On June 14, the West Virginia Legislature adjourned sine die after passing a budget bill.

This is the second budget proposal of the special session to be sent to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s desk.

The governor is expected to approve the bill, which is needed to avert a government shutdown that would result if a budget is not enacted before July 1.

The West Virginia Legislature passed a budget bill Thursday that is being sent to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s desk.

Upon the bill’s passage on the 13th day of a special session, the Legislature decided to recess the session until June 12.

The governor is expected to veto the bill. The state faces a potential government shutdown if a budget is not approved before July 1.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced a special legislative session set to begin Monday, May 16. The session is needed to enact the 2016-2017 budget.

The regular session adjourned March 15 without passing a budget bill. The state faces a potential government shutdown if a budget is not approved before July 1.

The West Virginia Legislature reached the end of its 60-day session on March 12, 2016, without an agreement on the state’s budget. As required by the state’s constitution, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has issued a proclamation of a three-day extended session where lawmakers will work to finalize the budget. The extended session will begin on March 14, 2016.

If unsuccessful, the governor has indicated he will call for a special session.

A bill to increase campaign contribution limits hit a roadblock this week in the West Virginia Senate after Democrats successfully added amendments requiring greater disclosure. The Republican-inspired measure, Senate Bill 408, would increase the limit on contributions to state office candidates from $1,000 to $2,700 per election. Democrats, however, were willing to accept the increase only if greater disclosure by dark money groups was also part of the changes.

The effective date of the bill was also amended by the Democrats to go into effect in 2017, whereas the original would make the changes effective on May 11, 2016, the day after the primary election.

With these two amendments, the Republican leadership decided not to bring the bill up for a vote. Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Trump said he will have to discuss the changes with other senators before deciding whether or not to move forward with the legislation.

The West Virginia Ethics Commission announced a one-hour training course on the Ethics Act. Lobbyists new to West Virginia must complete this course within 90 days of registration and all other lobbyists must complete one training course during the registration cycle (January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016).

The course will take place on October 22, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. in the Ethics Commission’s conference room. An online video is also available for lobbyists to fulfill their training obligations.

The West Virginia Legislature adjourned on Saturday, March 14, 2015, concluding its 60-day statutory session. The House and the Senate reconvened briefly to begin an extended budget session on March 15.

The only bill to be considered is House Bill 2016, the budget bill, and both chambers are scheduled to convene this evening at 5:00 p.m.

The state Ethics Commission unanimously approved Rebecca Stepto as its next executive director.

The decision comes after a six-week search involving 15 candidates.

Stepto, the current interim executive director, is the fifth person to hold the position.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin will not call a special legislative session to make changes to a new law regulating above-ground storage tanks. The law, created in response to the chemical contamination of drinking water for 300,000 people, sets a January 1 deadline for the implementation of tank inspections.

Lawmakers urged the governor to call a special session, believing that the deadline is unattainable and overly burdensome. Gov. Tomblin instead plans to use administrative means to adjust the law, placing greater focus on high risk areas and hazardous materials.

A federal judge approved an order proposed by Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and a state PAC in which Tennant agreed not to enforce a law capping contributions to independent expenditure committees at $1,000.

The PAC had filed suit contesting the law, and the judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the law.

Tennant decided it was not in the best interests of the state to continue to fight the issue in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United.

The Legislature is meeting in an extended session to complete the state budget.

The extended session will end no later than April 19, 2013, according to the governor’s proclamation.

Only the budget bill and a provision for the cost of the extended session will be considered.

Ethics Commission executive director Theresa Kirk is planning to leave the agency to work in the private sector. She expects to stay on for 60 to 90 days to assist in preparing the commission’s 2013 legislative agenda and the transition to a new executive director.

Ms. Kirk has been the commission’s executive director since February 2009, and prior to that served as the commission’s legal counsel. The commission approved an employment exemption allowing her to seek work in the private sector.

With the November elections on the horizon, a number of lawsuits have been filed by potential campaign contributors seeking to determine the constitutionality of their states’ campaign finance laws. The following states have seen campaign finance laws invalidated in August.

In Nebraska, the state supreme court held the Campaign Finance Limitation Act (CFLA) unconstitutional. The CFLA allowed candidates participating in the public financing program to receive additional public funds if their privately-funded opponents exceeded certain spending limits. The court also struck down the CFLA’s aggregate contribution limits and rules governing acceptance of contributions from independent groups after the court determined the public financing portion of the CFLA was not severable from the rest of the law.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Ohio’s ban on political contributions to candidates for state attorney general or county prosecutor from doctors who treat Medicaid patients unconstitutional. The provision was designed to prevent fraud by banning contributions to those officials who prosecute Medicaid fraud, but the court held the prohibition a violation of doctors’ free speech rights.

In Florida, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Florida’s $100 per election contribution limit for persons 17 and under, holding the law an unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights. Florida allows persons aged 18 and over to contribute $500 per election.

A federal judge in West Virginia granted a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of West Virginia’s $1,000-per-election limit on contributions to independent expenditure PACs, on the grounds that the limit chills First Amendment free speech rights. The injunction will remain in place pending a final resolution of the case.

Finally, in Colorado, a federal judge invalidated several campaign finance rule changes made by the secretary of state. The rules struck down include one providing that organizations are only subject to reporting requirements if more than 30 percent of their spending was for or against a ballot issue, and one limiting penalties for certain campaign finance violations. The secretary of state’s rule defining electioneering communications was upheld. Two additional rules await a decision.

The West Virginia Supreme Court has struck down the state’s public campaign financing pilot program.

The program, similar to other programs invalidated in Arizona and Nebraska, provided additional public financing to candidates whose privately-financed opponents made expenditures beyond a certain amount.

The court held that West Virginia’s program violated privately-financed candidates’ free speech rights by essentially preventing them from making expenditures in order to avoid their opponents’ receipt of additional funds.