In the recently concluded session, there were more than 1800 bills introduced in the West Virginia legislature and more than 260 passed in both the Senate and the House of Delegates. Those were sent to the Governor. In West Virginia there is no pocket veto. If a bill passes through both houses of the West Virginia legislature it gets sent to the governor who then has three options. The governor can sign it into law or not sign it. Either way it becomes law. However, if the governor vetoes the bill, it does not become law. Unless the legislature overrides it.

There’s a timing element as well. If the governor vetoes the bill and there is enough time left in the session, the legislature can override the veto with a simple majority vote of both houses. While the legislature is in session, the governor has 5 days to veto it or it becomes law - 15 days if the legislature is not in session. The legislature can override the veto with a simple majority. It is therefore important for the legislature to act on bills as quickly as possible if there is the potential for a veto so that there is enough time left in the session to override it.

Sounds complicated, but it gets worse. After the conclusion of the current legislative session Governor Jim Justice vetoed 27 bills - around 10% of all the bills that passed through the legislature. However, more than half, 15 to be exact, are still alive. In a recently released statement, the governor indicated that he had vetoed the bills for “technical reasons” and that if those technicalities were addressed in the upcoming special session he would sign them into law at that time. This session there appears to be an unusual number of technical issues. The main issue the governor cites is that of “defective title”. Those bills are: Senate Bill 633 and House Bills 2079, 2412, 2503, 2530, 2531, 2661, 2673, 2674, 2703, 2734, 2807, 2828, 2933 and 3024. You can read his explanation for each “technical veto” on the governor’s website.

That still leaves 12 bills that passed both houses and will not become law because of the governor. Seven were Senate Bills: 147, 190, 440, 487, 522, 624 and 676. The five House Bills were: 2363, 2486, 2579, 2992 and 3044. The bill numbers link to its legislative history page - if you click on the enrolled version you can read each bill in its final form. If you click on the introduced version and scroll to the end you will find a synopsis of the purpose of the bill - why it was introduced.

In combing through the wreckage of the governor’s vetoes there are troubling concerns. One of the overriding problems we have faced in West Virginia for many decades is that power and authority have been highly concentrated and centralized in the executive functions of government and in its agencies and boards that are populated by political appointees appointed by the executive, a/k/a the governor. Round and round we go. The governor’s vetoes indicate that he favors continuing in that tradition.
Take for example HB 3044. The bill summary states: “The purpose of this bill is to require the Commissioner of Highways to develop a formula for allocating road funds among districts, for the benefit of the counties; to make legislative findings; to require the commissioner to solicit and consider public comments; to require the commissioner to consider certain factors when developing the formula; and to require the commissioner to submit the formula to the Legislature for approval as a legislative rule”. Apparently, the governor feels that a transparent process interferes with his authority to allocate the state’s resources on his direction and whim.

He bears this out in his is comment regarding his veto of a similar bill, SB 522 that would have created a special road repair fund. Said Governor Justice, “The purpose of the bill, while well-intentioned, is problematic because it represents a legislative encroachment into executive functions. The bill would have the county supervisor, with consultation of the county commission and the legislators representing that county, to compile a list of secondary roads projects in the county and prioritize those projects.” He vetoed the bill because it encroached on his executive authority and expanded the number of stakeholders participating in the decision making process.

West Virginians have made a $2 Billion commitment to improving our roads and highways. Last May the state sold bonds to Wall Street underwriters worth $800 Million. I give the legislature credit for trying to craft legislation that will ensure that proper processes are in place so that there are as many stakeholders as possible involved in the allocation of these precious resources. I have to question the governor’s motives for trying to prevent that from happening. I hope that the legislature shows some resolve and gets these bills passed next time around early enough in the session to override the governor’s veto.