Associated Press Published

GOP Resurrects Charter School Bill

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 West Virginia Republican senators have resurrected a charter school bill, sparking outcry from Democrats who say the bill should be dead.

The move on the Senate floor Tuesday prompted Democrats, in protest, to request that bills be read out loud in their entirety.

On Monday, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler led a charge to postpone indefinitely the charter school bill. The motion passed with three Republicans absent in the committee.

On Tuesday, Republicans moved to pull the bill out of the committee for floor consideration. The motion passed 18-16 along party lines. The bill could get a vote by Thursday.

Kessler said Republicans disregarded Senate rules. Republican Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael disagreed.

Republicans have control of both legislative chambers for the first time in more than eight decades.