Charleston Gazette - Extending CHIP health coverage to eligible children of public employees could save state and local government millions of dollars, depending on how many actually enrolled, according to a report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin will consider expanding CHIP coverage, a spokeswoman said.
WVCBP in the News
Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia does not yet need to consider increasing taxes or eliminating tax credits to fill a budget gap of more than $250 million ahead of the 2015 fiscal year, state budget officials said Thursday. Read The head of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, a left-leaning West Virginia…
Beckley Register-Herald, Kansas City Star, The Republic - About 350,000 West Virginians will see a reduction in federal food assistance benefits when a temporary boost expires this fall, according to a nonprofit policy research group. Read The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy said the increase to federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits expires on Oct.…
Charleston Gazette - About one in five West Virginians will see a reduction in their food assistance when a temporary boost to federal benefits expires this fall. Read About 350,000 state residents get benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, according to the West Virginia Center on Budget and…
The Exponent Telegram - West Virginia's 2012-13 fiscal year state revenues ended June 30 with a $90.6 million budget deficit. Many state officials claim a drop in severance tax collections on both coal and natural gas was the primary reason for this revenue shortfall. But the best-kept secret in Charleston is that the deficit could…
The State Journal - Future college students and their parents can breathe a sigh of relief. For now. The U.S. Senate on July 24 passed legislation that would lower interest rates on federal student loans and cap those rates in the future. The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act passed by a vote of 81-18, and…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - According to statistics from 2010 provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, all three of the state's U.S. House Congressional districts see nearly double digits in the percentage of families who receive SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, benefits. However, proposed changes to a key piece of legislation in Washington…
West Virginia Public News Service - Supporters say immigration reform would not only help West Virginia's economy, it would also bring in millions more in state and local taxes. Read According to the non-partisan, non-profit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, West Virgina already collects nearly $4 million dollars a year from undocumented immigrants, and…
The State Journal - The U.S. Senate has voted not to proceed with legislation that would prevent interest rates on student loans from increasing — a move Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., says fails students and graduates across the country. Read
Charleston Gazette - Only in West Virginia could politicians argue over a penny, as we saw as Republicans and Democrats wrangle over who should get credit for repeal of the final 1 percent of consumer sales tax on groceries. Read The whole issue of the food tax being particularly onerous on the state's poor has…