This edition of The State of Working West Virginia is the sixth of its kind. Each year since 2008 this report has examined the numbers and trends that tell the story of how the people who keep our state moving are faring. While each year’s report has a slightly different focus, one constant theme is the need to…
Reports & Briefs
The passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a little-heralded provision to permit states to expand coverage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to children of public employees. So far, at least seven states have benefited from allowing public employees to enroll their children in CHIP. If West Virginia were to adopt…
350,000 low-income people in West Virginia will see their food assistance cut when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) expires November 1, new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show. SNAP benefits will average only about $1.40 per person per meal after the cut.…
Later this week, the West Virginia Legislature will vote on the FY 2014 state budget. However, both the House and the Senate have their own budget bill, as well as the budget bill proposed by Governor Tomblin at the beginning of the legislative session. These three budgets must be reconciled into one bill before the…
By any measure, expanding Medicaid is a win all the way around. Lives will be saved and the quality of life will be improved for tens of thousands of West Virginia families. Health care providers and other consumers will find relief from bearing the costs of uncompensated care. And West Virginia’s economy will benefit from…
Central Appalachian Broadband Policy Recommendations The Central Appalachia Regional Network (CARN) advocates for policies that support the availability of affordable high-quality broadband services for the citizens of the Central Appalachia region. These include both policies that will support broadband deployment as well as policies to increase public awareness of the need for broadband and digital…
On February 13, 2014, Governor Tomblin released his FY 2014 budget, setting the state’s priorities for the coming year. While West Virginia avoided the major budget problems that plagued many other states during the recession and its aftermath, recent events have finally caught up to the state’s budget, and many programs and agencies will see…
In 2012, SB 532/HB 4387 was introduced requiring all West Virginia voters to present official government-issued photo identification in order to vote. The Voter ID law was reintroduced for the 2013 legislative session (SB 13/HB 2215). Based on national data and the experiences of other states, it is estimated that the implementation costs of a…
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) report, this new report revisits many of the same measures of well-being that ARC researchers examined a half-century ago. This analysis, however, focuses its attention on West Virginia, the one state that exists entirely within the federally designated Appalachian region, and, more…
West Virginia Ends 2012 on a Positive Note Total nonfarm employment grew by 900 jobs in December, ending 10 straight months of job loss for the state. West Virginia had a total of 746,900 jobs in December, still 13,400 jobs below its prerecession level (Figure 1). West Virginia’s unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent, up…