HB 4005 increases risk for West Virginia's working children. The legislation largely eliminates state-level protections defining hazardous occupations too dangerous for all minors to work in. In addition, the bill eliminates state-level protections limiting the time children can work with dangerous machinery, as well as requirements for direct supervision of dangerous work. READ THE FULL…
Fact Sheets
Overview In 2025, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP) created The Quantez Burks Report, the first-ever public database of people who died in West Virginia jails and prisons. The WVCBP named the project for Mr. Burks, a 37-year-old Raleigh County man killed by Southern Regional Jail staff in March 2022. The WVCBP…
Infant and maternal mortality rates are often considered an indicator for the overall health and well-being of a community. West Virginia's rate of infant deaths is higher than the national average and Black babies are twice as likely to die in the prenatal period of their first year of life as white babies. Similarly, Black…
West Virginia spends almost $870 less per student than the national average. For $288 million, we can increase spending to meet the national average and fund improvements to public schools across the state. There are currently 34 school districts that spend less per student than the national average. Investments in these school districts could fund…
Beginning November 1, 2025, West Virginia began implementing new federal SNAP restrictions as a result of the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which requires many adults to meet work reporting requirements or qualify for an exemption to remain eligible. Those who do not document that they meet these requirements or qualify for an…
Introduction At the federal level and in West Virginia, there is broad, bipartisan consensus around the need to address unaffordable health care prices and give consumers, employers, and medical professionals the information they need to propose and make informed health care decisions. READ THE FULL FACT SHEET. In 2025 alone, West Virginia state lawmakers introduced…
READ THE FULL FACT SHEET. Summary The law (HB 2014) prohibits nearly all authority of counties and municipalities to oversee development of data centers and microgrids. The state will now seize most property tax revenue from data center investments. Data center tax revenue could boost schools and local public services if it stayed in our…
READ THE FULL FACT SHEET. New Direct Costs to West Virginia’s State Budget Even without estimates of the new administrative costs associated with SNAP and Medicaid changes, the cost shifts alone in HR 1 could add a new $659 million in direct state budget costs through FY 2030. Find further details in the full fact…
As part of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" (HR 1) Congress enacted historically significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that will have impacts on enrollees, state policymakers, and the broader food system. A new fact sheet from the WVCBP documents those changes and when they will go into effect. View or download…
The enactment of HR 1, the Budget Reconciliation Bill, supported by all four members of West Virginia’s Congressional Delegation, cements the largest cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance in our nation’s history. While the legislation was federal, the effects will be felt locally, impacting families, food pantries, and health care clinics, as…