West Virginia Legislature Passes All 15 Bills in Special Session, Gov. Justice Disappointed with Near Loss of Funding Bill

West Virginia Legislature Passes 15 Bills in Special Session, Restoring Funding for Health and Human Services

CHARLESTON – Governor Jim Justice expressed disappointment as the West Virginia Legislature nearly ended the special session without passing a crucial bill providing funding for state human services programs. However, by the time the Legislature gaveled out on Tuesday, all 15 bills placed on the special session agenda by Gov. Justice had passed.

The special session, called by Gov. Justice, began on Sunday and ended on Tuesday. One of the key bills passed during the session was Senate Bill 1001, which restored more than $5 million to the Department of Health and over $183 million to the Department of Human Services.

Gov. Justice had been advocating for the restoration of funding for these departments for months, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that medical providers do not face rate cuts and that essential services are not reduced for West Virginia residents.

The bill creates reserve funds in both departments for the restored funding, allowing the secretaries of the departments to transfer money to other line items as needed. It also requires monthly reports to be filed to explain any transfers and sets a deadline for expenditures.

Disagreements between the House of Delegates and the state Senate over how the funds should be used nearly caused the special session to end without the bill being passed. The House had tried to amend the bill with specific appropriations for provider rate increases for various waiver programs, but the Senate ultimately stripped these provisions from the bill.

Despite the House version of the bill not passing, supporters hope that the Department of Human Services heard the message to increase provider rates for waiver programs. The department has indicated that adjustments may be made as soon as July.

In addition to the funding for health and human services, the Legislature also passed bills providing funding for a new agriculture laboratory at West Virginia State University, road paving projects, and higher education, including grant programs for incoming students.

Gov. Justice expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the special session, stating that the bills passed will benefit the people of West Virginia. He also called for an end to divisive rhetoric and emphasized the need to continue working towards the betterment of the state.

Overall, the special session was a success in terms of passing crucial legislation to support essential services and programs in West Virginia.