We are just over halfway through West Virginia’s 60-day legislative session, and there is plenty to talk about. Let’s dive right in. Tax and Budget 2020 has seen the perennial return to eliminate the Business Personal Property Tax on manufacturing, inventory, equipment and machinery. This is a critical source of revenue for our counties’ public…
Blog
Two weeks ago, the House Industry and Labor committee passed out HB 4104 that would make it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors when it comes to Unemployment Insurance and Workers Compensation eligibility. A similar bill passed the House last year, but died in the Senate. The determination of whether a worker…
While we knew that eliminating the business personal property tax was at the top of the legislative agenda, it was unclear how the tax cut would take shape. Now with the introduction of Senate Joint Resolution 8, the Manufacturing Growth Amendment, we can better understand its potential impact. As previous blog posts have shown, the…
The governor's proposed FY 2021 budget has officially been released, with very little in changes from the FY 2020 budget. With revenues stagnating, there is very little in new spending initiatives in the governor's proposed budget, while relying on some one-time budget maneuvers to avoid deep spending cuts. Overall, the proposed FY 2021 base budget…
Medicaid’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) provisions help ensure that Medicaid beneficiaries including people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, or mental illnesses, are able to receive services in home-based or community settings rather than in an institutional setting. These critical provisions of Medicaid help beneficiaries fully participate and live in their communities and…
With the 2020 legislative session looming, now is as good a time as any to check in on one of the legislature's favorite proposals, eliminating the business personal property tax. Once again, the elimination of the tax is at the top of legislative priorities. And with state revenues stalling and budget cuts likely, the nearly…
Between 2016 and 2018, over 1,500 West Virginia children under the age of six lost health coverage and became uninsured, representing a 69.8 percent increase in the uninsured rate among that population. Over the same period nationally, the uninsured rate increased by only 12.7 percent. West Virginia is one of only 11 states to see…
Increasing affordability for prescription drugs has been a top concern for voters across the political spectrum, with skyrocketing insulin costs at the forefront of conversations. Nationally, the list prices of insulin tripled between 2002 and 2013. The average annual spending on insulin per type 1 diabetic doubled between 2012 and 2016. Source: Health Care Cost…
The Labor Department released state unemployment and job figures for October today that show there has been no statistically significant increase in jobs over the last year in West Virginia. According to preliminary figures, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in October was 4.8% and payroll employment stood at 733,100, an increase of 3,200 from October…
Last month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Trump Administration unveiled their third attack in a year on the nation’s nutrition safety net, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This latest proposal would essentially force families to choose between paying their utilities and putting food on the table. The proposed rule, which…