Special Session May Be Needed to Set up Arts Agency

Gov. Jim Justice has proposed calling a special legislative session in May to deal with creating a Department of Arts and Culture and History. Justice says he has been working with legislative leaders to create the new department and recently signed a bill to eliminate the Department of Education and the Arts and spread duties to other areas. Justice says the new department would not have a secretary but a curator of the arts. He says he’ll move different programs and agencies into a newly created Department of Arts and Culture and History but did not give any specifics.