As tensions rise between Senate and House, lawmakers OK transferring funds for college aid

Senate President Craig Blair speaks to the press during the legislative special session on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Charleston, W.Va. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

While obstacles remain on the federal level for college-bound students to access financial aid, the West Virginia Legislature during this week’s special session approved two bills that will provide state funding for certain students come the fall semester.

The funding comes about three weeks after Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency due to complications with the federal government’s rollout of a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form. Through his declaration, Justice waived the mandate that students in West Virginia must apply for FAFSA to access state financial aid, including the Promise Scholarship and the Higher Education Grant Program.

According to the state Higher Education Policy Commission, FAFSA completion rates for high schoolers in West Virginia are down 40% compared to previous years as the new application process has presented struggles for students and their families.

On Tuesday, the Legislature approved a bill, Senate Bill 1011, to immediately move about $83.2 million from the state’s rainy day fund for the Public Employee Insurance Agency to the state’s General Revenue fund. Through another bill — Senate Bill 1007, which was approved Monday by both the House and the Senate — those funds will be redirected to the HEPC to be distributed to college-bound students for the fall college 2024 semester. 

“I am incredibly grateful to Gov. Justice and to the Legislature for prioritizing our state’s students in the midst of continuing challenges with the FAFSA,” said Sarah Tucker, the state’s chancellor of higher education, in an emailed statement. “With this funding, we will be able to get more financial aid to our neediest students so they can stay on track to continue their education and reach their career goals.”

Per the bill text, $40 million of the transferred surplus funds will go to the Higher Education Grant Program, $32 million will go to support for the state’s colleges and universities and about $11.2 million will go to the College Access Grant fund within the HEPC.

A portion of those funds will be directly distributed to students who either apply and qualify for the Promise Scholarship by Sept. 1, have a previous FAFSA on file and qualify for the state’s Higher Education Grant Program or who do not have a previous FAFSA but are eligible for aid by qualifying for multiple safety net programs run by the state.

Those who qualify for the Promise Scholarship will receive up to $5,500 for the upcoming academic year. Others who are eligible for the needs-based Higher Education Grant will receive up to $3,400, according to the HEPC. 

Legislative leaders said Tuesday that removing the money from the PEIA Rainy Day Fund was the ideal scenario to ensure funding for college-bound students in West Virginia. The dollars were not able to be touched in their current fund, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, told reporters Tuesday.

“This is making it so we’re trying to help our universities out, especially our smaller ones. It started out with a $200 million ask on that, and we were able to manipulate money that was parked over in PEIA that they couldn’t access,” Blair said. “It was in purgatory for lack of a better term.”

Disagreements rose during the special session regarding the effective date of SB 1011, the bill that moved that money from PEIA Rainy Day fund to the state’s General Revenue. If the bill wasn’t made effective from passage, there would be no money to appropriate as listed in SB 1007.

Members in the House twice on Monday voted against allowing the bill to be effective from passage. Several lawmakers voiced concerns about putting the money in the state’s unappropriated surplus.

Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, said Tuesday that, through talks with the state’s financial experts, it became clear that having the money go to the surplus to be reallocated out to the HEPC was necessary.

“There’s a hope this money can be refunded from the federal government, and it has to come from the surplus [to make that possible],” Young said. “I hope it can be refunded and we can use this money elsewhere.”

But others in the body were not as convinced as tensions rose between the House and the Senate on Tuesday after the Senate adjourned sine die in an attempt to force the House’s hand on a bill relating to funding for the state Department of Human Services. That move was successful for the Senate, as the House revised its version of the bill back to one previously approved by the Senate.

Del. Todd Kirby, R-Raleigh, urged a “no” vote Tuesday on the effective date for SB 1011. He said he was frustrated about being “put in a tough position once again by the Senate” following their choice to adjourn sine die and did not feel the body should “acquiesce” the body.

“How [long] until we stand up to the Senate and say we’re not going to be their whipping boy,” Kirby said as he urged his colleagues to stand in opposition to the immediate effective date.

On the Senate side, leaders on Tuesday accused members of the House of holding certain bills and votes, including the vote on the effective date for SB 1011, “hostage” during the special session in an attempt to get their way. It’s the latest example of splits and fractures among the Legislature where Republicans overwhelmingly control both chambers with supermajorities. 

Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, urged his colleagues in the House to rise above the infighting, though he lobbed criticism at the Senate while doing so.

“All of us were picked to be here for this moment to make sure that our families and kids are taken care of, and I think we need to do that today, and I think we need to do that unanimously,” Steele said. “Let us be the house of reason from here on out. I think it’s been pretty clear that the other side of this building is in utter chaos. They are in utter chaos. But right now, the House can be the voice of reason. I ask you all to join me in voting yes on this effective date right now.”

House members ultimately voted 78-12 with 10 members absent and not voting to make SB 1011 effective from passage. 

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