We passed the 30-day mark Thursday, marking the halfway point of the 60-day legislative session. So, how are lawmakers doing? Good question.

As of Friday, there have been 1,971 bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. Of that number, only 18 bills have completed the legislative process and landed on the desk of Gov. Jim Justice, including nine House of Delegates bills and nine state Senate bills.

It’s hard to specifically compare to the same point in previous sessions, so I’m having to go off my memory and more than 13 years of experience under the golden dome, but 18 bills at this point in a legislative session seems like a small number.

Some pointed out to me that this is pretty common, and they are right, but not during the time the Republicans have had the majority. I can remember my time working for the Senate in 2013 and 2014, the last two years the Democrats had the majorities in the House and Senate, and recall how the first half of the session was always slow. Then the last two weeks of session being a whirlwind as lawmakers kicked into gear to get their bills across the finish line.

I recall former Senate President Jeff Kessler turning into an auctioneer on the last day of the session, trying to speed bills through before the chimes at midnight. I recall the runners going back and forth between the chambers with bills. I even remember bills dying simply because the physical paper bill was misplaced after being ran across to the other chamber.

All of that changed when the Republicans took the majority in 2015. Both the House and Senate worked hard up front to get bills out the door and passed early. In fact, I recall the final night of the sessions in those years being quite boring. I was reminded by someone in leadership at the time that on the House side they specifically only took up Senate messages on bills because all their bills had already long been out the door.

My concern this year is with only 18 bills out the door, we’re going to see a log jam of bills toward the end of the session, which almost always means that important legislation dies. There are bills out there dealing with Public Employees Insurance Agency issues, bills to improve pay and incentives for correctional officers, proposals to help improve reading and math scores in elementary schools and provide teachers extra help, etc.

These are all priorities, but that doesn’t mean any of those bills won’t die for any number of reasons. I’ve seen a lot of good legislation die for dumb reasons.

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The Senate has now put its tax cut counteroffer on the table, but don’t think Gov. Justice and House Republicans won’t come up with a counter to the Senate’s counter.

Chatter in the House after the Senate held a press conference and released a one-page summary of its plan was not terribly receptive. There was annoyance that the Senate plan includes tax rebates for tangible personal property taxes, something Senate Republicans were not fans of when Justice proposed a personal income tax rebate for the tangible personal property taxes residents pay for vehicles.

In fact, Friday morning there was an attempt by some House members to reject receiving the message from the Senate announcing the passage of Senate Bill 424, the bill being used as a vehicle for the Senate tax plan. That motion was ultimately tabled and the bill was referred to the House Finance Committee, but that gives you an idea how some House Republicans feel about the Senate plan.

Justice played it smart last week. Known for throwing bombs, he chose to take the higher path, thanked the Senate for its counterproposal, expressed positivity about some of the items in the Senate plan and expressed optimism that negotiations for a tax-reform plan could come out of the session.

So, lawmakers are going to have to come up with a plan that comes down from Justice’s 50% personal income tax cut over three years and the Senate’s 15% personal income tax cut combined with tax rebates for tangible personal property taxes and other tax breaks. The Justice plan would return more than $1.4 billion to taxpayers when fully implemented, while the Senate plan would return $600 million to taxpayers.

A middle ground is there to be found. I know I’ve expressed skepticism about whether a tax plan will come together. I’m still not holding my breath, but with the Senate plan now in the House, a debate can begin. We still have half of a session for a plan to come together.