CHARLESTON -- West Virginia's Legislature plans to spend the next 24 hours deciding whether to spare motorists from a scheduled gas tax increase, approve about $155 million in last-minute funding, and revive several measures vetoed earlier this year.
The House and Senate took up Gov. Joe Manchin's special session agenda Tuesday, assigning the resulting 19 bills to committees. They expect to wrap up Wednesday.
They include the governor's plan to ease fuel costs by keeping the gas tax from rising an estimated 6 cents per gallon starting Jan. 1. Lawmakers would offset the resulting loss in state highway revenue with $40 million from this year's surplus.
Most of the other funding measures are needed before the new budget year begins July 1. They vary: $25 million for transferring teacher pension accounts; $30 million for a unified state accounting computer system; $24 million to pay off long-term debts; and $6 million to help county schools and Meals on Wheels programs with fuel costs.
Manchin has also requested supplemental budget measures for his office and the Development Office, among other agencies.
Other agenda items revise several previously vetoed measures. They include proposals to fund training tracks for West Virginia greyhounds and to crack down on scrap metal and catalytic converter thefts.
Blocking the gas tax hike requires legislative action. Manchin froze 2006's scheduled increase through executive order, but that was allowed because Hurricane Katrina had distorted the wholesale market.
The Legislature must act to block the rate hike from taking effect Jan. 1. Calculated from July-October average wholesale gas prices, Manchin estimates this variable component of the per-gallon gas tax would otherwise increase by 6 cents.
West Virginia already has the 13th-highest state gas taxes, according to the latest figures from the American Petroleum Institute. The variable portion accounts for about 36 percent of the 32.2 cents-per-gallon tax. The $40 million is meant to offset the resulting revenue loss to the already-ailing State Road Fund.
Fellow Democrats in the Legislature persuaded the governor to include the electioneering communications measure. That bill is expected to clarify provisions a federal judge deemed vague when he barred officials from enforcing them in April.
The 2005 law aims to mandate spending reports for election-time political advertising by non-candidates and other individuals and groups not already required to file such disclosures. The ruling by U.S. District Judge David Faber exempted non-broadcast ads, including e-mails, phone calls and an array of printed materials, from reporting. The underlying lawsuit remains pending.
"The goal is to provide the legislative intent that the judge was looking for," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, who helped craft the measure.
Reserving final judgment until they read the bill, the Legislature's top Republican leaders questioned the wisdom of tackling the complex topic in a one-day session.
"We are also very reluctant this close to an election to be tampering," said Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer. "We don't want to do anything that would have an effect on the outcome of an election."
Caruth sought without success Tuesday to block the bill from advancing to committee.
House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, said GOP lawmakers may also oppose the greyhound bill. He cited debate on the issue during the regular session.
That legislation tapped the West Virginia Greyhound Breeding Development Fund for a pair of new training tracks. It also proposed to award race purses from the fund to dogs that place fifth through eighth.
Manchin's April veto cited a pending lawsuit's possible effect on the latter provision. Administration officials said the special session version omits that portion. But lawmakers may still object to language that opens the fund to nonmembers of the state's greyhound breeding associations.
Though in the majority, the Democrats would need some Republican votes in both the House and Senate to suspend rules and pass the session's bills in one day. Barring a four-fifths vote, bills must be read over three separate days before a final vote.
Tuesday's House floor session also featured a GOP-led call to launch a legislative investigation into West Virginia University's improper awarding of a master's degree to a daughter of Manchin's. The bid was rejected on a voice vote.
The furor triggered by the granting of the degree to Heather Bresch, an executive with generic drug maker Mylan Inc., has led to several demotions at the school and the Sept. 1 resignation of President Mike Garrison.
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