For Immediate Release Contact: Sean O'Leary, 304-720-8682 (Charleston, WV) Reducing or eliminating property taxes on business personal property would lead to large revenue losses, weakening the ability of local governments to invest in roads, public safety, and recreation. According to a new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, replacing the lost…
News Releases
For Immediate ReleaseContact: Ted Boettner at 304-720-8682 or 304-590-3454( Charleston, WV) The Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative, which monitors the impact of shale drilling in five states, applauds the governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for signing an agreement Tuesday related to development of shale gas and oil. Read PDF of news release.The agreement provides…
For Immediate Release Contact Sean O'Leary at 304-720-8682 While West Virginia's natural gas industry has grown exponentially, many of its jobs may be going to out-of-state workers and job growth in major natural gas producing counties as been mediocre at best. The state is poised to repeat history with more of its natural resource wealth…
For Immediate ReleaseContact: Sean O'Leary, 304-720-8682(Charleston, WV) Thousands of West Virginians continued to struggle to make ends meet in 2014, according to new data released today from the U.S. Census Bureau, making it clear the need for West Virginia to enact a state earned income tax credit which would make it easier for people to…
For Immediate ReleaseContact Sean O'Leary at 304-720-8682(Charleston, WV) The number of people with health insurance coverage in West Virginia increased in 2014, in large part due to the Affordable Care Act and West Virginia's decision to expand Medicaid so it reaches more people who otherwise couldn't afford insurance. Read PDF of new release.Today's release of…
For Immediate ReleaseContact Linda Frame at (304) 720-8682(Charleston, WV) Today, leaders from the state's education, faith, labor and community-based organizations called on legislators to only pursue tax changes that truly benefit all West Virginians by allowing the state to continue investing in our schools and communities. PDF of news release.Since the end of the 2015…
For Immediate ReleaseContact Linda Frame at 304-720-8682(Charleston, WV) Five years after the enactment of the law that created it, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on rules to curb the abuses of the payday lending industry. As it takes up that momentous task, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy is sending the…
For Immediate Release Contact: Sean O'Leary or Linda Frame, 304-720-8682, lframe@wvpolicy.org Shortchanging Public Universities and Colleges Reduces Access to Higher Education, Hurts Economy – Even as most states have begun to restore funding for higher education that was cut during the recession, West Virginia has continued to cut funding for public universities and colleges, according…
For Immediate Release - contact David McMahon at 304-993-0486 or Linda Frame at 304-720-8682 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a working draft of a proposal to rein in abusive, low-dollar lending schemes such as payday, auto title and installment lending. The draft, presented at a field hearing in Richmond, VA, would require that…
For Immediate Release Contact Ted Boettner or Sean O'Leary, 304-720-8682 – Again this year, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's proposed budget includes cuts to important programs like higher education and early childhood programs. Faced with a projected $195 million budget gap, the governor proposes drawing from the state's Rainy Day Fund and implementing $72 million in…