WVCBP in the News

Martinsburg Journal -- WVCBP's O'Leary argues that the cost to the state and localities of providing the tax breaks is not trivial because the facility will create additional need for public services. Meanwhile, he says there is little evidence that tax breaks play a significant role in determining where businesses locate. Read

The Herald-Dispatch -- Confirmation that the current legislative session is on the right track with its efforts to confront the problem of overcrowded state prisons and regional jails came in a report last week from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy that echoes the need for alternative sentencing options. Read

Public News Service -- West Virginia's prison system is in crisis, but the authors of a new report say they can offer lawmakers a way out. Read

HuntingtonNews.net -- A new report titled "Stemming the Tide: The Racial and Economic Impacts of West Virginia's Prison System", co-released today by the Partnership for African American Churches, the American Friends Service Committee, and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read

 The State Journal -- The issue of prison over crowding can't be solved by building more facilities, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Friends Service Committee, the Partnership of African American Churches and the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy. Read

Associated Press, Charleston Gazette, Charleston Daily Mail and Reported at NECN.com -- As West Virginia lawmakers grapple with overcrowding in prisons and regional jails, a new report says the state should invest more in alternative sentencing options that keep lawbreakers out of the penal institutions in the first place. Read

Public News Service -- The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy estimates that a one percent severance tax on gas and coal would yield $5.7 billion dollars over the next 23 years. Read

The Charleston Gazette -- The good folks over at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy just posted a fascinating new item on their blog. Read

The State Journal -- According to an analysis by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, West Virginia's severance tax collections comprised about 11.1 percent of the state's general revenue budget. As a share of state revenue, West Virginia ranks 7th in the nation for dependence on severance tax collections. Read

The Herald-Dispatch -- Just this week, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy tried to focus attention on the idea. The center, a progressive think tank, has proposed that the state place an additional one percent severance tax on coal and natural gas in order to raise an estimated $5.8 billion over the next…