Day 15 of the ongoing special session was marked with brief floor sessions in the House of Delegates and Senate Sunday, as the leadership of both parties continued to scramble to secure the needed 51 votes in the House to pass the governor’s compromise tobacco tax plan, which includes a 65-cent-per-pack increase on cigarettes, a vote that would clear the way for passage of the 2016-17 state budget.
House Majority Leader Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan, said not as many House Republicans will support the higher cigarette tax proposal (SB 1012) as voted for the 45-cent-per-pack increase on May 24.
“We will not deliver the same number or level of votes at 65 [cents] as we did at 45,” Cowles said, adding, “We need bipartisan cooperation.”
On May 24, the House rejected a tobacco tax bill that included a 45-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes on a 44-55 vote (SB 1005). In that vote, 43 House Republicans voted for the tax, while 20 Republicans joined 35 of 36 House Democrats in voting down the bill.
“I need them to deliver all they can — all they got,” Cowles said of needing House Democratic support to pass the bill.
He did not offer a precise number of how many Republicans who supported the 45-cent tax will vote against a 65-cent tax.
House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Marion, reiterated Sunday that at least 19 Democrats are committed to the 65-cent increase, and said, “We’re trying to get a hard number” on how many additional Democrats can be brought on board to support the bill.
Many House Democrats indicated they voted against the tobacco tax bill on May 24 because they considered the 45-cent tax insufficient to help close the $270 million 2016-17 budget shortfall or to discourage smoking.
In an effort to sway enough votes in the House to pass the compromise, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Sunday that if the Legislature passes the proposed tobacco tax increase, he will amend the special session call to add two bills, to direct $15 million in the 2016-17 budget and $10 million in 2017-18 to help reduce pending PEIA health care premium increases for retirees and active employees.
Under state law requiring an 80-20 employer-employee match for PEIA premiums, funding in the budget bill to cover an increase in employers’ premiums would otherwise require higher premiums for public employees and retirees.
“As part of the ongoing budget negotiations, many members of the Legislature have expressed a desire to assist PEIA recipients in avoiding greater increases in their premiums,” Tomblin said in a statement Sunday. “I agree with their concern, and if the Legislature passes my proposed tobacco tax, I plan to amend the special session call to include two additional pieces of legislation.”
Tomblin said the additional funding would reduce the premium increase for retirees from 12 percent to 6 percent. Savings for state and public school employees would vary, since their premiums are on a sliding scale based on income.
Miley said the PEIA funding offer is important to most House Democrats.
“Our members have always made fully funding PEIA our top priority,” he said.
While some Democrats wanted funding to fully offset employee and retiree premiums, Miley said he believes the governor’s proposal will be favorable to many House Democrats.
“We’re willing to support that plan and go forward to get a budget,” he said.
Meanwhile Sunday, anti-smoking organizations took umbrage at a provision in the tobacco tax bill that would prevent cities from imposing tougher restrictions on tobacco sales and promotion than state law — a provision expected to be short-lived.
“That’s coming out. We’ve got an amendment to take that out,” House Finance Chairman Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, said Sunday.
In Finance Committee Saturday evening, Joseph Garcia, Tomblin’s legislative liaison, said the provision was added at the request of the tobacco lobby, with the intent of preventing cities from passing ordinances raising the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21.
Also Sunday:
n The House Finance Committee advanced the new version of the 2016-17 state budget (SB 2013), with some changes — notably including a $4.1 million reduction in state greyhound racing subsidies.
The measure advanced to the full House on a 23-2 vote, over objections from Delegate Marty Gearhart, R-Mercer, who said the budget relies on a tax increase that may not win approval on the House floor.
“We’ve not done a whole lot to right-size this government,” he complained. “We’ve not done a whole lot, except say to the citizens of the state, we need more of your money.”
n The House passed 90-1 a bill that gives the governor authority to make payments of principal and interest on state debts, in order to avoid having the state default on bonds in the event of a state government shutdown (HB 116).
The special session continues Monday, which will be day 93 of the state budget impasse, with 17 days remaining before the state government shutdown on July 1.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.