The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), the latest Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was introduced in the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2017, and is awaiting a vote. In its current form, the bill would eliminate most of the provisions of the ACA, including its tax provisions, and drastically cut…
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This week, Governor Justice said he would let the state budget become law instead of signing it because the budget contained so many cuts ( a "travesty") and that his proposed tax plans failed to become law. Governor Justice mostly blamed Democrats and Republicans in the House of Delegates, along with the Senate Democrats, for…
Earlier this week, this post covered all the changes in the final FY 2018 budget with the governor's original proposal, with the final budget coming in at $280.3 million below the governor's original proposal. But how does it compare with last year's budget? The FY 2018 base budget (General Revenue, Lottery, and Excess Lottery) totaled $4.653…
After failing to come to an agreement on a plan to either completely overhaul the state's tax system, or simply raise some revenue to close the upcoming budget gap, the legislature passed a "bare bones" budget over the weekend, ending the extended special session just two weeks before a possible government shutdown. The FY 2018…
As MetroNews reported, the state Senate passed a state budget of $4.225 billion in General Revenue Fund spending for FY 2018. The budget contains deep cuts in Medicaid and higher education above and beyond what the governor proposed during the regular and special legislative session. The budget also relies on updated revenue estimates of $169.9…
As the extended special session drags on, with no agreement on a tax bill yet, the House has made adjustments to the governor's budget plan submitted at the beginning of the special session. To recap, after vetoing the budget passed during the regular session, which was balanced by taking $90 million from the Rainy Day…
Heidi Holliday, Executive Director of the Kansas Center for Economic Growth You're welcome, America. Our state, Kansas, just wrapped up a 5-year long experiment in governance from which the other 49 states can now glean some important lessons. The Kansas Legislature has voted to roll back much of the 2012 package of tax cuts…
The conference committee in the West Virginia legislature met today to discuss the latest iteration of the tax plan that aims to balance the state's budget for next year and beyond. The new tax plan draft includes many items in previous versions of tax bills, but the "triggers" for the phase-out of the personal income…
For President Trump's proposed Federal "Blueprint" Budget for 2018, the bottom line is clear: West Virginia stands to lose more than any other state. The proposed budget, which was sent to Congress virtually unchanged from its original form in March, cuts discretionary funding for major federal agencies by $54 billion and it is estimated to…
During this week's special session, the Governor introduced HB 115, the latest version of the budget bill. Way back in February, the governor introduced his original budget plan, which called for $450 million in new revenue. During the regular session, the legislature failed to agree on any revenue measures, and at the end of the…