Gov. Manchin to Hold Press Conference on Agenda
(METRO NEWS) Governor Joe Manchin and his staff are currently reviewing the bills passed during the 2010 legislative session to see which ones will be signed into law. The governor says the idea is to see what fits to help the state government run efficiently and also improve life for the people of West Virginia.
“It’s (the session) a 60-day sprint if you will,” the governor says. “With that being said, we’ve got to get back to running the government on the day-to-day operations and the day-to-day system that we use. That’s 365 days a year.”
The governor saw many of the bills on his agenda pass both the House of Delegates and the State Senate this session. Among them was the fleet management bill which will keep a better eye on the vehicles used by state employees.
A legislative audit last year discovered that many of the vehicles were used for personal use above and beyond what should be allowed. The idea behind the bill is to create a central office to manage those vehicles and see how people are using the cars. Governor Manchin says the bill helps answer a few key questions about the cars for the public.
“This is who’s using it. This who’s driving it for what purpose they’re driving it for. If they’re required to take it home because they’re on call, that should be reported also,” he says.
Another bill that the governor brought before the legislature was legislation that created a pilot program for the public financing for the elections involving the West Virginia Supreme Court. About $3 million will be used to fund the upcoming 2012 races in an attempt to take the politics out of the races and improve the perceived judicial climate in the state. The governor says it’s a proposal he supports and the people of the state support.
“They would like to see this and that is something we can try in our judicial races that we have coming up. We’re very hopeful, and we’ve looked at North Carolina and some other states that have it. We think there should be enough money there for us to do it,” Governor Manchin says.
The governor also talked about a bill that would increase the high school dropout age from 16 to 17. He says simply raising the age may not be enough to help these students. He says other measures in the bill that keep kids labeled “at risk” interested in school may do more for them than simple changing the age requirement.
“We’ve got to get them engaged. They’ve got to feel like they’re a part of something so we have to look at our education system from top to bottom.”
Governor Manchin plans on having a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to talk about the wrap up of the session and to also talk more about the bills on his legislative agenda.