CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice today announced that he has vetoed Senate Bill 729, which was intended to create a self-sustaining loan fund with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority.
The bill, in the form which was passed and delivered to the Governor, had several technical errors that would have made it nearly impossible to use the money appropriated to the EDA consistent with the intent of the bill.

The Governor intends to call a Special Session to fix these technical errors. This Special Session will be scheduled to coincide with April Legislative Interim Meetings so that additional costs do not have to be incurred.

“I plan to work with the Legislature to fix these technical errors and will add the bill to the Special Session call,” Gov. Justice said. “If the Legislature passes the bill during the Special Session, this important legislation will be fixed to allow for the proper transfer of monies.

“The self-sustaining loan fund that this bill will create is absolutely essential for us to be able to keep advancing our economic development efforts,” Gov. Justice continued. “The bill also intended to create a $200 million revolving loan fund for our WVDOT to use as a catalyst to start major road projects through the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill. I am committed to making sure that this revolving loan fund remains in the bill.

“West Virginia is on a glide path to prosperity like you can’t imagine right now, and our economic development efforts are at the heart of our state’s rebirth. Any chance we have to continue building upon these development efforts, we’re going to take. And I know this bill, when it’s cleaned up, will help us do just that.”