West Virginia lawmakers delay taking up income tax cut and approve brain research funds

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia lawmakers speedily approved funding for the state veterans home, a program to help kids at risk of dropping out of school and other proposals on Monday after gaveling in for a special session called by Republican Gov. Jim Justice.

The GOP-controlled Legislature deferred action on proposals for an income tax cut and a child-dependent tax credit until Sunday, when lawmakers were already scheduled to return for interim meetings.

Both the House and Senate voted to bypass a rule requiring bills to be read three times on three separate days to greenlight the funding proposals, which now head to the governor’s desk.

The funding approved includes $1.2 million for the West Virginia Veterans Home in Barboursville and $10 million for Communities In Schools, a program that helps support students from low-income families to graduate high school.

Lawmakers also approved $2 million for West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute in Morgantown. The money will support research on using ultrasound technology as a treatment for addiction and Alzheimer’s disease.

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