West Virginia’s 60-day session of the Legislature begins today, Wednesday, January 11, as new and seasoned lawmakers return to Charleston to hammer out state priorities, finances and governance.
State Republicans held onto their majority in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate, which could ease movement of bills during the two-month session as the GOP leadership in both houses align their priorities.
State Senator Craig Blair (R-Berkeley) from the 15th district is the Senate President again in 2023. Blair is outspoken about his focus on “bold” tax, legal and education reform for West Virginia, including cutting down regulatory measures that appear to pose a hurdle for businesses.
Delegate Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) from the 33rd district is the Speaker of the House of Delegates in 2023. He has said his priorities are to make West Virginia a “better place to live, work and raise a family” and to be a place that businesses want to come and young residents want to stay.
Republican Governor Jim Justice will deliver a State of the State address to a joint session of the West Virginia Legislature tonight at 7 p.m. The address will be televised, broadcast on radio and live streamed.
Daily activities of the West Virginia Legislature are open to the public at the Capitol complex in Charleston, are live streamed on www.wvlegislature.com. Floor and committee agendas are posted on that same website, and the status of legislative bills can be tracked there as well.
