Gov. Justice prepares for final State of the State address
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CHARLESTON -- Keeping his cards close to his chest, Gov. Jim Justice encouraged the public to tune in to his eighth and final State of the State address next week.
Speaking during his weekly virtual administration briefing Wednesday morning, Justice revealed almost nothing about what he will say when he gives his State of the State address to a joint session of the West Virginia Legislature next Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m.
"Tune in, because there will be some exciting stuff," Justice said. "We'll talk about the future; we'll talk about the achievements to where we've gotten to in West Virginia. But absolutely my feelings are just this: if you love West Virginia a fraction as much as I do and its great, great people, we want to use the goodness we've been able to build in to absolutely propel us to more and more greatness."
The annual address is given on the first day of each 60-day regular session of the Legislature. The West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates will gavel in at noon that Wednesday, kicking off the second session of the 86th Legislature.
The address will be livestreamed on governor.wv.gov, the Governor's YouTube, X, and Facebook accounts, wvlegislature.gov and Legislature YouTube account, and by West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
During his State of the State address, Justice will present the Legislature with revenue estimates for fiscal year 2025 beginning July 1 and the budget bill setting the general revenue budget for the next fiscal year. Justice has said he plans to present another flat budget close to the $4.875 billion general revenue budget for the current fiscal year passed by lawmakers during the 2023 legislative session.
Tax collections for the current fiscal year are already providing the state a $406 million surplus for the first six months of fiscal year 2024. The state collected $2.7 billion in tax collections fiscal year-to-date as of the end of December.
"It's hard to argue how this state is doing and everything," Justice said. "It's an unbelievable number, and we've come almost numb to the fact of just how these numbers have gone together and everything ... I think we should celebrate in every way the blessings of God above on this incredible state. I mean that sincerely. We have to keep it going. That's our intention."
Little is known as to what Justice plans to present during his State of the State. The only concrete proposal mentioned by Justice in recent months is a fifth pay raise for public employees, teachers, school service personnel, and state troopers to help ease the pain of premium increases for the Public Employees Insurance Agency. A 5% public employee pay raise could cost between $115 million and $120 million.
Justice often uses the State of the State to promote or announce major economic development projects. On Wednesday after the briefing, Justice was joined by LG CEO William Cho to announce a $700 million investment by South Korea-based LG Electronics by creating new businesses through its LG NOVA business innovation center program.
Justice chaired a special meeting of the state Economic Development Authority earlier Wednesday to approve a $54 million high-impact loan for the project, which is expected to create 275 jobs across the state and establish branch offices in Huntington and Morgantown.
"We awakened the world to how great West Virginia truly is," Justice said. "Bring it on, world. We have lots to share here and we welcome you in every way."
Justice is in the final year of his second four-year term as governor. West Virginia governors are term limited to two consecutive terms. Justice was first elected as a Democratic candidate in 2017, switching his voter registration to Republican later that same year. He won re-election as governor as a Republican in 2020.
"When I first signed on to run for governor, we pulled that off," Justice said. "I really thought there was no way that I'll actually ever run for reelection ... there's been so much goodness happen to this great state."
With one year left in his term, Justice is now seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Justice announced his Senate candidacy last April. Manchin announced his retirement from the Senate at the end of his term in 2024 in November and is a possible third-party candidate for president.
"You know me well enough to know that I'm going to run through the finish line and hopefully leave something exciting and really good that we can continue to build on in this great state," Justice said.