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Finance Committee Leaders Discuss State Budget, Surplus

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On last night’s episode of The Legislature Today, senior reporter Dave Mistich spoke with Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair and House Minority Finance Chairman Mick Bates about the current fiscal situation in West Virginia — including a look at possibilities for the nearly $186 million-dollar surplus announced in December’s revenue report. We hear an exerpt from the interview on this West Virginia Morning.

Also on today’s show, across the country, states are beginning to give law enforcement officers the discretion to refer drug offenders to treatment, rather than arresting them. After a recent panel discussion about harm reduction at West Virginia University, Kara Lofton talked with Donnie Varnell, one of the speakers, who is a retired law enforcement officer. Varnell is now working as consultant with police departments and the North Carolina Harm Reduction coalition to expand North Carolina’s efforts in law enforcement-assisted diversion.

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