WVCBP in the News

March 8, 2021 by Kelly Allen
Governor Goes Off on State Spending Restrictions Built into Latest Federal Relief Bill

West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice isn’t happy about about some restrictions for how states can use federal relief built into the plan passed by the U.S. Senate. Read the full article. “It’s all about just petty nothing,” Justice said today. “That’s the only reason that got written in there.” The $1.9 trillion federal relief package…

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March 5, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
What Would Removing the Income Tax do to Prices in West Virginia?

WOWK, News Break - On Inside West Virginia Politics, Sean O'Leary, with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, says the governor's proposed plan to eliminate the state's income tax "is not going to be a winner for West Virginia" as it is now. Watch the full segment. He says raising sales taxes will…

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March 4, 2021 by WVCBP
Justice Income Tax Plan: Big Cuts, but with Big Tax Hikes

Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch - Gov. Jim Justice on Thursday unveiled the long-awaited details of his proposal to cut the state personal income tax — a plan that would use more than $900 million a year in tax hikes to partially offset a $1.07 billion reduction in income tax revenue. Read the full article. Justice,…

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March 1, 2021 by Kelly Allen
Justice Sees Flaws in Senate Tax Plan, and He Wishes Somebody had Looped Him in

West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice says he likes some aspects of a new Senate tax plan and really dislikes several others: fewer business groups “pulling the rope,” the loss of rebate checks for lower-income residents and reinstitution of the food tax. Read the full article. And the governor wishes someone had taken just…

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March 1, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
W.Va. Senate Creates New Income Tax Elimination Bill Adding New Taxes

WCHS - The West Virginia Senate's version of the House's income tax reduction bill narrowly cleared committee Tuesday. Read the full article. It adds $800-900 million in tax increases, raising the sales tax to 8.5% and reestablishing a 2.5% food tax. "It could be a huge economic stimulus for our state, a huge spur of population growth…

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March 1, 2021 by WVCBP
W.Va. House Passes 400-Page Bill For Criminal Sentencing Reform

West Virginia Public Broadcasting - A bill to rewrite state law for hundreds of criminal offenses cleared the House of Delegates following less than half an hour of debate Wednesday. Read the full article. Over the course of nearly 400 pages, House Bill 2017 updates hundreds of crimes and replaces the state’s process for sentencing with a…

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March 1, 2021 by WVCBP
Despite a Growing Need, Helping West Virginia’s Hungry Not a Priority as Legislature Session Continues

Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - Even though more families are struggling to get enough food as the pandemic continues, hunger-related bills aren’t among the measures rapidly moving through the West Virginia Legislative session. Read the full article. West Virginia was already one of the country’s hungriest states pre-pandemic. And the problem has only gotten worse…

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February 28, 2021 by WVCBP
As Kanawha Faces an HIV Outbreak, Legislation Would Make Running Harm Reduction Programs that Could Help More Difficult

Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch - As Kanawha County faces an impending HIV outbreak that could cost billions in taxpayer dollars, the West Virginia Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee entertained a bill Thursday that would make it more difficult to operate programs proven to slow such diseases and save lives. Read the full article. Senate Bill 334 would…

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