West Virginia House approves pay raises for governor, other officials

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West Virginia’s House of Delegates on Wednesday approved pay raises for the governor and the state’s five other constitutional officers.

The bill passed the House 73-22 and now goes to the state Senate.

On Tuesday, delegates passed an amendment offered by Taylor County Republican Delegate Amy Summers limiting the raises to 20%: $180,000 for the governor and $115,000 for the state agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and state treasurer.

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A bill that would ban marriage for anyone younger than 18 was passed by the West Virginia House.

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The original bill would have matched the governor’s salary to that of a member of Congress, currently at $174,000, while constitutional officers would have been paid $147,900. A version later approved by the House Finance Committee would have raised the governor’s salary by 33% to $200,000 and the constitutional officers by 58% to $150,000.

In opposing Summers’ amendment and seeking to retain the committee version, Wood County Republican Del. Vernon Criss argued that by the time the salaries are implemented in 2025, they would not have increased since 2009. Democratic Delegate Kayla Young of Kanawha County replied that West Virginia’s minimum wage has remained at $8.75 per hour since 2008.