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Governor vetoes ‘in God we trust’ bill for error

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Public buildings in the state won’t be displaying the motto “In God We Trust” this year – after a bill with that requirement became the 14th that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed this session for technical errors.

The bill (HB2187) would have allowed the state, counties and municipalities to raise private contributions in order to prominently display the motto on public buildings.

It directed the State Building Commission to develop guidelines for the display of the motto, as well as for display of POW-MIA flags.

However, as Tomblin pointed out in his veto message Thursday: Under state Code 5-6-1, the State Building Commission ceased to exist as of July 1, 2000.

“I was not aware the State Building Commission had been sunsetted,” the lead sponsor of the bill, Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley, said Thursday upon learning of the governor’s veto. “It’s something to work on for next year.”

Overington, the state’s current longest-serving legislator with 30 years’ consecutive service, said he has introduced the “In God We Trust” bill repeatedly over the years, but said this is the first time it actually moved through the Legislature…

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