In Review
Under the Dome delivers a review of the issues considered by the 83rd Legislature during its Second Session and provides information on matters that affect WVU and higher education. This edition covers updates on several issues.
Blue Ribbon Commission
In June, Governor Justice announced the creation of the Blue Ribbon Commission of Four-Year Higher Education to study and evaluate ways that the State can create a more efficient and meaningful higher education system. The commission was tasked with finding bold and unique solutions and presenting those findings and recommendations to the Legislature by the December 2018 interim meetings.
President Gee was appointed co-chair of the commission, serving along with Marshall
University President Jerry Gilbert and Concord University President Kendra Boggess.
In addition to the three co-chairs, the governor also appointed:
- Mike Farrell, Chairman of the Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC)
- Drew Payne, Secretary of the HEPC
- Steven L. Paine, West Virginia Superintendent of Schools
- Dr. Mirta Martin, President of Fairmont State University
- Dr. Anthony Jenkins, President of West Virginia State University
- Marty Becker, Chairman of the Board for QBE Insurance Eric Lewis, Certified Public Accountant
- Dr. Amelia Courts, President and CEO of the West Virginia Education Alliance
- Gary White, Consultant and Interim CEO for the Mountain Health Network
- Ellen Cappellanti, Attorney-at-Law
The State Senate and House of Delegates also made appointments to the commission,
which included:
- Senator Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson), Senate President and Lt. Governor
- Senator Kenny Mann (R-Monroe), Senate Education Committee Chair Senator Roman Prezioso,
(D-Marion), Senate Minority Leader - Delegate Paul Espinosa (R-Jefferson), House Education Committee Chair
- Delegate Rick Atkinson (R-Roane), House Education Committee Member
- Delegate Brent Boggs (D-Braxton), House Finance Committee Minority Chair
Impeachment
The House of Delegates recently wrapped its impeachment proceedings of the Supreme
Court by passing 11 articles that impeached all four remaining justices – Allen
Loughry, Robin Jean Davis, Margaret Workman and Beth Walker. Additionally, delegates
approved a resolution to publicly reprimand and censure all four justices for the
conduct covered by the articles of impeachment.
Before the process began on July 12, Justice Menis Ketchum announced his retirement
and resignation from the high court.
Following the passage of impeachment articles in the House, Justice Robin Jean Davis
announced she had retired from the high court on August 13.
The articles of impeachment now go to the State Senate, which will have the power
to convict or acquit the justices of the charges.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael announced that the Senate will be called into session
on August 20 to approve the trial process. It is expected that any trial would
begin mid-September, according to President Carmichael.
While the four justices have been impeached by a majority of the House of Delegates,
the West Virginia Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the State Senate to
remove any of the justices from office.
Due to Justice Ketchum and Justice Davis’ resignations, two Supreme Court vacancies
will be up for election in November.
To review the material considered by the House of Delegates, you can visit their impeachment website at wvlegislature.gov/impeachment_documents.cfm .
Revenue Estimates
Governor Justice and Department of Revenue officials reported that the FY 2018 surplus
of $36 million is the first time the State has finished a fiscal year in the black,
without a budget cut, since 2012 and that the State set an all-time high for General
Revenue Fund collections, with $4.245 billion. The previous record was $4.196 billion
in FY 2015.
“During the first month of FY 2019, General Revenue Fund Collections were above estimate
by $32.4 million and were up 24 percent from prior year receipts, that’s the largest
growth rate for July since FY 2011,” Governor Justice added. “Sales tax collections,
personal income tax collections, consumer sales tax collections were all up over
13 percent in July.”
PEIA Task Force
Over the past few months, the PEIA Task Force committee has been meeting across the state. Threesubcommittees – Public Outreach and Legislative, Cost and Revenue, and Coverage and Plan – are in the
process of soliciting ideas to improve the healthcare system for public workers and retirees.
Following several public meetings, the Public Outreach and Legislative subcommittee
compiled and
developed a report based on their findings and public input that
was submitted to the full Task Force, which
accepted the report on August 16.
The Cost and Revenue subcommittee will meet on August 23, while the Coverage and
Plan subcommittee
will meet on August 24.
The Public Outreach and Legislative subcommittee’s report can be reviewed at:
peiataskforce.wv.gov/Documents/PEIA Task Force Public Outreach Report.pdf
.
Legislative Interims
The Legislature will hold interim meetings at the State Capitol on the following dates:September 16-18
November 11-13
December 9-11
WVU at the State Capitol
Travis Mollohan and Rocco Fucillo, both from WVU’s State Government Relations team, represent WVU at the State Capitol during the legislative session. They can answer questions about any issues addressed by the Legislature. You can contact them at: Travis Mollohan ( tmolloh1@mail.wvu.edu ) or Rocco Fucillo ( rsfucillo@mail.wvu.edu ).More Information
To learn more about the Legislature, including district maps, bill tracking, committee assignments and a summary of legislative activities, please visit wvlegislature.gov .To learn more about WVU’s legislative and government relation initiatives, please
visit
governmentrelations.wvu.edu
.