By Lacie Pierson, HD Media
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia House of Delegates opened up with a bang of the gavel so big that the head of the gavel broke away from its handle in House Clerk Steve Harrison’s hand, thus convening the 85th West Virginia Legislature on Wednesday afternoon.
Aside from more than 20 new members, the House largely looked the same, but access to the House chamber and its galleries were limited as the House elected its officers and certified the 2020 general election for state offices.
The House hasn’t convened since March 7, 2020, one week before President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a joint session of the Legislature from the House chamber, the House and Senate certified the 2020 election results that solidified Republicans’ hold on state government as all of the state’s constitutional offices — governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and attorney general — now are held by Republicans…
