CHARLESTON — Del. Vernon Criss will take the reins of one of the most important committees in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2023 as House Speaker Roger Hanshaw changes up his leadership team.
Hanshaw, R-Clay, notified Criss this week that he will become the new chairman of the House Finance Committee beginning with the 2023 legislative session that starts Jan. 11.
Criss, R-Wood, will succeed current House Finance Committee Chairman Eric Householder, R-Berkeley. According to House sources, Householder will become the new House majority leader, succeeding current House Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor.
Criss has served as vice chairman of the House Finance Committee since 2018. Speaking by phone Wednesday, Criss said he was honored to be selected by Hanshaw to continue his work by leading the House Finance Committee.
“I appreciate the opportunity to do it,†Criss said.
The finance committees of the House and state Senate deal with legislation that has fiscal costs for the state. The committees also work on the state budget bill presented to the Legislature every year on the first day of the session. The budget bill sets the general revenue budget for the next fiscal year.
Lawmakers passed a $4.645 billion general revenue budget last March that went into effect in July for Fiscal Year 2023. The state ended Fiscal Year 2022 in June with a $1.3 billion tax revenue surplus.
With the first five months of Fiscal Year 2023 in the books, the state has already collected $687.5 million above estimates from the state Department of Revenue, with the state expected to end the current fiscal year with a budget surplus exceeding last year’s.
When asked Tuesday during a virtual briefing with reporters at the state Capitol building, Gov. Jim Justice said he would submit another flat general revenue budget to lawmakers in January.
“There may be some small variation, but it’s going to be really, really close to a flat budget,†Justice said. “We’re on the glidepath now and the homestretch as far as putting it together.â€
With large amounts of surplus tax revenue and pressure to either appropriate those dollars or return some of those dollars to taxpayers, Criss said there are plenty of opportunities and pressures going into the next session.
“I think we have a lot of challenges ahead of us. It’s going to be a great opportunity this year for the State of West Virginia,†Criss said. “We’ll just have to plod through this and figure out what to do — with all of the outside pressures that will be put on the budget — and come to some kind of agreement to put forth a budget that the governor will like.â€
West Virginia also is still sitting on more than $677 million of the $1.35 billion in direct state funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2021. ARPA allows states to use their allotments for water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure projects. Criss said he expects some of those remaining dollars to be appropriated by the Legislature this session.
“I would assume along the way we will have to because of the deadlines involved,†Criss said. “I would assume some of that will be taken care of during the regular session and some of it will probably be later.â€
Criss won re-election to the House in November, serving the new 12th House District. He previously served in the three-member 10th House of Delegates District before the House was divided into 100 single-member districts. He was appointed to the House in 1987 and elected to one term in 1988. He returned to the House in 2016.
In other leadership changes, Del. Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, will become the new House Majority Whip, while current House Majority Whip Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson, will become House Speaker Pro Tempore. Current House Speaker Pro Tempore Gary Howell, R-Mineral, will become chairman of the new Economic Development Committee, which is being elevated to major committee status.
Hanshaw was elected by the House Republican caucus in December to remain their nominee for House speaker, with the official election taking place with all 100 House members on the first day of the 2023 legislative session. Hanshaw defeated House Government Organization Committee Chairman Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, in a 53-30 vote.
Hanshaw was elected by the House in 2018 to succeed former Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, who was appointed by Justice to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Hanshaw was elected to a full two-year term as House Speaker in 2019 and again in 2021.
It remains to be seen whether Steele will be replaced as chairman of the House Government Organization Committee. A House spokesperson said an official list of committee chairs and vice chairs will be released soon once selections are finalized.
