West Virginia Public Broadcasting - On this episode of The Legislature Today, lawmakers are mulling over countless tax proposals that would directly affect West Virginians and their wallets. Randy Yohe sat down with Kelly Allen, the executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, to discuss budgets…
Tax and Budget
WOWK - A storm is brewing over West Virginia’s proposed state budget for the coming year. Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) says his numbers are solid, but critics aren’t so sure. Read the full article. We are just 16 days into the legislative session, so the number crunching will continue for several more weeks. In his…
West Virginia MetroNews - Following on the heels of a big personal income tax cut, Gov. Jim Justice has proposed three more tax breaks. Read the full article. West Virginia lawmakers will now need to make a calculation about whether the state can afford to embrace the proposals. The state’s 21.25 personal property tax cut…
On January 17, 2024, senior policy analyst Sean O'Leary presented his short analysis of Governor Jim Justice's proposed FY 2025 budget. You can view the slides from his presentation here.
West Virginia Watch, Beckley Register-Herald - Gov. Jim Justice gave his eighth and final State of the State address last week, and although there were no dog butts or loads of bullcrap, there was lots to dissect. Let’s take a look at what he said. Read the full article. “Do you realize that if we left here, right this minute,…
West Virginia MetroNews - Officials considering Gov. Jim Justice’s proposed $5.22 billion general revenue budget will also need to take into account a few variables. Those could have such weight that officials are projecting state revenue will dip slightly over the next several years. Read the full article. One factor is the possibility that West…
Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - Long before Gov. Jim Justice tossed a couple copies of his proposed spending plan onto the speaker’s podium during Wednesday’s State of the State address, it was pretty well understood it was going to be a “flat budget.” Read the full article. A flat budget is the practice of…
When state lawmakers return to Charleston later this month, enacting a state budget could be more complicated than in past years. As part of the tax cut package enacted in 2023, lawmakers didn’t just slash the personal income tax once—they also set into motion a ticking clock that will eventually fully eliminate the tax without…
For Immediate Release: December 13, 2023 Contact: Kelly Allen, (304)-612-4180 Charleston, WV – The vast majority of school-age children in West Virginia attend and receive their education through the public school system, and West Virginia’s state constitution requires "a thorough and efficient system of free schools." But a growing Hope Scholarship voucher program is diverting public resources…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Throughout their reign, the GOP legislative supermajority has treated public school and public employees as adversaries, perhaps because they are the literal personification of the party’s failure to achieve a core goal of drastically shrinking the size of government and government services. Read the full article. Certainly, two successful statewide walkouts by…