The 2014 County Health Rankings were released this week and in a bit of a surprise, little Pleasants County took top honors, while for the 5th year in a row, McDowell County earned the dubious distinction of the least healthy county in the state. These rankings, compiled annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and…
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The FY 2015 budget process took some twists and turns this year, with some big changes between the governor's proposal, the house and senate versions and their final compromise, and the governor's vetoes. Now you can compare all three versions of the budget in one place. This excel file lists each of the $12 billion in…
On Sunday the Martinsburg Journal reported that attorney Brian Peterson with the law firm of Bowles Rice sent a memo to its clients warning of technical flaws and "unintended consequences" contained in HB 4283, which raises the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.75 an hour by 2016. Fortunately, many of the so-called "flaws" in…
Governor Tomblin exercised his line item veto power today, trimming over $64 million from the budget sent to him by the legislature earlier this week. While the legislature had restored many of the cuts to children and family support programs that were in the FY 2015 budget proposal, the governor vetoed that funding, keeping the…
On the last night of the 2014 Legislative Session, West Virginia's legislature passed HB 4283, raising the state's minimum wage. The bill now goes to Governor Tomblin for his signature, making it law. While we wait for the governor's signature, let's take a look at what passage of the bill means to West Virginia's low-wage…
The 81st West Virginia Legislature wrapped up session last Saturday night with 30 health-related bills (by my count). These bills spanned the spectrum from the hot button issue of abortion that continues to generate media coverage to bills that passed multiple committees and both chambers unanimously with nary a peep of press. Here I will…
Late Saturday night, the Legislature passed SB 461 that created the West Virginia Future Fund. While this is an important step forward, the bill included the adopted house changes that I focused on last week. The most significant changes included a new funding mechanism and several conditions that have to be met in order to…
There was an odd argument that came up earlier this week in the Senate Finance committee debating HB4283 to raise the minimum wage in West Virginia – raising workers' wages would kick West Virginians off of Medicaid. This is odd for a number of reasons: first it suggests support for more dependence on public assistance…
Yesterday, the House Judiciary and Finance Committees both amended and passed out Senate Bill 461 and Senate Joint Resolution 14 that creates the West Virginia Future Fund. The amendments made several modifications to how much revenue will flow into the fund over time, how the principal of the fund is protected, and how the state…
The FY 2015 federal budget proposed by President Obama, along with three proposals in Congress, strengthens the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for childless workers. This, along with improvements to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) would reduce poverty among low-wage workers and their families, reduce income inequality, strengthen work incentives, and give a boost to West…