News Releases

For Immediate ReleaseContact: Erin Snyder, 304-720-8682 (office) or 304-382-7779 (cell), esnyder@wvpolicy.orgSlightly more West Virginians now have access to affordable health care, according to data released today from the Census Bureau's 2013 American Community Survey. In 2013, 14 percent of West Virginians were uninsured, a slight drop from 2012. PDF of news release.Even greater gains in…

Reforms needed to ensure greater fiscal responsibility and promote public trust Contact: Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org West Virginia should make improvements to the way it estimates revenues in order to create a more fiscally responsible budget, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In the report's evaluation of how…

Contact: Sean O'Leary at soleary@wvpolicy.org or Linda Frame at lframe@wvpolicy.org. or 304-720-8682 Case Studies Compare Impacts Across Multi-State Region – The boom in Marcellus Shale gas drilling is having a wide-ranging impact, especially across West Virginia and into Ohio and Pennsylvania. An in-depth look at four counties, two in Pennsylvania and one each in Ohio…

Contact:   Ted Boettner, 304.720.8682 and Tsedeye Gebreselassie, 212.285.3025   Lobbyist "Headaches" in Minimum Wage Bill Largely Groundless – On March 8, West Virginia lawmakers took an historic step to help thousands of workers by increasing the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.75 by 2016 with passage of  House Bill 4283. Now, special interest lobbyists may…

Media Contacts: Chris Lilienthal, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, (717) 255-7156 or lilienthal@pennbpc.org Piet van Lier, Policy Matters Ohio, (216) 361-9801 or pvanlier@policymattersohio.org Linda Frame, West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, (304) 720-8682 or lframe@wvpolicy.org View the Letter to the Governors at http://pennbpc.org/3StateSeveranceTax. Comparable tax rate will allow states to address impacts and invest…

Contact: Alyson Clements at aclements@wvpolicy.org  – Raise the Wage West Virginia, a coalition working to raise West Virginia's minimum wage, met Wednesday to thank champions of working families and respond to recent concerns over the proposed legislation. The coalition includes members of the faith-based community, labor unions, community organizations and state workers who would benefit…

Contact Ted Boettner at tboettner@wvpolicy.org or Sean O'Leary at soleary@wvpolicy.org or 304-720-8682 For the second year in a row, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's proposed budget includes cuts to important programs like higher education and early childhood programs. To close other budget gaps, the governor draws from one-time revenue sources, including the state's Rainy Day Fund…

Contact: Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org While the West Virginia legislature considers whether or not to increase the state's minimum wage, a new report shows that the state's top 1% of income earners captured over half of all the state's income growth between 1979 and 2007. According to "The Increasingly Unequal States of America: Income Inequality…

Contact: Alyson Clements at aclements@wvpolicy.org or 713-304-2622 Raise the Wage West Virginia Reacts to House Vote Raise the Wage West Virginia, a newly formed coalition, is applauding yesterday's 89-5 vote in the West Virginia House of Delegates to raise the state's minimum wage. The group includes members of the faith-based community, labor unions, community organizations…

Contact Ted Boettner at 304-720-8682 or tboettner@wvpolicy.org West Virginia is among the worst states in the country in long-term budget planning, according to a major new report from the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. West Virginia should adopt a set of proven budget-planning tools that could help it weather difficult economic times,…