With a special session targeting education reform expected in the near future, controversial policies like charter schools and Education Savings Accounts (ESA) are likely to be part of the legislative agenda. A deeper dive into Scholarship Tax Credits, a possible substitute for ESAs, shows that they are likely to benefit wealthy people more than low-…
Budget Beat
The Working Families Tax Relief Act would boost incomes for 131,000 moms and 276,000 children in West Virginia by expanding the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). The benefits of lifting families out of poverty include healthier birth weights, lower maternal stress, better childhood nutrition, higher school enrollment, higher reading…
In March 2019, West Virginia lawmakers passed Senate Bill 564 to raise the Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) while guaranteeing coverage for 60-days postpartum. By aligning West Virginia with current state trends and closing a health insurance gap, this policy will provide coverage for hundreds of…
West Virginia has the 4th-highest child poverty rate in the country. Children living in poverty face lower educational achievement, maltreatment and other obstacles that affect them for the rest of their lives. Reducing child poverty has a price tag less than recent tax cuts for corporations and would do more to benefit the families of…
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy is partnering with the West Virginia Council of Churches on Strength in Stability, a digital project telling the stories of West Virginians who were empowered by the security they found by receiving benefits from programs like SNAP and Medicaid. We tell the success stories of those who…
The March 27 deadline to take action on bills from Governor Jim Justice saw mixed results. The good news is that medical coverage for expecting mothers will be expanded through the signing of Senate Bill 564. This legislation will expand Medicaid and CHIP coverage to higher levels of income, ensuring more West Virginia children a…
The 2019 Legislative Session ended this past Saturday. Overall, it was one of the more successful legislative sessions in recent years, all things considered. There were also a string of disappointments along with some surprising victories and the defeat of many bad bills. Reducing Food Insecurity (HB 2459): West Virginia was just one of three…
Wednesday's Crossover Day at the WV Legislature saw the demise of HB 3136, a bill that would have taken Medicaid coverage away from people who do not meet new work reporting requirements. Most Medicaid recipients who can work are already working- 68% of non-disabled adults on Medicaid in West Virginia are in working families. As…
95,000 low-income West Virginians are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage. Contact your delegates in the West Virginia House and ask them to oppose HB 3136, a bill that originated in the House Finance Committee this week, quickly making it to the House floor for first reading today. This risky and untested proposal to take…
The big news out of Charleston continues to be on the education front, with changes to the Senate's omnibus education reform bill (SB451) making it all the way through the House committee and amendment process, despite several attempts to put harmful measures back in the legislation. Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) were removed in the House…