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Bill Would Cut West Virginia Lawmaker Pay During Impasse
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia lawmakers would have their pay curtailed during budget impasses under a bill passed unanimously by the state Senate.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the Senate voted 30-0 with four members absent Friday in favor of Senate Bill 263.
After five days in extended or special sessions when a state budget hasn’t been approved, the bill would stop the $150 per day most legislators receive. That would effectively cap costs for lawmakers’ pay for extended budget sessions at just over $100,000.
Democratic Sen. Roman Prezioso of Marion, the bill’s lead sponsor, said budget impasses of 2016 and 2017 extended into the summer, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2016, the budget bill was passed after 17 days in special session, at a cost of more than $600,000. In 2017, the cost exceeded $850,000.