Earlier this month, Governor Justice approved the budget passed by the West Virginia Legislature at the end of the 2022 legislative session. Very little in the budget was changed from the flat budget proposed by the governor at the beginning of the legislative session. While appropriations from the base budget (which includes the General Revenue…
Tax and Budget
West Virginia MetroNews - When delegates were discussing whether to embrace a $4.65 billion general revenue budget along with another possible billion dollars in surplus spending, one aspect of their focus was whether the governor would accept a House priority: setting aside $265 million as savings to prepare for income tax reductions down the line.…
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia lawmakers passed a $4.65 billion general revenue budget at the end of their regular session. Tacked onto that was another billion dollars in possible spending, an unprecedented amount on the strength of federal relief dollars. Read the full article. There are always additional funding items as a sort of…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - A bill nearing passage in the West Virginia House of Delegates that would set up an insurance company with $50 million in taxpayer money to provide alternative bonding for coal mine operators drew opposition from nearly all speakers at a public hearing Monday. Read the full article. Environmentalists and other concerned citizens…
Charleston Gazette-Mail, Williamson Daily News - The State of West Virginia exceeded its monthly revenue estimate for February by more than $59 million, according to a report from the Senate Finance Committee. Read the full article. The excess in revenue continues to be built on a foundation of historically lowered revenue expectations, as has become…
For Immediate Release: February 23, 2022Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – For the second year in a row, Governor Jim Justice has proposed a “flat” budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, with only minor changes from the FY 2022 budget. While the state is currently enjoying large budget surpluses, those surpluses are the result of billions in federal…
Overview Read the full brief. For the second year in a row, Governor Jim Justice has proposed a “flat” budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, with only minor changes from the FY 2022 budget. While the state is currently enjoying large budget surpluses, those surpluses are the result of billions in federal aid, artificially low…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - The West Virginia legislative session reminds me of the Wild West. You never know what magic-show patent medicine will be hawked, or what bills will stampede through the committee corrals. Read the full op-ed. I own six horses. Any warm spell means it’s time to saddle up. But, before throwing a saddle…
The News-Herald - I’ve written many times about the concept; about the relationship between accountability and responsibility, for example. Read the full op-ed. Unfortunately, too often we need to use the word in tandem with the phrase “lack of.” Which is best exemplified by what we often see — or don’t see — from our…
West Virginia is one of very few states where revenue estimates are made by the governor alone. Official revenue estimates determine the total size of the state budget, and lawmakers cannot exceed the official estimates when funding state agencies and programs. Governor Justice’s administration seems to be exploiting that power by setting flat budgets year…