West Virginia Metro News - The House Finance Committee spent just over two hours hashing over HB 168, the so-called Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, and barely passed it, with two Republican members crossing over. Read article. Shortly after, chairman Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, took up another tax credit bill, HB 167, but apparently sensing party discord,…
WVCBP in the News
Charleston Gazette - Last month, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts penned an opinion column praising the Legislature for taking “a step back from the unknown consequences” of a piece of legislation related to clean water that he said “was not ready for legislative approval.” Read op-ed. “West Virginians have seen all too…
The Parthenon (Marshall University) - Amid the state legislature’s summer special sessions for education reform and following the recent release of a report on “The State of Public Education in West Virginia,” by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy took to social media Wednesday to address an apparent…
Charleston Gazette - The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce does a great job of representing the economic interests of its members. It can kill bills with a frown and win without even showing up. That’s been true with both Democratic and Republican majorities. Read op-ed. Of course, this is probably easier to do when one represents…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - After completing her prison sentence for operating a clandestine methamphetamine lab, Tracy Jividen began to restart her life. Read article. She went to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to sign up for food assistance, which she had been on prior to her felony drug conviction. "The form said, 'Do…
Beckley Register-Herald - In the U.S. today, 29 states have an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program designed to put cash back in the pockets of low-income families. With 23 percent of its workforce toiling in poverty wage jobs, West Virginia is not among those states. Read article. That’s a situation that the West Virginia Center…
Public News Service - The controversial Rockwool heavy-industry project could get a big federal tax break designed for poor areas - despite being in one of West Virginia's richest counties. Read article. The Rockwool proposal for an insulation-manufacturing plant has drawn intense opposition from critics, who say it would bring industrial pollution to Jefferson County,…
Charleston Gazette - There were some rough and embarrassing moments in the last legislative session, but some good things came out of it. Read full op-ed. One that surprised me was the passage of Senate Bill 564, which raised the Medicaid eligibility threshold for pregnant women to 300 percent above the federal poverty level. The…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Earlier this year, at a legislative breakfast in Charleston, representatives from two of West Virginia’s natural gas associations spoke about the economic benefits of the industry. Read full article. The state was prospering thanks to the oil and gas industry, said Charlie Burd, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of…
LocalDVM - On April 2nd of 2019, the average woman in America would finally be paid as much as a man was paid in the previous 12-month year. Read/watch. This is why Equal Pay Day is being recognized Tuesday. The West Virginia Center of Budget and Policy reports the state has the 3rd largest wage gap…