House gives in to Senate on disabilities funding bill, which wouldn’t mandate how $180M is spent

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw banged his gavel as the House adjourned sine die on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, ending the May special session of the West Virginia Legislature. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

A sharp disagreement between the West Virginia House and Senate nearly tabled a bill that would give $180 million to the Department of Human Services to use for programs that help people with disabilities.

Ultimately, after a stand off between the two Republican-supermajority chambers, the House of Delegates opted on Tuesday to accept the Senate’s version of the bill, which includes no mandate of how DoHS spend the money.

“While I don’t think this is the best path forward, I think it’s the path we need to take,” said Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, who had on Monday led the House’s effort to amend spending mandates into the bill.

The embattled DoHS previously spent millions of dollars earmarked for people with disabilities on things like in-home COVID-19 tests and contract nurses’ salaries.

“This gives the additional money to the DoHS to fund these programs, if they so choose …  we are going to have to blindly trust that they’re going to do that,” Summers continued. “But we don’t want everyone to suffer by not advancing the funding.”

The Legislature in March slashed funds for the state’s care of people with disabilities, prompting Gov. Jim Justice to call lawmakers back to Charleston this month to restore the money. 

While both the Senate and the House cited transparency concerns about DoHS spending, the chambers were sharply divided on how to restore those funds.

Tracy White is the parent of a child who uses the state’s Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Waiver program. 

“We feel like they’re taking our loved ones and playing ping pong with them … They’re playing games with people’s lives, and it’s uncalled for,” said White, who lives in Kanawha County.

The House wanted to mandate that DoHS use some of the funds to improve its Medicaid reimbursement rate that helps pay direct care workers. 

The Senate stripped that language out, volleying it back to the House, who refused to concur on the bill late Monday night. 

The Senate adjourned sine die Tuesday afternoon without action on the bill. That left the legislation stuck in the House, where their only option was to reverse their actions Monday night that would have added spending mandates to the bill.  

“The position the House is in now, they need to recede from what they did yesterday or the bill is dead,” said Eric Tarr, R-Putnam.

House members said that the Senate wouldn’t participate in public conference committees, where lawmakers from both chambers can hash out a compromise. 

“It’s not in the best interest of the people that we’re supposed to be looking out for,” said Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha. “I wish [Senators] were more interested in actually doing the job we were sent here to do, which involves disagreeing with each other more than hashing it out. It involves deliberation … I find it disgusting.”

House members voted 87-2 to recede its position and pass the Senate’s version of the bill. Members then adjourned sine die.

The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk to await signature.

Lawmakers hope money is spent on direct care worker raises

The bill would permit the DoHS secretary to dip into the reserve funds for limited reasons, including services for people with disabilities. 

It would require the secretary to submit a monthly report to lawmakers starting on Aug. 1 about any transfers made from the reserves account. 

Tarr felt that the Senate’s version, which ultimately passed, would help lawmakers better understand where DoHS is spending its money. 

“We had no idea that money was not being spent for the purpose that we appropriated it,” he said. “What we’re trying to get right to right now is to make sure that when the legislature appropriates a dollar to a given end, that’s the given end it goes to.”

Many lawmakers — particularly in the House — are hoping that DoHS uses its funds to increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate, which would allow a pay raise for workers who help elderly individuals and people with disabilities and traumatic brain injuries remain in their homes. 

A 2023 survey — paid for by state dollars — said West Virginia needed to increase its rate of reimbursement and the worker salary range to $15.50 to $18.60 per hour. Care workers currently make around $11 an hour, which has contributed to a statewide staffing shortage.

“[Families] can’t get the services they need. There are no respite workers. The pay for our respite workers is extremely low,” White said.

DoHS leadership previously said they had no intention to fund the rate increase.

Del. Evan Worrell, one of two House members who voted no on the Senate version Tuesday, argued that it didn’t do enough to ensure DoHS spend the money on improving direct care worker salaries. 

“They stole money from IDD waiver people in this state. Now, a month later we’re going to give them $180 million, [and say] ‘Go have fun, spend the money however you want. We trust you,’ he said. “That’s why I’m still against this, I believe we need to restore all the cuts appropriately … I don’t trust the agency do what’s right.”

Worrell, R-Putnam, owns a company that provides in-home workers and has had to lay off employees due to the low reimbursement rate. 

Del. J.B. Akers said he hoped the money would be spent the “way our constituents expect it to be spent.”

“I would hope if this bill does not fit the way that we intended it, then there’s hell to pay next year,” he said.

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