Photo Courtesy of W.Va. Governor’s Office Gov. Jim Justice lays out his agenda Thursday for a special session next week.

CHARLESTON — With the first half of West Virginia’s allotment of 2021 COVID-19 relief funds in hand and surplus tax dollars burning a hole in the state’s pocket, Gov. Jim Justice is calling a special legislative session next week to make appropriations.

Justice announced Thursday that he will issue a proclamation calling the West Virginia Legislature into special session at noon Monday. The session will coincide with June interim meetings scheduled Sunday through Tuesday.

“I’m calling it to appropriate money that we’ve already received from the federal government,” Justice said.

The special session, which is likely to wrap up in one day, is needed to appropriate funds from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan to the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Department of Education. A dollar amount for those appropriates was not released.

House Bill 2014, passed during the 2021 legislative session and signed by Justice, requires the governor to submit any expenditure of federal monies in excess of $150 million during a state of emergency to lawmakers to approve.

West Virginia received the first half of $1.355 billion last month from the American Rescue Plan proposed by Biden and passed by Congress in March.

The funding can be used for coronavirus-related expenses during the pandemic, as well as for water, wastewater and broadband infrastructure projects.

The state is also receiving other forms of financial assistance through the American Rescue Plan, including: $138 million just for broadband expansion; $800 million for the state’s pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school public education system; $190 million for higher education; $260 million for child care and Head Start; and $152 million for emergency rental assistance and the Low Income Energy Assistance Program.

Justice also announced that one of the special session agenda items will include an appropriations request of $150 million from the state’s current surplus of tax collections to the Division of Highways for road maintenance and paving.

“In my request for a special session, I am requesting (the Legislature) commit an additional $150 million of this cash to our road maintenance program,” Justice said. “This money is significantly needed and will continue to help us push out all the stuff.”

A total of 402 projects will take place across all 55 counties. There will be 702.84 miles of additional paving, 17 slip and slide repairs, 40 bridges, and 111 other projects.

“This will absolutely really, really help us continue on the pathway we’ve been on, and that’s to continue to do more and more and more to make our roads better and better for our residents. In addition to our residents, it will absolutely drive more and more and more to come to West Virginia,” he said.

According to the monthly general revenue collections released by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, the state brought in $491 million in tax collections for the month of May. Year-to-date collections for the final 11 months of the fiscal year were $4.492 billion, giving the state a $389.6 million surplus. Taking the $150 million will leave the state with $239.6 million in surplus tax revenue.

Half of any end-of-year surplus must go to the state’s rainy day fund. Any remaining surplus will go to fund items placed in the surplus section of the fiscal year 2022 budget, totaling more than $58 million in items cut from the original budget but will be restored. Surplus funding line items include restoring cuts to West Virginia University, Marshall University and other two-year and four-year colleges and universities.