West Virginia MetroNews, Charleston Gazette-Mail - We will know Tuesday night who will be the next governor of West Virginia. The winner will celebrate the victory, and probably take a few days off from a long campaign. However, the governor-elect will have to get to work quickly on an emerging issue with the state’s finances.…
Tax and Budget
West Virginia Watch - Craig Snyder, a biology teacher at Winfield High School, wants the state’s next governor to give teachers a pay raise. Read the full article. West Virginia’s teacher pay is the worst in the country. With proposed price increases to the Public Employees Insurance Agency — a monthly spousal surcharge for state employees would more than…
West Virginia Watch, News from the States, West Virginia Daily News - With days to go before an election that will likely send him to the U.S. Senate, Gov. Jim Justice on Thursday celebrated signing a bill that cuts the state’s income tax. Read the full article. Senate Bill 2033, which lawmakers passed during a…
The Hope Scholarship Program was established in West Virginia in 2021 as an expanded school voucher-style program which diverts taxpayer funds from the public school system to families who can use them for private school or homeschool-related costs. Research shows that these programs primarily benefit families whose children were never enrolled in public schools. After…
As we enter the final quarter of 2024, a number of economic indicators show West Virginia's economy both slowing down and lagging behind the rest of the country. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP), personal income, wages and salaries, and employment have all shown signs of slowing, while business tax revenue collections are below that…
Beckley Register-Herald - Gov. Jim Justice – as pompous, pretentious and self-promoting as they come and, as a person, politician or potentate, take your pick, a decidedly poor personification of the people he is supposed to serve as chief advocate – went out of his way on Wednesday at the end of the most recent…
Mountain State Spotlight, Clay County Free Press, Times West Virginian - In mid-September, Gov. Jim Justice told the people of West Virginia he’d be calling the Legislature back into session at the end of the month. Read the full article. “I promised you I’d fight like crazy for a 5% tax cut, I promised you…
West Virginia MetroNews - Lawmakers who wanted more specifics before buying into another income tax cut said they finally heard enough detail to feel confident. Read the full article. Others questioned whether the reduced spending to balance out the tax cut will shortchange state programs meant to support childcare and child welfare. Gov. Jim Justice’s…
West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice added several items to the call of the special legislative session, including a bill that would shift a proposed personal income tax from the 5% that the governor has touted to a 2% tax cut instead. Read the full article. After lawmakers received the tax cut bill, members…
A weak September for General Revenue collections underscored the heavy price of 2023's tax cuts on the state's budget and should serve as a warning against Governor Justice and lawmakers moving ahead with even deeper cuts to revenue. Weak September Numbers September General Revenue collections totaled $567.7 million, which is $104.4 million below September 2023's…