Manchin Not Ready to Convene Special Pension Session

After reports that Gov. Joe Manchin is weighing a special legislation session to help cities with yawning pension funding gaps, the governor's office tells The Register-Herald that he must see some consensus first.

“We’ve not even received a draft of that plan yet, so it’s too early to suggest there’s going to be a special session,” spokesman Matt Turner told the Beckley newspaper. “There’s still a lot of vetting to do.”

"A plan being bandied about by some legislators and the West Virginia Municipal League calls for a 40-year amortization of the debt and the creation of a newer pension fund for new hires with built-in safeguards against future liabilities," the article explains. "Yet, until everyone involved in finding a solution gets on the same page, even talk of a special session in August or September is premature."