Who should control the West Virginia judiciary purse strings?

West Virginia voters to decide amendment allowing legislature to control the budget of the state judiciary in November West Virginia voters to decide amendment allowing legislature to control the budget of the state judiciary in November On March 10, the last day of the 2018 session, the West Virginia legislature passed an amendment to allow the state legislature to reduce portions of the budget of the state judiciary, provided any reductions or changes in budgeting for the state judiciary were not contingent on a court ruling, order, or other court action. The resolution calling for the amendment—Senate Joint Resolution 3—was originally approved by the Senate in February, but the two chambers did not concur on proposed changes to the amendment. Ultimately, a conference committee was formed and the version reported by the committee was unanimously approved in both chambers before the session adjourned. Currently, the constitution does not allow the legislature to decrease the budget of the state judiciary. It is the only state with such a restriction, according to Steve Canterbury, former administrative director of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. This amendment was introduced in the legislature following reports by an Eyewitness News investigation in 2017 of $3.7 million in spending on renovations in the offices of the supreme court, including reports of $500,278 for remodeling the chambers of Justice Robin Davis, $363,000 for the chambers of Chief Justice Allen Loughry, and $130,654 for work on the chambers of Justice Beth Walker, which were last renovated seven years earlier. This year, the state court system proposed a budget of $139 million. For the 2017-2018 budget, about $141.7 million was appropriated in general state funds for the state judiciary. Appearing before the Senate Finance Committee to testify on this issue, Supreme Court Administrator Gary Johnson said, “We believe in the separation of powers and think all three branches ought to be co-equal and, of course, that we ought to have control of our budget.” The amendment joins another that would state that there is no right to abortion or abortion funding in the state constitution. The abortion amendment was referred to the ballot with final approval by the state Senate on March 5. [Learn more]( [Forward This](mailto:?&cc=info@Ballotpedia.org&subject=Check out this info I found from Ballotpedia&body= [blank][Tweet This]( [blank][blank][Send to Facebook]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [blank] #FridayFact Yesterday we mentioned the defeated recall attempt against three members of Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission in Oregon. In 2018, Ballotpedia has tracked 117 recalls against 160 elected officials. Twelve elected officials have faced recall elections so far this year. How many officials have been recalled? - [Twelve→]( - [Six→]( - [Three→]( - [Zero→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Illinois elections are right around the corner Early voting is underway and primary day is next week: March 20. What’s up for election this year? Check out: [Illinois elections, 2018]( Do you know who is on your ballot? Use our sample ballot tool to find out. [See what's on your ballot](→ --------------------------------------------------------------- Today: Filing deadline for Iowa candidates Today is the filing deadline for candidates running in many Iowa elections. Federal and state offices on the ballot this year will include four U.S. House seats, seven executive offices including the governor and attorney general, 25 of 50 state Senate seats, all 100 state House seats, and three of the nine seats on the Iowa Court of Appeals. Local judges up for retention election have until July 25 to declare their intent to seek re-election. Ballotpedia's featured elections in Iowa this year include the Democratic primaries for the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts, as well as the gubernatorial general election. The state's primary is on June 5, and the general election is on November 6, 2018. [Learn more→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Ballotpedia depends on the support of our readers. The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns. [Please click here to support our work→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Follow on Twitter]( [Friend on Facebook]( Copyright © 2018, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Ballotpedia 8383 Greenway Blvd Suite 600 Middleton, WI 53562 [unsubscribe from all emails]( [update subscription preferences](