It was announced, on Friday, that West Virginia Governor Jim Justice issued a proclamation calling for a Special Session of the State Legislature, scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday, October 11.
According to the announcement released by the governor’s office, “The primary purpose of the Special Session is for the Legislature to fulfill its constitutional duty to redistrict the State of West Virginia.
The call also requests that the Legislature appropriate federal money that has been received by State agencies, and includes several other bills that have been requested to be considered.”
In all, there are 34 items scheduled for the session. The majority of these items, aside from those having to do with redistricting and county medical personnel, are rooted in financial matters.
One such item, the third point on the agenda, seeks to establish “appropriation 89101,” referred to as “the Federal Coronavirus Pandemic appropriation.” If passed, this new appropriation would allow the state to apply $16.4 million in federal funds towards reimbursement of any pandemic-related expenses incurred by West Virginia during the previous fiscal year. Item number four seeks “to make supplementary appropriation of federal funds,” some $7,832,540, by allocating said funds to the DHHR Division of Human Services – Energy Assistance program.
Jumping ahead, agenda item 31 seeks to alter “the role of local county commissions, appointing entities, or county boards of education as to rules of local health boards.” Simply put, this amendment intends to change § 16-2-11(b)(3)(D) of the Code of West Virginia, the code which empowers local health officers to take necessary action to protect residents in the event of a wide-spread public health emergency.
Under the terms of the amended code, “any rule adopted or established by a local health board or local health officer on which no action is taken by a county commission or appointing entity to approve, disapprove, or amend the local rule within 30 days after the rule is effective, is void,” thereby making the opinions and stated positions of health officers irrelevant, and transferring the power to issue mandates regarding public health and safety decisions to those who are unqualified to make them.
However, as clearly stated in the governor’s announcement, the primary reason for the Special Session is the implementation of decennial redistricting.
While redistricting is an integral part of the democratic process and a necessary after-effect of the national census, it is rarely free of controversy, and typically leads to the inevitable instances of gerrymandering. Sadly, as accusations of geographical-manipulation have been rampant, it appears that West Virginia’s 2021 redistricting session will maintain those controversial traditions.
Rumors of new “unofficial” maps began to surface as early as May of this year. The existence of these maps was shrouded in mysterious denial, and they were, of course, not made available for public inspection. The West Virginia Daily News’ Autumn Shelton has been covering the state’s redistricting efforts since its official beginning on July 27. In her last report, describing the final public redistricting hearing held on September 22, Shelton quoted West Virginia Citizens Action Group Project Manager Julie Archer as saying, “legislative staff members are already drafting maps and taking input from legislators about their districts.
Archer went on to say, “This is really a dangerous lack of transparency that allows legislators to manipulate the maps to pick their voters and preserve their own political power.”
Shelton’s reporting further explains, “Due to population loss, West Virginia lost a seat in the United States House of Representatives following the 2020 census. Now, a decision must be made to either break these congressional districts into a north/south pattern or an east/west pattern.
“The redistricting committee [created on July 27 and chaired by two Republicans] consists of three Democratic Senators, six Republican Senators, six Democratic Delegates and 17 Republican Delegates.”
In the 2020 elections, Republicans gained a “super majority” in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate. However, despite the dwindling number of Democratic members, many West Virginians believe that the state Republican Party is attempting to manipulate the redistricting process to their benefit by “redrawing” house and senate district-maps in such a way as to make them “unwinnable” for democratic candidates. These beliefs would seem to be confirmed based upon recent comments made by Senate President Craig Blair.
At a Republican fundraising event held in Crawley just days before the formation of the Redistricting Committee, Blair said, “Make sure you donate to your candidates, even if it’s $5. Donate to these candidates so they know that you’re with them. That money means everything. [ ] I’m not gonna’ be happy until I’ve got 34 senators that are Republicans.”
The sentiments expressed by Blair create a frightening foreshadowing of things to come. If the “money means everything,” and the state’s senate president won’t be happy until all Democrats are eradicated from West Virginia politics, are we now bearing witness to the Orwelian collapse of the two-party system within the Mountain State?
When the acquisition of money determines the allocation of power, and we, as a society, no longer assign value to the dissenting opinion of the conscientious objector, then we have taken our first step on the road to fascism.
What is quite possibly the most significant legislative session of the last century will be called to order at 11 a.m. on Monday, October 11. Typically, sessions of both the House and Senate are streamed in real-time through wvlegislature.gov, as well as YouTube. However, there has been no official word yet whether this particular Special Session of West Virginia’s elected lawmakers will be made available for public supervision.
The West Virginia Daily News will provide updates regarding the Special Session as additional details are made available.
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