The Senate Judiciary Committee has rejected a bill that would repeal and otherwise eliminate the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Public Campaign Financing Program.
The bill, SB 463, will be referred to the Senate Finance Committee after it is reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do not pass.
Julie Archer of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group said passage of the bill would be regressive toward efforts in the state to prevent scandal and dark monies from corrupting in Supreme Court of Appeals campaigns, as they have been in the past.
Archer said continuing the program will ultimately help to “restore some confidence in the judiciary.”
Senator Robert Beach (D – Monongalia) said the legislature should keep the program running in order to avoid having to experience another “wake-up call” because of a preventable campaign scandal.
Beach said the program would be very difficult to bring back at a later time if eliminated now.
The bill was originally introduced to try and save the state money that would have been used to help candidates run for the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Following the bill’s rejection, the committee voted to approve SB 259, which would require administrators of intestate estates to give bond and take oath.
HB 2099 and SB 219 were taken off of the agenda to be discussed in a future meeting.
