Tomblin Places Two More Bills Before Legislature

Gov. Tomblin has amended his special session call placing two more bills before lawmakers. Those bills, however, do nothing to help balance the 2017 budget.

Tomblin announced the expansion Wednesday morning. 

The new bills include a Department of Environmental Protection Rules bundle which includes new water standards for selenium limits.

The second bill is a supplemental appropriation that would give the Boone County Board of Education an additional $2.1 million this budget year to “continue to meet payroll responsibilities while working to address significant shortfalls.

Earlier this year, Boone County Schools announced they would lay off about 80 employees, including classroom teachers, due to a decline in revenues and student population.

In the heart of the coalfields, Boone County has struggled with declining property tax collections as companies have closed mines in the county and removed equipment from the sites.

Tomblin reiterated in a press release that announced the call’s expansion his concern over lawmakers’ inability to come up with a “structurally sound budget that does not take a significant amount from the Rainy Day Fund.”

Wednesday marked the 12 day lawmakers have been in Charleston working to produce a balanced budget for the 2017 fiscal year. That budget must be in place by June 30 to avoid a government shutdown.