WVCBP in the News

March 27, 2019 by WVCBP
Justice Signs Bill Lowering Coal Severance Tax

WV Metro News - In front of West Virginia coal miners, Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill lowering severance taxes on thermal or steam coal in West Virginia from five percent to three percent. Read full article. Justice had a signing ceremony Wednesday at the Harrison County Coal Company’s Harrison County Mine in Mannington, signing into…

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March 25, 2019 by WVCBP
Exemption for Seniors Likely Next Tax Season

Beckley Register-Herald - A bill to exempt Social Security income from state personal income tax will likely take effect next tax filing season – in the 2019 tax year. Read full article. House Bill 2001, sponsored by Del. Jason Harshbarger, R-Ritchie, passed during the legislative session, which ended March 9, and was sent to the governor…

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March 8, 2019 by WVCBP
Bill Expanding Medicaid for Pregnant Women Passes in House

Charleston Gazette-Mail - The House of Delegates on Friday passed a bill expanding health care coverage to low-income pregnant women. Read full article. Senate Bill 546 passed in the House with a 97-3 vote. Delegates Tom Fast, R-Fayette; Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock; and Marshall Wilson, R- Berkeley, voted against the bill. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom…

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March 7, 2019 by WVCBP
Senate Finance Advances Coal Severance Tax Cut, Despite Doubts of its Effectiveness

Charleston Gazette-Mail - Despite a surfeit of testimony indicating that a cut in the severance tax on steam coal will not have significant impact in making West Virginia coal price competitive with other states or with natural gas, the Senate Finance Committee advanced legislation to phase down the tax from 5 percent to 3 percent over…

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March 6, 2019 by WVCBP
Senate Finance Passes 3-Year Steam Coal Tax Cut

West Virginia Metro News, Morgantown Dominion-Post - The Senate Finance Committee approved a stretched-out, slowed-down version of the bill to reduce the severance tax on steam coal from 5 percent to 3 percent. Read full article. The committee also approved one of the two House bills aimed at gathering money to cap orphaned oil and gas…

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March 1, 2019 by Sean O'Leary
Left Behind in a Nationwide Jobs Recovery: Charleston, W.Va.

Wall Street Journal - A soup kitchen downtown in the state’s capital city has been busier than usual in recent months, while a nearby health clinic is serving 12,000 more patients, many of whom are juggling multiple low-wage jobs, than it served five years ago. Read article. Despite the emergence of some new small businesses on…

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February 28, 2019 by WVCBP
W.Va. House Passes Bill to Reduce Coal Severance Tax

West Virginia Public Broadcasting - The West Virginia House passed a bill Wednesday that would reduce the severance tax paid on coal burned for electricity. Read/Listen. House Bill 3142 passed on an 88-11 vote after contentious debate on the floor. Long sought by industry, the legislation would reduce the severance tax paid by coal companies on…

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February 28, 2019 by WVCBP
Could Fast-Moving Tax-Cut Proposal Blow WV Budget?

West Virginia Public News Service - Critics of a proposal rushing through the House of Delegates say it could blow a hole in West Virginia's state budget by using one-time money to pay for permanent tax cuts that mostly help those who are well off. Read full article. House Bill 3137 would create a fund where…

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February 28, 2019 by WVCBP
Dave Peyton: What’s the Holdup on Medical Marijuana?

Huntington Herald-Dispatch - It has been almost two years since Gov. Jim Justice signed West Virginia's medical cannabis law. Read full op-ed. Then why do we not have medical marijuana available in West Virginia? It's available across the Ohio River in Ohio. The West Virginia Legislature and state government officials are dragging their feet? Why? After…

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