My wife and I somehow survived Disney World last week with two parents who haven’t been there in decades and their three daughters ages 12, 7, and 5. All while dodging a hurricane at the end of the week. Now I’m flying into the hurricane that is Monday’s special session of the West Virginia Legislature.

This could all change by the time you read this, but as I write this Sunday afternoon, I’m hearing that the Legislature could very well gavel in at 11 a.m., quickly pass some of the 19 supplemental appropriations bills on the special session proclamation, and adjourn until Sunday, Oct. 6, when lawmakers were already expected to be in Charleston for October interim meetings.

From what I’ve read (I was a mere spectator to the news last week, reading stories as I waited in line for rides), Gov. Jim Justice and Department of Revenue Secretary Larry Pack appear to be optimistic that they are close to a deal with legislative leaders for the governor’s 5% personal income tax proposal. But if the Legislature gavels in and out Monday, that will tell me there is still no agreement.

It’s a smart move for lawmakers to quickly get in and get out and come back a week later. For one thing, no one understands why Justice chose Sept. 30 as the special session date. It’s the day before tax revenue numbers for September come out and based on the tax collections for July and August, lawmakers naturally want to see what the tax collection numbers will be for September before agreeing to a 5% personal income tax cut.

Also, special sessions cost approximately $35,000 per day for lawmakers and staff to be in session. That’s why most special sessions anymore are scheduled to coincide with legislative interim meetings to save on costs. Taxpayers will still have to eat $35,000 Monday, but adjourning until the following Sunday when October interims begin will save some dollars.

Again, things can change by the time you read this. I don’t make predictions; I just provide scenarios based on my sourcing and my experience as both a long-time statehouse reporter and a former legislative staffer. Special sessions are fluid things and the current can change at a moment’s notice.

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The special session call includes 27 items, including the 5% personal income tax cut, the child care tax credit and plenty of supplemental appropriations. One of the items included is $300,000 for statues in the rotunda (unsure if that means the upper or lower rotunda) of the state Capitol.

Based on an earlier document I received last week with possible special session bills, these would be statutes of West Virginia’s first governor, Arthur I. Boreman, and Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.

As this is the first I’ve even heard of an effort by Department of Arts, Culture and History Secretary Randall Reid-Smith to get statues in the Capitol, I cannot speak to the logic behind this. I get putting a statue of Boreman as he is Numero Uno. I get putting a statue of Lincoln, though we’ve already got the “Lincoln Walks at Midnight” statue on the Kanawha River-side of the Capitol, so don’t we have that covered?

Sure, Washington is the first president and he did own a lot of land in what was then western Virginia. He had a role in expanding apple orchards in the state and he slept everywhere it seems. And we do have a county named for Thomas Jefferson, who likely owned land now within the borders of West Virginia, but I do not know that for sure.

I get these may have been things that original Capitol architect Cass Gilbert may have wanted in the building before the Great Depression hit and dried up his available funds. That’s why the now-controversial murals are being installed (despite the inclusion of an ancestor of Babydog in one mural, I actually like the murals, though it is a shame it appears the approval of the murals did not go through the proper protocols).

It just seems to me that while the issue of the murals and how they came about is being litigated in court as we speak, perhaps we should hold off on the statues. Besides, I think an important part of the history of the Capitol is the fact that the internal flourishments were unfinished. And in fact, the building is still beautiful without frescos or metallic or stone statesmen.

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I thought I was going to have to eat my words from last week’s column. I said “I’ll believe it when I see it” regarding a possible debate for the governor’s race between Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Democratic Huntington Mayor Steve Williams.

Then, I was waiting in line for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot, I see a story from my friend Lori Kersey at West Virginia Watch saying a debate had indeed been scheduled between Morrisey and Williams for Wednesday, Oct. 30, being put on by WOWK/Nexstar.

Then a day later, it all fell apart. My colleague Jess Mancini reported the debate was called off over disagreements on format and sponsors.

Morrisey’s campaign manager said in a statement they are still looking forward to a possible debate, but I am skeptical they really want one. This isn’t the first time Morrisey has said he wanted something in public while working against the same thing behind the scenes.

In 2021, all of the elected Board of Public Works officers held a press conference supporting a joint resolution to limit the Board of Public works term to three four-year terms. State Treasurer Riley Moore, State Auditor J.B. McCuskey, Secretary of State Mac Warner and Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt were all at the press conference in person and supported the resolution.

Only Morrisey was missing, but he sent a letter expressing his support for the joint resolution, which would have given power to voters to amend the state Constitution to put in place the term limits. But despite his letter of support, his absence told me he was not really on board. And I had sourcing at the time that confirmed for me that behind-the-scenes, Morrisey was lobbying Republican lawmakers to kill the joint resolution.

The joint resolution, which requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber to be adopted, sailed through the Senate with a 30-3 vote, but it only got to third reading in the House before being placed on the House’s inactive calendar at the end of the 2021 regular session, where it died.

So again, I am not saying there won’t be a debate between Morrisey and Williams, but I will believe it when I see it.

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Lastly, a welcome to my new Dominion Post readers. I look forward to providing you with on-the-ground coverage of your state government here in Charleston.