WVCBP in the News

March 8, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Editorial: Is Drug-Testing Welfare Recipients the Right Course of Action?

Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - As fiscal conservatives and social advocates, we're as angry as the majority of people when we hear of welfare recipients who abuse the system, taking advantage of what should be a hand up and exploiting it for an unintended use. ReadWith that being said, it would seem that drug testing welfare recipients…

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March 7, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Advocates Criticize Push to Drug Test Welfare Recipients

Charleston Gazette-Mail - Over objections from social workers, anti-poverty advocates and psychologists, a push to mandate drug testing for welfare recipients is racing toward final passage in the West Virginia Legislature. ReadState lawmakers are backing legislation (SB 6) that would require drug tests for about 4,000 adults who apply for cash assistance through the Temporary…

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March 6, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Policy Analyst: Tomblin’s Budget Approach Called ‘Fairly Balanced’

Beckley Register-Herald -West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy analyst Sean O'Leary said Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's approach was "fairly balanced" and for the first time in years offered a revenue increase, instead of just budget cuts. Read"We've significantly cut almost every other area of the budget outside of Medicaid," O'Leary said. "Every major department…

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March 5, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Speakers at Public Hearing Against Drug Testing TANF Recipients

Beckley Register-Herald - Several speakers at a public hearing in the House of Delegates Chamber Friday morning said drug testing welfare recipients is a bad idea because of basic privacy rights issues and the likely low number of positive tests. ReadACLU legal director Jamie Lynn Crofts said drug testing of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families…

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March 4, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Welfare Drug Testing Bill Criticized in House Committee Hearing

West Virginia Metro News - Opponents of a bill that would require drug testing of welfare recipients say it's a measure that targets the poor. Read"Investing in substance abuse treatment is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars, but expensive and unnecessary policies that are based more on stereotype and punishing the poor rather than on…

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March 4, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Still Concerns over Welfare Drug Testing Bill

WDTV - Friday morning at a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee many spoke out against a bill that passed in the Senate around a month ago. Read/Watch That bill is Senate Bill Six, which would require drug testing for some welfare recipients. The bill spells out a program that when there's "reasonable suspicion"…

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March 3, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
One Percent Sales Tax Increase Could Fix State Roads

WDTV - Many of you tell us over and over again you're upset with some of the road conditions in our state. Read/Watch Now lawmakers are working to try to get those roads fixed, but it could come at the expense of higher sales taxes. One of the pieces of Senate Bill 555 would increase…

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March 3, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
WV Senate Passes Tax, Fee Hikes for Roads

Charleston Gazette-Mail, Transport Topics - Legislation to increase highways funding by more than $290 million a year — primarily through increasing the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent — is headed to a West Virginia House of Delegates that has proven adverse to tax hikes. ReadHowever, Mike Clowser, of the state Contractors…

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March 3, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
WV Coal Sector Seeks Tax Breaks in Order to Compete

The State Journal - As the coal market continues to crumble, the West Virginia coal sector is jumping at any opportunity it can find to give itself a competitive advantage. However, industry leaders fear they'll ultimately need more than the state might be willing to give them in order to survive. ReadOne small stepIn what's…

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March 2, 2016 by Sean O'Leary
Tomblin Opposes Further Coal, Gas Tax Cuts

Charleston Gazette-Mail - Having already removed the "excess" severance tax on the coal and gas industries, the West Virginia Senate wants to give even larger tax cuts to the extractive industries, potentially blowing a massive hole in the 2018 state budget.The bill (SB 705) passed a procedural barrier on a party-line vote, 18-16 on Monday.…

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