GOV. Joe Manchin announced early and has insisted often that he would call a special session after the November election to revise the state's tax structure.
That would let a strong-minded governor shape tax policy with a Legislature that included lame ducks who could not be held accountable at the ballot box.
This is a bad idea. It should be abandoned.
Manchin won office by a huge margin and operates with a strong base of support. He is perhaps the strongest-minded governor since Arch Moore.
It is the function of the executive to propose changes, and Manchin has not hesitated to do so. It hasn't always paid to look too closely, but his stampeding style has sometimes worked to the good of the state.
Getting West Virginia's governing class to take decisive action on its workers' compensation program was a masterstroke, for example. Manchin's impulse to react quickly to the Sago mine tragedy can be defended as well.
But taxes weigh heavily on West Virginia businesses and individuals. Everybody wants to be in on that discussion - not hear that legislators passed in haste policies that surprise everyone later.
The administration doesn't expect to release its proposals until the end of this month — if then.
A special session in late November, its agenda restricted by the governor, would give legislators only weeks to consider the changes he proposes.
Delegate Cindy Frich told the Daily Mail's Kris Wise that she has twice formally requested what changes Manchin is considering, to no avail.
Senate Minority Leader Vie Sprouse,R-Kanawha, has suggested a boycott of any special session on taxes.
And House Finance Chairman Harold Michael, D-Hardy, told the Gazette's Phil Kabler this week that a November tax session "just isn't going to happen."
It should not.
There are three branches of government for a reason. Governors are elected to lead, and Manchin does it well.
But legislators are elected to study the issues independently and decide whether following is in their constituents' best interests.
Lawmakers should do their jobs as well as Manchin does his.
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