cuts and raises were passed.
Lawmakers debated the budget several times before finalizing it, highlighting a number of priorities, including tax credits to make child care more affordable for families and funding for a new agricultural research lab at West Virginia State University. was omitted.
Legislative leadership said lawmakers plan to hold a special session to consider these items in May, when the situation with the U.S. Department of Education becomes clearer.
Lawmakers also passed legislation Saturday that would allow raw milk to be sold with warning labels about increased risk of foodborne illness and effectively allow public and private school students to opt out of mandatory vaccinations. did.
Another bill, if successful, would give public school teachers the option of teaching intelligent design. The theory is that certain characteristics of living organisms are so complex that they are best explained by origins that stem from an intelligent, higher power, rather than by undirected processes such as natural selection. . Intelligent design is overwhelmingly viewed in the scientific community as a religious belief rather than a scientific theory.
Although social issues dominated the conversation during the session, many did not cross the finish line.
As the midnight Sunday deadline to pass the bill approaches, Democrat Mike Pushkin is pushing back against the constitutional law that was supposed to be on the ballot to bar non-Americans from voting in West Virginia elections, which is already illegal. This led to protracted debate on the proposed amendment. .
“I don’t think it’s necessary to change the constitution, which is already enshrined in state law, which is not done in practice. It is very difficult to get people to vote,” Pushkin said, checking his watch. .
“I encourage all citizens to vote. When you vote, think about who you are voting for,” Pushkin, one of 11 Democrats in the 100-member House, said just before time expired. .
Earlier in the session, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would make schools, public libraries and museums criminally liable for distributing or displaying “obscene” materials to children. The Senate will take up bills passed by the House and others that would limit medical care for transgender youth and allow teachers and other school employees with certain training to carry guns on school grounds. There was no.
The Senate passed a bill that would require public schools to show videos about fetal development produced by anti-abortion groups, but the House did not advance the bill.
By Saturday, time was running out for House members to vote on final passage of the Women’s Bill of Rights, making its passage all but certain. Democrats have dubbed the proposal a dystopian bill that would give no additional rights to women and enable Republicans to oppress transgender people. people.
The bill states that “equality” does not mean “the same” or “identical” with respect to equality between men and women. Proposed language in state law and official public policy would define a person’s sex as determined at birth, without allowing for the replacement of gender equality terms. The bill would also provide that certain homosexual environments, such as stadiums, locker rooms and restrooms, would not be discriminatory.
The bill was sponsored by Republican women in Congress, including Rep. Cathy Hess Kraus, who said that “radical feminists” should “understand that men and women are exactly the same in all circumstances, regardless of their physical differences.” We want a world where we are treated well.”
“The Women’s Bill of Rights is designed to stop this radical policy,” she said in a speech on the floor in support of the bill.
The unemployment bill was rushed through the legislative process at the end of the session after hours of debate, confusing some lawmakers, even those who chose to support it.
The bill would tighten job search requirements for unemployed people receiving benefits and freeze the current maximum rate of $622 per week paid to unemployed people instead of adjusting the system for inflation. It has become. People would also be able to work part-time while seeking full-time work while receiving unemployment benefits. The current average benefit is approximately $420 per week.
The bill shortens the number of weeks of unemployment benefits allowed from 26 to 24 weeks, a change from previous legislation that would have started benefits at 70% of a recipient’s average weekly wage, after which benefits would be reduced if the recipient lost a job. It was a compromise. The period during which a person is unemployed without finding a new job.
Supporters say they are concerned about the long-term solvency of the state’s unemployment fund. But Democratic state Rep. Sean Fluharty said the bill sends a bad message.
“Each year, we’re trying to figure out a way to reveal a little bit more about who really built this nation: the blue-collar workers,” Fluharty said.
The Social Security Tax Cuts Act, signed into law in 2019, reduces income taxes on Social Security benefits for the state’s lowest earners (defined as those earning less than $100,000 jointly and $50,000 for single filers) over three years. It follows the law.
The proposal approved by Congress on Saturday would similarly eliminate the tax for everyone else for three years. This year, the tax will be reduced by 35% retroactively to January 1, followed by a 65% reduction in 2025, and will be phased out by 2026.