In March 2023, lawmakers passed legislation, Senate Bill 633, to address a growing reason why people are taken to West Virginia jails: capiases. A capias – or bench warrant – is an arrest order issued by a magistrate or judge. The number of people brought to jail on a capias arrest in West Virginia increased from…
Budget Beat
Infants and birthing parents are dying at alarming rates in West Virginia. Infant and maternal mortality rates are essential statistics measuring overall societal health. In particular, the disparities in life outcomes between Black and white babies and mothers raise questions about health equity and the ability of our health care system to respond to both…
Congress is currently negotiating an increase in the "debt ceiling," which must be raised to prevent catastrophic economic consequences. Previously Congress has always acted when called upon to raise the debt limit. Since 1960, Congress has acted 78 separate times to permanently raise, temporarily extend, or revise the definition of the debt limit – 49…
The WVCBP is excited to welcome Teri Castle and Veronica Witikko to the team as our 2023 summer research fellows! Teri is serving as our criminal legal reform summer research fellow. She was born in Huntington, WV, and grew up in the surrounding region. She recently graduated from Marshall University, earning a B.A. with a…
The WVCBP is excited to welcome Alex Gallo to our staff as our new Community Engagement Coordinator! Alex received a B.S. in Health Science from James Madison University, where she cultivated and deepened her passion for helping people in need. Prior to joining the Center, Alex worked with a variety of non-profit advocacy groups helping…
During the 2023 West Virginia legislative session, lawmakers had the opportunity to use available revenues to address longstanding needs like ensuring PEIA and Medicaid solvency, filling crisis-level staffing vacancies across state agencies, or increasing investments in neglected areas like higher education and child care. But instead, the FY 2024 budget debate was dominated by creating…
During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed major tax cuts that will result in significantly reduced revenue to fund public programs and services. Legislators pointed to the state's current budget surplus to attempt to justify these tax cuts; however, that surplus is largely the result of unusually high severance tax collections. The severance tax is highly unstable,…
During the 2023 regular legislative session, West Virginia lawmakers introduced more than 300 bills related to the criminal legal system. Nearly half of those bills created new criminal offenses or increased penalties for existing crimes. To a Hammer, Every Problem is a Nail One trend that emerged was lawmakers’ penchant for believing that the criminal…
West Virginia has long faced significant health-related challenges, many of which could have been meaningfully addressed by bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. While a couple of positive health-focused bills were passed by the legislature this year, unfortunately lawmakers focused much of their attention on health-related policies based on fear—not facts. Two bills that…
The 2023 West Virginia legislative session came to a close this past weekend. While lawmakers spent much of their focus this year debating tax cuts, bills touching on a wide range of issue areas were introduced and considered. A recent article, including insight from the WVCBP, provides a recap of what bills were passed this session…