Last week’s special session was quick, but not quick enough for Gov. Jim Justice who expected all 17 items on the special session proclamation to be passed in one day.

Instead, it took two days, or in reality it took about 21 hours from the time the West Virginia Legislature gaveled in at noon on Monday and the time it adjourned sine die close to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The state Senate and the House of Delegates very quickly voted to suspend the constitutional rules that require bills be read on three separate days in order to pass the bulk of Justice’s special session bills in one day.

The main issue during the special session that dragged it into two days was Senate Bill 2001, generally relating to funding for infrastructure and economic development projects in the state. The bill creates two revolving loan funds for economic development projects and transportation infrastructure projects.

The Senate quickly suspended rules to pass the bill, which is no surprise given that for the last several years the Senate Republican caucus has largely been a rubber stamp for Justice. But the House chose to send the bill to the House Finance Committee first Monday afternoon.

After asking questions about the bill, the committee recommended it for passage, but when the House resumed the floor session Monday night, they didn’t have enough votes to suspend the rules (four-fifths of members present is required to suspend constitutional rules) to pass the bill that same evening.

I was told by a source close to the governor that he was livid that the House chose to hold the bill over one day, expecting his entire agenda to make it through in one day. He was particularly angry at the 13 delegates who were absent that evening or didn’t vote at all.

Some of House Republicans I talked to who also voted to not suspend the rules said they did so to learn more about the bill before voting yes. In fact, several of the Republicans who voted not to suspend the rules Monday or who were not present for the Monday vote indeed voted to suspend the rules Tuesday morning and voted for the bill.

Despite some trying to say the bill was similar to Senate Bill 729, which passed with wide bipartisan support during the regular 2022 session only to be vetoed by Justice for technical flaws, the fact is that SB 2001 was a different bill even if it ultimately accomplished the same goal as SB 729.

Also, with the April legislative interim meetings continuing Tuesday, taking the additional day didn’t cost taxpayers any additional dollars for the special session. I’d much rather have thoughtful lawmakers than lawmakers who rush bills through with no consideration.

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I leave it up to the local papers to cover legislative races, but that doesn’t mean I’m not watching them closely. There has been an issue raised now in two separate races regarding whether the certificates of candidacy are accurate and true.

The first case involves Wood County businessman Robert Fehrenbacher, running in the Republican primary against Del. Roger Conley in the new 11th District. When Fehrenbacher filed for office, he believed he was already registered as a Republican. It turns out he was registered as unaffiliated.

The certificate of announcement requires candidates to “… swear and affirm that I am a candidate for this office in good faith, that I am eligible and qualified to hold this office and that the information provided on this form is true.” In news stories and in a phone conversation with Fehrenbacher on Friday, he stated that he believed he was a registered Republican when he turned his certificate in.

The Wood County Republican Executive Committee and West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Mark Harris have called for Fehrenbacher to step down. Conley has stated he will sue if Fehrenbacher wins the primary, and the county REC believes the Democratic candidate — attorney Harry Dietzler – will sue as well, but Deitzler said he won’t. I’m sure someone will sue, but considering his filing wasn’t challenged during the timeframe to do so, I doubt a lawsuit will give Fehrenbacher the boot.

In the second case, former Putnam County delegate and Republican candidate Joshua Higginbotham in the new 8th Senatorial District is raising issues about the qualifications of Roane County businesswoman Andrea Kiessling to be on the ballot. The 8th District includes Clay and Roane counties, and parts of Jackson, Putnam, and Kanawha counties.

In a Facebook post, Higginbotham claims that Kiessling wasn’t registered to vote in West Virginia at the time she filed for office. While a native of Roane County, Kiessling has lived the last several years in North Carolina before returning to Roane County. The state Constitution requires that “No person shall be a senator or delegate who has not for one year next preceding his election,” or “… been a resident within the district or county from which he is elected.” It also requires any candidate for office to be residents of the state for at least five years.

Kiessling was swept from voter rolls in Roane County for inactivity, but North Carolina records show she voted in the last several elections there, including the 2020 general election. According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, Kiessling registered to vote in the state on Jan. 29 – the same day she filed for office.

This is another instance when a candidate’s filing was not challenged during the legal timeframe to do so. Higginbotham said he will sue, and I think he has a better case against Kiessling than Conley has against Fehrenbacher. But this situation is less about Higginbotham/Kiessling and more about Higginbotham versus Republican operative Greg Thomas.

I’m told that Thomas had been helping Higginbotham, but Thomas dropped him for Kiessling. Higginbotham is an openly gay Republican who came out two years ago and supports the Fairness Act to end housing and employment discrimination for the LGBTQ and transgender community.

Higginbotham has a pretty solid conservative and pro-business voting record (he was endorsed by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce) but the support for the Fairness Act could be politically damaging in the 8th District’s more rural areas. The irony is the fight between Higginbotham and Kiessling/Thomas could create a window for Democrat-turned-Republican former Kanawha County lawmaker Mark Hunt, a candidate with quite a history of his own.

Perhaps it is time for the Secretary of State’s Office or a lawmaker propose legislation to create some sort of system that can catch these issues for potential candidates before they become an issue and a potential lawsuit?