Budget Beat

January 9, 2025 by WVCBP
Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements Could Cost West Virginia Hundreds of Millions of Federal Health Care Dollars; More Than 40,000 Residents Could Lose Health Coverage 

Overview Federal policymakers are reportedly considering enacting work reporting requirements for Medicaid in the new Congress. Similar state-level policy led to disastrous consequences in Arkansas in 2018-19 until a federal judge blocked the program. Enacting an Arkansas-style work reporting requirement at the federal level would result in West Virginia’s health care system losing an estimated…

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December 5, 2024 by WVCBP
A Step Toward DCR Accountability?

If we want to understand what is happening in West Virginia jails and prisons, we must listen to the people inside them. The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) has taken a step in that direction. On Monday, the agency released a new policy that allows people behind bars to submit their grievances electronically. A grievance is a formal, written…

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November 21, 2024 by WVCBP
We’re Hiring! Join the WVCBP Team as a Campaign Coordinator

The WVCBP is seeking a campaign coordinator who executes an outreach and engagement plan that protects and increases support for public education by building community support, disseminating research, creating an active coalition, and garnering earned media about investing in public schools in West Virginia so that all children can thrive and feel supported. The campaign coordinator will:…

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October 31, 2024 by WVCBP
Year-round Open Enrollment Will Hasten the Growing Cost of the Hope Scholarship

The Hope Scholarship Program was established in West Virginia in 2021 as an expanded school voucher-style program which diverts taxpayer funds from the public school system to families who can use them for private school or homeschool-related costs. Research shows that these programs primarily benefit families whose children were never enrolled in public schools. After ballooning in…

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October 17, 2024 by WVCBP
State of Working West Virginia 2024: Women’s Paid and Unpaid Labor

Each year the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy releases our annual State of Working West Virginia report, which examines the Mountain State’s economy through the lens of its workers—the people who power our state and economy. While each year’s report has a slightly different focus, one consistent theme is the need to ask this simple question:…

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October 3, 2024 by WVCBP
September Revenue Collections Throw Cold Water on New Income Tax Cut Proposal

A weak September for General Revenue collections underscored the heavy price of 2023’s tax cuts on the state’s budget and should serve as a warning against Governor Justice and lawmakers moving ahead with even deeper cuts to revenue. Weak September Numbers September General Revenue collections totaled $567.7 million, which is $104.4 million below September 2023’s collections, marking…

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September 19, 2024 by WVCBP
Income Tax Cuts Driving Historic Revenue Decline

Governor Justice recently announced a special session to be held at the end of September to override tax cut triggers enacted as part of the 2023 tax law and slash taxes by an additional $114 million. As we highlighted recently, the proposal ignores realities and defies fiscal responsibility. While policymakers are still learning the full impact…

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August 16, 2024 by WVCBP
Solving Child Care Requires Strong Public Investment

In recent years, much attention in West Virginia and around the country has focused on the need for quality, affordable care for families with young children. As advocates have long emphasized, child care (and care work more broadly) makes all other work possible. As such, public investments in child care could be considered to have…

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