By Evan Bevins, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — Lawmakers and state officials are at odds over a program that allows members of the House of Delegates to allocate money in their districts.
House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, said the program is on hold after Gov. Patrick Morrisey withheld funds for political reasons.
A representative of Morrisey’s office said the governor is simply exercising fiscal responsibility in reviewing requests, while Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw said it’s a natural part of the Legislature developing a working relationship with a new executive.“
There is a constitutional process set up for disbursement of funds – the Legislature appropriates and then the Governor executes and makes funding decisions in the best interests of citizens and consistent with the law,” said Drew Galang, deputy press secretary for the Governor’s Office. “That is exactly what the Governor is doing with regard to the funding requests in question.”
Criss said he received permission from Hanshaw to shut down the Legislative Economic Development Assistance program.
