W.Va. Gov. Justice, Legislative Leaders Welcome Idea Of Adding Three MD Counties

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WJZ) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said helium would invited 3 counties successful Western Maryland aft authorities legislators from those jurisdictions sent letters asking to go portion of the state.

“There’s unthinkable worldly that’s happening successful the authorities of West Virginia, and I would accidental travel and articulation the team,” Justice said during a property briefing Friday. “We would invited you successful each way, and you definite arsenic the dickens won’t ever regret it.”

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Among the reasons to travel to the state, Justice said, are a rainy time money of much than $1 billion, a booming tourism industry, earthy resources, nary taxes connected Social Security for seniors and infrastructure upgrades.

He besides touted the state’s enactment of the 2nd Amendment and anti-abortion measures.

The politician said helium did not solicit Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties to interruption distant from Maryland and articulation his state, though helium past twelvemonth made a akin transportation to blimpish counties successful Virginia, according to The Washington Post.

Justice offered to telephone authorities lawmakers backmost for a peculiar league to ballot connected a solution that would adhd astir 250,000 radical successful the 3 Maryland counties to West Virginia.

West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair (R) and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R) appeared during the property briefing to connection their enactment for the idea.

Blair said his woman works successful Washington County, Maryland.

“Our assemblage successful the Eastern panhandle is made up of Washington County, Maryland, Frederick County, Virginia–we’re each benignant of 1 up there, moving together,” helium said. “And past Allegany County and Garrett County is portion of the Potomac Highlands. There’s an artificial bound that goes betwixt West Virginia and Maryland, but successful reality, our communities transverse over.”

Five Republican lawmakers from the Maryland counties, each located successful the westernmost portion of the state, sent letters to Blair and Handshaw asking if West Virginia would see adding their jurisdictions.

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Dels. Wivell (District 2A) and Mike McKay (District 1C) signed 1 missive connected behalf of Washington County, and Dels. Jason Buckel (District 1B), Wendell Beitzel (District 1A) and McKay, and Sen. George Edwards (District 1), signed different missive connected behalf of Allegany and Garrett counties.

“The occidental areas of the authorities consciousness they’re being shortchanged successful a batch of respects, and we had a batch of constituents approaching america … saying, ‘Why can’t we conscionable articulation West Virginia?’ It’s conscionable that simple,” Beitzel told the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

West Virginia Del. Gary Howell, a Republican representing Mineral County, said during the property briefing helium was approached by Beitzel respective months ago, who asked, “Hey, is that connection you gave to Virginia a fewer years agone disposable to us?”

Beitzel and different Maryland lawmakers came down for a gathering successful Charleston to sermon the idea, Howell said.

Allegany County Board of Commissioners President Jake Shade connected Thursday criticized the thought and its timing, according to a study successful the Cumberland Times-News.

“It would beryllium 1 happening if we weren’t inactive successful the mediate of a pandemic. … trying to support schools unfastened and to person this distraction … thing that isn’t going to hap due to the fact that it has to walk the United States Congress. I question why, and who, thought this was a bully idea?”

Shade is apt referring to Article IV, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution, which says nary caller authorities tin beryllium formed wrong the jurisdiction of different state, oregon by joining parts of states, “without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States acrophobic arsenic good arsenic of the Congress.”

Shade is moving against McKay for the District 1 legislature spot successful the legislature.

McKay told the newspaper: “There is ever a accidental idiosyncratic volition beryllium upset, but astatine the extremity of the time we request to person big conversations. We whitethorn determine it is amended to enactment successful Maryland. But I surely respect the radical crossed the Potomac (River successful West Virginia) to person a sit-down speech to look astatine it.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.