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…
Budget Beat
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…
Tomorrow in the House Chamber Legislators have begun their consideration of five pieces of legislation that would call upon Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention. The bills are HB 4449, HB 2424, SCR 4, SCR 10 and HCR 36. Supreme Court Justices and prominent legal scholars on both sides of the aisle agree there is no…
This Week at the Capitol: Session at Half-Way Mark "Right-to-Work" and Prevailing Wage On Thursday, Governor Tomblin vetoed both the repeal of the prevailing wage and the Right To Work bill. Today, both the House and Senate voted to override both vetoes. Both measures now become law. Drug Testing On Tuesday, the Senate passed SB…
"Right to Work" and Repeal of Prevailing Wage Both Pass Full Legislature Yesterday, after five hours of debate, the so-called "Right to Work" legislation passed the full House of Delegates with a 54-46 vote. The bill is now in the hands of Governor Tomblin. Also passed yesterday was a bill to repeal the state's prevailing…