We got a small taste last week of some of the divides within the House of Delegates Republican caucus and a sign of things to come later in the session.

The House passed last week Senate Bill 128, clarifying the authority of the governor and Legislature to proclaim and declare states of emergency and preparedness, by a wide margin — 93-3.

SB 128 would limit states of emergencies declared by the governor to 60 days and would require any extension of a state of emergency to be approved by both the House and state Senate by adopting a concurrent resolution.

Yet, the divisions were fairly plain on several amendments other Republican lawmakers attempted to add to the bill. An amendment to lower the limit from 60 days to 30 days failed 31-66; an amendment that could have allowed people to ignore orders from the governor during a state of emergency failed 34-63, and another amendment that could have could have interfered with price gouging rules for cooking and heating fuel failed 26-69.

I noticed several things during the debate on this bill and these amendments.

One: it showed a divide between the more traditional conservative Republican lawmakers with seniority versus a more far-right portion of the Republican caucus, many of whom are first-year freshman delegates. Many of those new delegates ran specifically because of the way the governor managed the COVID-19 pandemic, believing he ran roughshod over the U.S. and state Constitutions.

You can take issue with many of the decisions Gov. Jim Justice made during the pandemic, but the idea his state of emergency powers are unconstitutional was settled a long time ago, and definitely settled during the pandemic itself when the courts affirmed those powers. But for some, it’s easier to cry foul and shout “Constitution” as a mantra rather than changing State Code to limit the governor’s powers, which is completely within the authority of the Legislature to do.

Fact is, the governor has the state of emergency powers he has because lawmakers understood constantly being called back in during an ongoing emergency would not be practical. The West Virginia Legislature is simply not a full-time body; it meets 60 days out of the year and an occasional special session. Either change State Code to limit the governor’s powers or amend the Constitution to become a full-time legislature. The small ultra-conservative caucus simply doesn’t have the numbers.

Two: Delegates Brandon Steele and Geoff Foster are trying to lead this new caucus-within-a-caucus. That was apparent when both rose to defend the amendment attempts from that group. Steele, R-Raleigh, attempted to challenge House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, late last year for the gavel, but lost 53-30 (interesting how that losing number also closely matches the losing vote totals for the amendments to SB 128).

Steele was removed as chairman of the House Government Organization Committee, while co-conspirator Foster, R-Putnam, was removed as vice chairman. Steele might not have won the gavel, but he appears to be defacto leader of the new right caucus. That could prove to be interesting as the session continues on.

And three: It’s interesting to see lawmakers known previously as contrarians rise to their new leadership roles. New House Government Organization Committee Vice Chairman Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, rose several times to defend the work his committee did in amending the bill. And new House Majority Whip Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, rose also to defend the work of the committee.

Contrarian voices are needed. I consider myself a proud contrarian myself. But leadership means putting aside your own opinions sometimes and representing your committees and your leadership team. Gearheart and McGeehan both did that well.

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I was sad to see the Senate Finance Committee recommend a bill for passage that will kill the language in state code that created the West Virginia Future Fund.

I worked for two years to help get the Future Fund passed as part of former Democratic Senate President Jeff Kessler’s leadership team in the state Senate from 2013 to 2014. Senate Bill 461 passed the Senate unanimously and by a wide margin in the House of Delegates in 2014 (though the House largely boobytrapped the bill so it never did collect any money).

The Future Fund would have collected a portion of tax collections from the severance tax on coal and natural gas and locked it away for six years to collect interest and accumulate. After six years, money in the fund could be used for infrastructure project, economic development, and even offsetting certain kinds of tax cuts.

I’m biased, but it was a good idea. It passed around the same time as state tax collections were on the downswing, but Kessler was able to see into the future (no pun intended) and see that severance taxes were going to roar back for a time. Much of our $1.3 billion tax revenue surplus last fiscal year and half of the current $833 million tax revenue surplus we have now is coming from severance tax collections.

“I suspect that given the current state surplus (numbers), the triggers inserted by the House have now been met to actually fund it,” Kessler told me on Twitter. “Those who ignore (West Virginia’s) past failures to create wealth from our mineral resources are doomed to repeat it.”

I hate the Future Fund is being stricken from the books, literally, but I will always be thankful for my time working for former Senate President Kessler.