On Wednesday, legislators, community partners and concerned citizens took part in the 6th Annual Budget Breakfast for an overview of Governor Jim Justice's proposed budget. Those who would benefit from the governor's proposed tax cuts are largely high-wage earners, leaving low-wage families to continue to pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes. Here…
Budget Beat
The 2019 Legislative Session has just begun and Governor Jim Justice released his proposed budget and stated his funding priorities for the upcoming fiscal year in his State of the State speech on Wednesday. While promising to give state employees and school workers another five-percent raise, he also wants to eliminate the industrial property tax…
West Virginia's sixty-day legislative session starts Wednesday, January 9. Stay tuned to Budget Beat each Friday as we bring you a recap of the week's legislative developments, from the governor's state of state address on Wednesday night, to the fate of key pieces of legislation, to the discussion of the budget proposed for the upcoming…
The 2018 regular legislative session was certainly one to remember. West Virginia saw its first-ever statewide teachers strike, a host of bad bills introduced, and a governor often missing from the statehouse at critical times. Let’s take a look back at what happened and how low- and moderate-income West Virginians fared under the capitol dome…
Reggie Jones, who is the director of PRIDE Community Services in Logan, West Virginia, summed up the election best: "We're suffering in this state, and I don't see any end in sight." No matter who you voted for in the election, it is undeniably true that working families in West Virginia are struggling and have…
Last week it was WV Taxes at a Glance, this week we unveil WV Budget at a Glance. We hope these two easy-to-read mini reports help guide you through the complicated process that is the West Virginia state budget. Want an in-person discussion so you can learn more about West Virginia's budget process? Give us…
Join Us in the WVU Mountainlair - In Person or Streaming! Balancing the state budget has meant year after year of cuts to higher education funding in West Virginia. Public colleges and universities have been forced to respond with tuition hikes while the state's Promise scholarship has remained flat, putting college affordability out of reach…
Didn't have time to follow the twists and turns of the Special Session? Confused as to what's in (and out of) the final West Virginia budget? Here's Sean's breakdown including what was in the governor's original budget and what the final numbers look like. Lunch and Learn - July 13 Mark your calendars for the…
Legislature's Bill Likely to Draw Governor's Veto After nearly three weeks of debate on how to close the $270+ million budget gap, the House and Senate agreed on legislation Thursday that would raise no new revenues and draw heavily from the state's Rainy Day Fund. Governor Tomblin has promised to veto any such bill and…
Today the West Virginia legislature wraps up its first week of work on passing a state budget. The most notable accomplishment was the Senate passage of SB 1005 which would raise the tobacco tax by 45-cents/pack. The bill was read for the first time in the House today. During the Senate debate on the measure,…