By Phil Kabler Staff writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With all 14 Democrats voting as a bloc, the West Virginia Senate Wednesday voted 23-11 to kill a bill that would have ended greyhound racing purse and breeders’ fund subsidies, and would have freed up about $17 million a year to fund other programs.
“This state is on the wrong side of history on this issue, and it will be proven,” Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, said after Senate Bill 285 was rejected. “Then, I probably won’t say it, but I could say, I told you so.”
Carmichael, the lead sponsor of the bill, said that, while the $17 million is not built into the Senate’s 2020-21 budget, not having those funds available to appropriate will make it more difficult to fund new programs being advanced this legislative session.
“It deters our ability to fund foster care, dental expansion for Medicaid, a variety of really great programs that West Virginia citizens need and deserve,” he said, referencing bills advancing this session to increase foster care funding by $17 million a year and to expand Medicaid coverage to include dental care.
On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, lent credence to rumors that Senate Democrats might vote as a bloc to oppose the bill, in part, to avoid freeing up funding for issues they oppose, such as the intermediate appeals court bill recently passed by the Senate. …
