Forget special session

January 18, 2005

Should West Virginia legislators head to Charleston early for a special session, or should they wait for Feb. 9 to get busy on the state's business?

Stay home, we say. At this point, it doesn't look like Gov. Joe Manchin has convinced enough lawmakers that his proposal for dealing with some of the state's fiscal problems can be enacted quickly.

That's not to say that there aren't problems, however. Though the state has a budget surplus, it's nowhere near enough to cover the $10 billion debt racked up by the Workers' Compensation fund and a number of state pension plans.

Manchin hasn't offered a plan, but it will probably involve a large bond issue to keep those funds solvent until the state's economy improves.

Options are limited, but some lawmakers are bound to worry about the wisdom of an attempt by the state to borrow its way out of debt.

Another problem: The Associated Press reports that the governor wants any bond issue approved by citizens, but there's not a statewide election scheduled during 2005. That means that in addition to selling citizens on the bond issue, they would also have to be sold on the expense of a special election.

That's an awful lot of things to do in a few weeks' time. We recommend instead that Gov. Manchin begin instead by opening the Feb. 9 session with a speech that lays out the problems - and why they must be dealt with sooner rather than later.

The prospect of seeing retired state employees in one's community lose their pensions or having some injured workers not compensated for time lost from the job will move many citizens to support change.

But there are other, more skeptical citizens who will have to be convinced that without action, bad things will happen - and that the funding source proposed is the only one available.

That sort of education takes time. Manchin should begin his term with an effort to educate voters on the state's problems and his proposed solutions. To succeed, the quick action he seeks would require a measure of trust he hasn't earned yet.

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