MORGANTOWN, W.Va. A Monongalia County lawmaker, Del. Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, said the special call is too broad and does not include a legislative effort to fix funding problems for fire and EMS units in the state.
Governor Justice issued a 44-item call at 4 p.m. on Sunday, the first day of Legislative Interim Meetings.
Two major appropriations to be considered by lawmakers are $45 million for Marshall University for a new cyber security program and $25 million for the construction of a new aviation maintenance facility at Pierpont Community and Technical College.
“It’s a lengthy call; I don’t understand why we need to have all those bills on one call on such short notice,” Statler said. “They came down to us with more changes than we were expecting, so I have an issue with that.”
Statler is a member of the Committee on Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services and has been calling for more funding for struggling fire and EMS units across the state. On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Statler said there is little to no appetite to raise any kind of tax in the current environment.
“We do have folks that don’t want to make any kind of tax increase or any type of fee increase, regardless of what it’s for,” Statler said.
Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 625 in 2018, creating the WV Volunteer Fire and Rescue Act, but money was never allocated or designated, and no revenue source was ever established. Statler has been close to finding that revenue stream, but so far, each potential solution has slipped away.
“Mental health issues—I was able to amend that bill when it came from the Senate and get that on there last time,” Statler said. “That’s what I heard loud and clear as one of the things they want us to work on, so I was able to get $1 million in there for that.”
Recently, more than 200 fire and EMS units in the state sent a letter to Governor Justice calling for action during the August special session. However, Justice has authorized $12 million for fire and EMS units statewide in addition to the $10 million included in the state budget.
“We have between now and January to look at that again and find that it does not have to be on the insurance premium,” Statler said.