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…
Budget Beat
House Fails to Pass Senate's Tax Increase Bill On Tuesday, the House of Delegates took up the Senate's bill (SB 1005) that would have increased the tax on cigarettes by 45-cents a pack, revenue-generating measure to help balance the upcoming fiscal year's budget. After much debate and discussion about whether or not to include other…
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,…
Legislature to Convene for Special Session On Monday, the West Virginia legislature will convene for a special session to work on passing a state budget. From the outside, there appears to be little consensus with the governor calling for more revenue to help fill the budget gap and the House of Delegates pledging against any…
Vote for the Issues You Care About The polls are open both for early voting in West Virginia's primary and for the Our Children Our Future issue ballot. Have you voted? Choose from a selection of topics in three pillars. Your vote is important! It will be shared with legislators so they know your legislative…
Calling for a $1/Pack Increase in the Cigarette Tax Yesterday, a diverse group of advocates met to call for a long-overdue increase in the cigarette tax. West Virginia has the highest adult smoking rate in the nation and one of the lowest cigarette taxes. Raising the tax by $1/pack would still put the state's rate…
Tax Day Relief for Working Families Yesterday at the state Capitol, legislators joined the Invest in Working Families Coalition to call for support for a West Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Delegates Rohrbach (R-Cabell) and Guthrie (D-Kanawha) spoke about the bill they sponsored during the 2016 Legislative Session. "Over 2,900 families in my district get…
Eight Ways Legislators Can Balance the Budget West Virginia does not yet have a budget for the upcoming fiscal year which starts on July 1. Governor Tomblin is expecting to call legislators in for a special session but no date has been announced. At issue is how to bridge the $239 million budget shortfall. The…
Recap of the 2016 Legislative Session As the dust settles from the 2016 Legislative Session, here's a look at some of the bills that were passed, and some that weren't. Here are some highlights: The legislature passed, and the governor signed, HB 4013 that requires voters to present an ID to vote. While voter ID…
With One Week to Go, Important Bills Still Under Consideration Today the House Finance Committee ended any hopes of raising the state's tobacco tax this session. The Senate had passed a $1/pack increase but after reducing it back to the governor's proposed 45-cents/pack, the House Finance Committee failed to pass the bill. Some delegates wanted…