It has been over seven years since the beginning of the Great Recession. While the country is finally beginning to recover from the biggest recession since the Great Depression, West Virginia's rocky recovery has yet to fully materialize. In fact, over the last couple of years the state's job growth has been non-existent. At the…
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Yesterday Governor Tomblin announced his vetoes to the FY 2016 budget, which the legislature completed last week. As we went over here, the legislature increased the amount borrowed from the Rainy Day Fund to $22.9 million, in turn increasing appropriations above the governor's recommendations in some areas, including higher education. With his veto, the governor…
Legislators approved the final FY 2016 budget earlier this week, officially bringing an end to this year's legislative session. The legislature made a number of minor changes to the budget, but stuck largely to the governor's proposal.Most of the changes were a result of increased borrowing from the Rainy Day Fund. The governor's original budget…
As Ted and I noted in our FY 2016 budget report, the governor's proposed budget would not be balanced if passed as is. In addition to requiring a transfer from the Rainy Day Fund, a number of statutory changes are also needed. The governor proposed redirecting revenue that would have typically been directed out of the…
As the 60-day legislative session draws to a close, the legislature turns its attention to the budget.This week, Governor Tomblin sent a letter to the legislature, requesting a number of adjustments to his original budget proposal. Like the adjustments he requested during the crafting of his 2014 budget, these are driven by changes to the…
A number of proposals have been made this legislative session with the perceived aim to help revitalize West Virginia's coal industry. Two such proposals have been to eliminate or scale back the additional severance tax on coal that is dedicated to paying down the state's workers' compensation system debt. But, despite assurances the tax cut wouldn't…
This evening the State Senate passed a bill that would make significant changes to our state's campaign election laws by increasing the amount of money people can contribute to political campaigns. Under Senate Bill 541, the cap for campaign individual contributions would increase from $1,000 to $2,700 per election cycle, matching the amount that federal…
Last week, the State Senate passed a bill (SB 559) that would except DHHR social workers from the requirement to be licensed by the West Virginia Board of Social Work. According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, this bill aims to get more people to apply for positions within Child Protective…
West Virginia's legislature is moving forward with a costly and ineffective bill targeted at only the poorest West Virginians. The bill, SB 348, would create a three-county pilot program to begin drug testing recipients of cash assistance (a.k.a. WV Works/ TANF). The costs of the drug screening would be deducted from the TANF recipients' monthly check…
by Betty Rivard and Ted Boettner West Virginia has been targeted by a number of conservative groups to adopt a resolution calling on Congress to convene a constitutional convention of the states, with the goal of adopting a balanced budget amendment (BBA). Opponents from across the full political spectrum are alarmed that a convention of…