CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Only six legislators, all Democrats, showed up in response to Gov. Jim Justice’s invitation to meet Wednesday behind locked doors to resolve the state budget crisis, according to the governor’s office.
The first-year Democratic governor said Tuesday that Republican lawmakers’ proposal to cut $50 million from Medicaid actually threatens $185 million for health care, including federal funding that would be lost. Some Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature are crusading to make cuts for ideological bragging rights and don’t represent most West Virginians or even many Republican colleagues who privately disagree with cuts that also hit public schools and higher education, he said.
“It’s basically a cut-and-run philosophy,” Justice said. “The level of pain to our people is unbelievable.”
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Justice ordered the Capitol’s emergency lantern lit Tuesday evening. He cited the threat to West Virginia’s most vulnerable citizens from the state’s budget crisis with a projected deficit of up to $500 million next year. He offered to have his staff meet with lawmakers in the governor’s conference room behind locked doors starting Wednesday morning to work out a compromise. Six Democrats showed up.
The lantern atop the Capitol dome is normally lit when the governor declares a state of emergency. Justice has promised to leave it on until the budget is resolved.
The governor has proposed raising the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack and taxing sugary soft drinks at 1 cent per ounce to help close the gap. He also proposed increasing the state sales tax by 0.25 percent, half his earlier proposal, and taxing corporate revenues at 0.00075 percent, lower than the 0.2 percent he initially proposed.
House Speaker Tim Armstead responded later Tuesday, saying his chamber is well on its way to passing legislation needed to balance the state budget and that bullying by Justice isn’t leadership. He said the governor owes an apology to people affected by real tragedies for turning on the lantern.
“If the governor wants to work with us to solve this problem in a responsible and productive manner, we remain willing to work with him,” he said. “But the clock is ticking and we don’t have time to play games.”
Senate President Mitch Carmichael says Justice threatened to shut down the government if he doesn’t get his way and he’s trying to scare the public into believing $450 million in tax increases are needed.
One of Justice’s tax proposals has begun advancing in the Legislature to raise the basic state excise tax on gasoline by 4.5 cents per gallon to 25 cents on July 1. The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to do that and also increase annual vehicle registration fees from $28.50 to $50. Carmichael is lead sponsor of the bill. The Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee also approved it.
The governor has proposed using those increases to seed a road bond for more than $1 billion and create highway reconstruction jobs.
The West Virginia gasoline tax also has an additional variable rate component currently set at 11.7 cents a gallon.
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