(Capitol Notes - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)

After a five-day timeout, both to avoid spending $35,000 per day and to allow negotiations between lawmakers and representatives of the governor’s office toward a 5% personal income tax cut to continue, the Legislature resumed the special session Sunday.

Based on some of the rhetoric I heard last week on various talk radio programs, I don’t get the sense we’re any closer to lawmakers giving Gov. Jim Justice what he wants. During his weekly administration briefing last week, it sounds like Justice may be willing to accept a cut of less than 5%.

In my opinion, that is the best-case scenario. Justice may get an additional personal income tax cut, but it is not going to be 5%. And I think it is still going to require Justice to be willing to cut something from the current budget the state is operating under. The worst-case scenario for Justice, of course, is getting no personal income tax cut at all.

Lawmakers have an important question to ask themselves. Are they more concerned with upsetting the outgoing governor, or are they more interested in pleasing the person they believe will be the next governor: Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. He has already put out statements saying he’d like lawmakers to wait until he gets in office so he can review a potential cut.

Whoever the next governor will be, they’ll get barely 45 days from the time they take office in January to the official start of the 60-day regular legislative session to present to lawmakers the general revenue budget for fiscal year 2026. If the next governor is smart, the transition team will start working on the budget bill as soon as the November election is certified.

As I keep saying, there is no question the state can afford a 5% personal income tax cut this fiscal year, because only half of the $115 million would be returned to taxpayers between January and June. The question is whether the state can afford to return the full $115 million to taxpayers for fiscal year 2026 when that kicks in after July 2025.

Some lawmakers would feel better if they could see the six-year budget forecast, a document that used to be publicly released until 2021. Justice said last week he would be happy to provide that document, then decided to deride lawmakers and even us in the press for asking to see the forecast. No doubt, the forecast can be used by critics as a political tool to say something shouldn’t be done. But it’s still a useful document to see what the projected government expenses will be.

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Speaking of Morrisey, we now have a scheduled debate between Morrisey and Democratic Huntington Mayor Steve Williams in the governor’s race for Oct. 29 on WV MetroNews.

I joked with Morrisey last week after a Board of Public Works meeting that he was trying to make me eat my words from last week’s column. I certainly wasn’t trying to imply that Morrisey was avoiding a debate.

The debate between Morrisey and Williams on WOWK-TV/Nexstar for Oct. 30 fell through for reasons that had more to do with requirements that one of the candidates could not meet versus one of the two candidates backing out. And a source close to Morrisey said the Williams campaign got out ahead of themselves by telling some reporters the first debate was happening when it hadn’t been finalized.

While Morrisey could probably avoid a debate with Williams, I’m glad to see both candidates agreeing to debate. I only hate that it’s in the middle of early voting and a few days away from Election Day.

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A source close to Morrisey also pushed back on my sourcing from last week about the 2021 joint resolution that failed that would have put the question to voters about limiting the terms of state constitutional officers to three four-year terms (the governor is already limited to two terms). Morrisey was publicly supportive, but according to my sources, Morrisey worked behind-the-scenes to kill the resolution.

According to the source close to Morrisey, they were concerned about the language of the joint resolution and accused unnamed people of using the constitutional amendment to mess with Morrisey. Perhaps. In the end, it doesn’t matter, as Morrisey will be wrapping up his third term as attorney general. Only one other Board of Public Works officer, Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt, is seeking a third and final term.

Secretary of State Mac Warner is out after two terms after losing the May GOP primary for governor. State Auditor J.B. McCuskey is wrapping up his second term as he seeks the seat for attorney general. And State Treasurer Riley Moore is wrapping up his first term as he seeks the 2nd Congressional District seat. Perhaps term limits for Board of Public Works seats are not needed after all?

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com