Medicaid is a critical economic and health program in West Virginia, serving over 616,000 people, including children, seniors, low-income adults, pregnant and postpartum women, persons with disabilities, and more. Medicaid’s flexibility and reach has never been more clear than during the pandemic recession, when it provided health coverage for tens of thousands of West Virginians…
Budget Beat
West Virginia’s tax revenue collections made a fast turnaround after the initial decline in the early months of the pandemic recession. General Revenue collections fell from $4.756 billion in FY 2019 to $4.49 billion in FY 2020, before bouncing back to $4.988 billion in FY 2021. But while the state largely recouped its pandemic revenue losses and has posted…
This fall, West Virginians will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to give the state legislature the authority to exempt most business personal property and personal vehicles from the property tax, potentially costing local governments hundreds of millions in lost revenue. Property tax levies (including excess and bond levies) provide critical revenue for local services…
As one piece of the federal response to the pandemic, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which increased income-based health care subsidies, known as advanced premium tax credits (APTCs). These credits help make health insurance premiums more affordable to Americans at all income levels. While the increased APTCs have played a critical role in helping…
Despite record-low unemployment rates and fully recovered employment and labor force participation rates, West Virginia is still down 24,300 jobs from its pre-pandemic level. The primary driving force behind this discrepancy is that West Virginia continues to experience population loss. While there is currently a higher percentage of West Virginians working than there was during the height…
With Tax Day just around the corner and West Virginians across the state filing their taxes, it’s a great time to remember what our contributions pay for and why it is important that we create a tax system that is equitable, transparent, and provides adequate resources to fund the public services and investments that allow our communities to thrive.…
The WVCBP is thrilled to share that we've added two new incredible members to our team! Ash Orr (they/them, he/his) is now serving as the Center's policy outreach coordinator. Before joining the WVCBP, Ash worked as a political organizer for RepresentUs and he currently serves as the Chair of the Morgantown Human Rights Commission. As…
Legislature at the end of the 2022 legislative session. Very little in the budget was changed from the flat budget proposed by the governor at the beginning of session. While appropriations from the base budget (which includes the General Revenue Fund and Lottery Fund) remained relatively unchanged from the previous year, the FY 2023 budget relies heavily on appropriations…
The 2022 West Virginia legislative session was nothing short of a missed opportunity when it came to public health and the social safety net. Overlapping health and economic crises created the need and opportunity for the Legislature to focus on proactive measures that could prioritize the health and wellness of families across the Mountain State,…
Essential workers were championed throughout the pandemic for their critical jobs keeping our economy afloat. But now, West Virginia legislators are considering gutting earned unemployment benefits for those very same workers if they lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Senate Bill 2 would cut the number of weeks that displaced workers are eligible for…