By Matthew Young
For HDMedia
While addressing what he called “significant wins” over the past 60 days of the annual lawmaking exercise in Charleston, Gov. Patrick Morrisey, during a Monday news conference at the Capitol, said, “It was a very strong legislative session.”
Once again praising his administration for the “tough financial decision” made during the previous fiscal year, Morrisey boasted, “We fully funded the Hope Scholarship.”
Approximately $300 million was allocated to the Hope Scholarship as part of the state budget bill passed by lawmakers on Thursday. This allocation is expected to sustain the program through fiscal year 2028.
“This is the opportunity we have to give our parents the right to choose the educational path that best works for their kids,” Morrisey said.
In addition to the Hope Scholarship, Morrisey noted several other legislative victories, including:
- Expansion of the LETRS program, which is intended to help implement a more effective public elementary school reading curriculum
- $125 million investment of state funds into road and bridge infrastructure
- Creation of “portable benefit options” for contract employees
- Elimination of “nearly 30 outdated boards and commissions and councils”
- Authorization of the Rural Health Transformation Program
- Duplication of several tax-reducing components of the federal One Big, Beautiful Bill into state code
While Morrisey’s request for a 10% personal income tax reduction was not enacted by the legislature, the 5% reduction Morrisey built into his fiscal year 2027 budget was.
“Between the 5% across-the-board income tax cut and the Trump tax cuts … I can report to you that West Virginians are going to see benefits of over $230 million in reduced taxes,” Morrisey said.
In addition, Morrisey praised lawmakers for passing a 3% pay increase for state employees, while touting his administration’s work to hold this year’s PEIA premium increase to a mirroring 3%.
What didn’t get done?
According to Morrisey, one area that the Legislature “wasn’t able to get it done” was with his proposed water bill.
“Clean drinking water is a necessity in West Virginia,” he said. “Our bill would help improve that.”
Introduced by Delegate Adam Vance, R-Wyoming, House Bill 5525, otherwise known as the Southern West Virginia Clean Water Fund, would have allocated $250 million to be used for water emergencies and infrastructure upgrades in the southern part of the state. The bill was discharged from its committee on Crossover Day, March 4. However, lawmakers voted against suspending the rule that requires bills to be read on three separate days. Ultimately, HB 5525 stalled in the House and did not pass over to the Senate in time to finish the legislative process.
“I’m going to ask the Legislature to keep focusing on that water solution,” Morrisey said. “I want to make that happen. We must have clean water for all of our communities.”
Raylee’s Law
Morrisey also addressed the Legislature’s failure to pass Raylee’s Law, which saw a last-minute effort on the part of many lawmakers to get it across the finish line.
“I’m a big believer that when you have evidence of a crime, you investigate it,” Morrisey said. “I’m also a believer that you need due process. You don’t make decisions or take away people’s rights before you actually have that evidence of a crime.”
The session-ending dramatics began on Friday, when Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, along with a bipartisan coalition of some 15 senators amended Raylee’s Law into House Bill 5537, which was introduced as a means to repeal obsolete sections of the state’s education code.
Raylee’s Law, otherwise known as Senate Bill 972, saw its clock run out in the Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee on March 2, despite Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, making a motion that day to bring the bill directly to the Senate floor.
Named for Raylee Browning, an 8-year-old Nicholas County student who died in 2018 after being neglected by her father, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s sister, Raylee’s Law would have temporarily restricted legal guardians from homeschooling their children in the event of a pending abuse or neglect investigation. A similar attempt to bring the bill to the House floor on March 4 by Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, was also unsuccessful.
Following the amendment’s introduction on Friday, Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, requested a ruling from Senate President and Lt. Gov. Randy Smith, R-Preston, as to the relevance of the amendment. Though Smith initially ruled that the amendment was not relevant to the primary bill — or “germane” in legislative terms — his ruling was overturned by a majority vote. HB 5537 as amended to include Raylee’s Law ultimately passed the Senate by a vote of 24-7, and was sent back to the House for their concurrence.
On the House side, HB 5537 was not taken back up until nearly 11:30 p.m. Saturday. However, the clock would strike midnight before HB 5537 could come to a vote, and Raylee’s Law failed to pass for the fourth time in four years.
“I think there’s an important balance to have between people being able to exercise their school-choice options in that particular law, and making sure we can protect children,” said Senate Health and Human Resources Chair Brian Helton, R-Fayette, who voted against the passage of Raylee’s Law. “If we’re not careful, we can get sidetracked by something that really wasn’t the issue at all.”
According to Helton, it was not the public or homeschool systems that failed Raylee, but rather Child Protective Services.
“When CPS visits a home, and a child is not being treated properly, and CPS doesn’t do their job, that’s what I think we should focus our legislative time on. And we passed a dozen or so bills through the Senate that focus on that this year,” Helton said.
As midnight neared on Saturday, Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, rose to deliver an emotional tongue lashing, calling his colleagues’ failure to pass the bill for the fourth consecutive year “disgusting government.”
“The House got bogged down in the one end of that bill,” Helton said. “We sent that bill over to them about 9:30 [Saturday] morning, and they sat on it all day and didn’t give themselves a chance to properly finish it. I don’t know why they held the bill that long.”
As for Fluharty’s remarks Saturday night, Helton said he believes them to be less than sincere.
“I think guys get up there and try to gain political points for their next election with these grandiose speeches instead of trying to protect children and do the right thing,” Helton said. “I think that’s what that was — I think he was making an election video.”
Other legislative action Saturday
House Bill 4106, introduced by Delegate Chuck Horst, R-Berkeley, allows the carrying of a concealed deadly weapon without a permit beginning at age 18. The bill passed the House of Delegates on Feb. 17 by a vote of 87-9, before passing the Senate by a vote of 31-3 on Friday. A disagreement between the House and Senate over the name of the bill delayed its final passage on Saturday. The Senate ultimately conceded the point and allowed HB 4106 to complete the legislative process.
House members started Saturday by suspending constitutional rules which require bills to be read three separate times on three different days, and immediately advanced House Bill 5694 to third reading. Delegate Clay Riley, R-Harrison, explained that the bill “makes a technical correction to the Department of Education … so that money can be deposited and spent.”
Despite Delegates Henry Dillon, R-Wayne; Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson; and Adam Vance, R-Wyoming voting against suspension of the rules, HB 5694 was passed unanimously by the House. The bill was then immediately taken up by the Senate, with both the rule suspension advancing it to third reading and vote to enact passing unanimously.
What’s next?
A total of 303 bills completed the legislative process during the 60-day session. With the session now concluded, Morrisey will have five days to veto, sign into law, or allow each bill to pass into law without his signature.
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