West Virginia’s Republican-dominated state Legislature has concluded a session marked by budget disputes and controversial social issue bills that advanced but ultimately didn’t go anywhere.
FILE - The West Virginia Capitol is seen, May 4, 2023, in Charleston, W.Va. West Virginia lawmakers concluded a legislative session Saturday, March 9, 2024, marked by budget disputes and controversial social issue bills that advanced but didn’t ultimately go anywhere. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Republican-dominated state Legislature on Saturday concluded a 60-day session marked by budget disputes and controversial social issue bills that advanced but ultimately didn’t go anywhere.
Lawmakers debated several iterations of the budget before coming to a final decision, leaving out a number of priority items including a tax credit to make child care more affordable for families and money for a new agriculture lab at West Virginia State University. As the clock approached a midnight Sunday deadline to pass bills, Democratic Del. Mike Pushkin dragged out discussion on a proposed constitutional amendment that would have been placed on the ballot to prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting in West Virginia elections, which is already illegal.
Earlier in the session, the House of Delegates passed a bill to make schools, public libraries and museums criminally liable for distributing or displaying “obscene” materials to children. The Senate never took up that bill or failed bills passed by the House that would have“Women’s Bill of Rights,” “The Women’s Bill of Rights aims to halt this radical agenda,” she said, speaking on the floor in support of the legislation.
The bill was a compromise from an earlier version of the legislation that would have reduced the number of allowable weeks for unemployment benefits from 26 to 24 and started benefits at 70% of the recipient’s average weekly wage before losing work and reducing benefits over the amount of time the person is out of work without getting a new job.
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