Mountain State Spotlight, Charleston Gazette-Mail - In the final days of the session, lawmakers are hashing out the only bill they are required by law to pass – the state budget. Read the full article. In February, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the budget would be tight. Money coming into the state coffers has decreased over…
West Virginia Watch, Yahoo - Funding for foster care has been slashed in the House Finance Committee as members opted to ignore Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s proposed budget, including his $182 million request for a child welfare system in crisis. Read the full article. There are more than 5,800 children in foster care, and there aren’t…
Raw Story - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters he can edit federal spending and revenue baselines as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Read the full article. “As Budget Chairman, under section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act, I have the authority to determine baseline numbers for spending and revenue. Under that authority, I have…
WTRF - A recent executive order signed by The Trump Administration to dismantle the Department of Education is causing some concern about how public schools will receive federal funding. Read the full article. According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, federal funding brings more than $350 million annually into West Virginia’s 55 county school…
West Virginia Watch, Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia lawmakers on Monday walked back a measure that would have put more than 165,000 residents at risk of losing their health care coverage through Medicaid expansion. Read the full article. House Bill 3518 would have put in place a trigger so that if the federal government lowered the…
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia needs to send a message to the federal government about the possibility of cuts to Medicaid expansion coverage, the deputy speaker of the House of Delegates said. Read the full article. If federal officials cut the amount West Virginia is reimbursed for the healthcare expenses of its Medicaid expansion…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - For reasons not entirely explicable, for the past few years legislative leaders have prided themselves on passing the Budget Bill by the 60th day of the regular session, avoiding the traditional post-session budget conference, when the session would be extended for a few days to work out a final version of the…
Reuters - The phone rang over the whine of Trey Yates' butter churn. The person calling was polite, but the message was devastating: Mountaineer Food Bank was ending Yates' butter contract, due to the federal government's funding cuts. Read the full article. The next day, President Donald Trump signed a declaration celebrating National Agriculture Day,…
Washington Post, Spokesman Review - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s quest to reshape food policy in America took him to an event in West Virginia with the state’s Republican governor, who announced Friday his intent to seek the federal government’s help in barring the use of food stamps to buy soda. Read the full article. “Taxpayer…
Parkersburg News and Sentinel - Recent surveys found most West Virginians oppose public funds going to private schools in other states and another shows bipartisan support for criminal justice reforms. Read the full article. A poll by RABA Research found 84% of respondents do not believe it is appropriate for West Virginia tax dollars to…
