Blog

March 14, 2019 by Sean O'Leary
FY 2020 Budget Recap

The 2019 Legislative Session ended last week, with the state budget passed a day early. While every year, the budget undergoes some changes from the governor’s proposal to the final product, this year saw relatively few changes. The FY 2020 budget proposed by Governor Justice includes new spending initiatives and pay raises while avoiding spending cuts…

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March 13, 2019 by Ted Boettner
The 2019 Legislative Session: The Good, the Bad, and the Defeated

The 2019 regular legislative session ended this past Saturday. Overall, it was one of the more successful legislative sessions in recent years, all things considered. There were also a string of disappointments along with some surprising victories and the defeat of many bad bills. On the fiscal side, most of the regressive tax policy legislation…

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March 4, 2019 by Kelly Allen
Paid Family and Medical Leave Crucial to West Virginia Workers and Families

West Virginia has a unique opportunity to lead the way in providing paid leave benefits to all workers. A bipartisan group of Senators has introduced SCR 41, which would instruct the legislature to study the costs, benefits, and implementation of creating a paid family and medical leave program in West Virginia. Although there is bipartisan…

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March 1, 2019 by Sean O'Leary
Will a Severance Tax Cut Put Coal Miners Back to Work? (Probably Not)

On Crossover Day, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed two bills that have the intended purpose of boosting coal production and putting coal miners back to work. Unfortunately, they chose to do so in a very ineffective and expensive way, through cuts and rebates to the severance tax. HB 3142 would cut the severance…

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February 27, 2019 by WVCBP
West Virginia Bill Would Cause at Least 46,000 to Lose Medicaid Coverage

This blog post was written by Jesse Cross-Call, Senior Policy Analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. West Virginia’s House is expected to vote today on House Bill 3136, which would likely take Medicaid coverage away from at least 46,000 non-elderly adults who can’t meet proposed work requirements. Read blog post. The bill…

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February 22, 2019 by Sean O'Leary
Medicaid Work Requirements are Back, and Still Bad

This week, the West Virginia legislature originated a bill in the House Finance Committee to enact work requirements for Medicaid. The bill quickly passed the committee and headed to the House floor. The bill stems from actions last year, when the Trump administration announced that it would allow states to remove some low-income adults from…

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February 21, 2019 by WVCBP
A Modest Investment with Big Returns: A State EITC for Low-Income Working Families in West Virginia

Making ends meet is a struggle for many West Virginians employed in lower-wage jobs. In fact, 23% of workers in West Virginia are employed in low-wage jobs and a quarter of those live in poverty. People working in their communities as daycare workers, restaurant servers, home health aides, administrative assistants, and many other lower-income jobs deserve to be able to…

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February 5, 2019 by WVCBP
Lifting the SNAP Ban on Drug Felons Can Help All West Virginians

Picture this: there is a federal program that is able to help with transitioning drug offenders back into society when they are released from prison. It provides up to around $200 per month (non-cash) only to be used to meet necessary food expenses for the offender and their family. It is paid for with federal…

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