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Live-feed of Gov. Justice visit to Wheeling for Greyhound Industry announcement

WHEELING, W.Va. — Gov.Jim Justice will visit Wheeling on Saturday to deliver a major announcement concerning the Greyhound Industry in West Virginia.

He is slated to speak in the third floor courtroom at West Virginia Independence Hall at 11 a.m. Doors open at 9 a.m.

 

From the Wheeling News-Register:

Justice’s words will come just hours before a deadline to veto Senate Bill 437, legislation defunding the local greyhound breeders fund.

Clark Barnes, clerk of the West Virginia Senate, said Justice has until 6:47 p.m. Saturday to veto SB 437 — five days exactly to the time stamp when the bill was sent to his office for signature.

If Justice vetos the bill while in Wheeling, his staff will communicate the message to the House and Senate, Barnes said.

After this, members in each chamber could ignore the message, allowing the veto to take place. They also could decide to take action to override the veto, and a motion to override would have to pass a simple majority in both the House and Senate.

Any effort to override the veto would not have to take place before the regular session of the Legislature ends at midnight Saturday, according to Barnes.

Justice has extended the session one day for the sole purpose of addressing the state budget, and Barnes said the House and Senate will be able to address and act on messages submitted to them on Sunday.

SB 437 passed the Senate on March 27 with a vote of 19 to 15, and it was approved by the House on April 1 by a roll call of 56-44.

“It’s not assured members will vote the same way on the veto,” Barnes said. “Just because they voted for the legislation doesn’t mean they will vote to override a veto.”

The legislation passed by the Legislature abolishes the requirement that West Virginia’s two dog racing tracks — the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and the Mardi Gras Resort and Casino in Cross Lanes — continue to offer greyhound racing if they wish to keep their video lottery license.

The measure also would permit the tracks to move their operations to another location in the county if it is approved by the West Virginia Lottery Commission.

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