Lawmakers Want Use of AG’s Settlement Funds

West Virginia lawmakers want to use Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s lawsuit settlement funds. Again this year lawmakers are targeting the funds for the legislature’s use, while Morrisey opposes that idea saying it would limit the Attorney General’s authority to protect the public. The House Judiciary Committee advanced a measure this week that would ensure the Legislature gets to spend settlement money as it sees fit. The Gazette-Mail reports the bill would allow the Legislature to sweep extra settlement funds twice a year when Morrisey’s consumer protection fund exceeds $4 million. Last year’s bill called for quarterly sweeps.