Legislative Summary 2016
The 2nd session of the 82nd Legislature came to a close on Saturday the 12th. The Republican-led Legislature continued their work on legislation that would make our state friendlier to the business community by passing bills that attract new industry and promote growth. The two most significant pieces being the legislation to make West Virginia a Right-to-Work state (SB 1) and a bill repealing the Prevailing Wage (HB 4005). The Legislature also continued their work on improving the legal climate in our state and, as promised in the months leading up to the session, addressed much needed regulatory reform.
Members of the Legislature knew the most significant challenge they would face during this session would be dealing with the state’s growing budget deficient for the remainder of the 2016 fiscal year and passing a budget that addressed those problems for 2017. The two chambers passed vastly different budget bills. The Senate’s bill included revenue from the tobacco tax that they passed and the House’s budget bill dipped into the state’s Rainy Day Fund, cut agency budgets by an additional 4.5 percent and swept large portions of the state’s reserve accounts.
