Tax and Budget

June 28, 2023 by Kelly Allen
Manufactured Revenue Comes at Cost of Services (Opinion)

Charleston Gazette-Mail - For West Virginia to thrive, we need great schools, safe communities and quality infrastructure. With the end of the state’s fiscal year upon us, the upcoming days will undoubtedly be inundated with news releases and news coverage of West Virginia’s revenue surplus. Unfortunately, rather than the surplus signaling a thriving economy, it…

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June 19, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
Back to the Island on this Week’s Episode of Inside West Virginia Politics

WOWK - On this week’s episode of Inside West Virginia Politics, we go “back to the island” with an island-themed fundraiser for CAMC. Read the full article. In Segment One, we talk to Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) about the HALT Fentanyl Act. In Segment Two, we talk to Del. Daniel Linville (R-Cabell) about economic…

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June 17, 2023 by WVCBP
West Virginia University to Merge Two Colleges in the Face of Deep Budget Deficit

Higher Ed Dive - West Virginia University announced Wednesday a merger of its College of Creative Arts and the Reed College of Media, heralding it as a “creative and innovative collaboration.” Read the full article. But in the same breath it cast the consolidation as inventive, it acknowledged it was staring down “a challenging collegiate landscape,” which…

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June 15, 2023 by Kelly Allen
WVU’s State Funding Levels Questioned

The Intermountain - West Virginia University has been facing financial challenges for years. This year it will be dealing with a projected $45 million deficit. According to one in-state think tank, lawmakers dropped the ball by failing to maintain steadier state funding for higher education over the past few years. Read the full article. The…

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May 19, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
Crisis in Volunteer Fire Department Funding Highlights Consequences of Budget Austerity 

In West Virginia over 95 percent of fire departments are staffed by volunteers or mostly volunteers. Volunteer Fire Departments (VFDs) protect 85 percent of the state’s population serving as the bedrock of first response across our state. Despite the clear need to keep these life-saving services available, VFDs have seen stagnant state funding that has failed…

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May 15, 2023 by Seth DiStefano
WV Center for Budget and Policy Talks Public Resources Amid Tax Cuts

WBOY - A representative from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP) held a meeting at the Morgantown Public Library downtown this evening.   Read the full article. Much of the meeting spoke about how the state does not have a surplus of money in its budget and how the loss of the…

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May 6, 2023 by WVCBP
Statehouse Beat: Inflated Budget Surpluses Proving Costly for WV

Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia politics is a bundle of contradictions, as we’ve seen recently. Read the full article. At roughly the same time Gov. Jim Justice was lauding the latest state budget surplus figures (made possible by hilariously low-balled revenue estimates), legislators were hearing about how multiple state agencies, notably Highways and DHHR, owe…

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