KTVZ.com, Enews Park Forest - As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers new rules to rein in predatory practices in payday and similar types of lending, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and 31 Senate colleagues expressed support Thursday for the agency's first steps and urged the strongest possible rules to combat the "cascade of devastating financial…
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New Research Finds Opioid Overdose Deaths Decline with More Generous Unemployment Insurance Benefits
As West Virginia lawmakers continue to consider Senate Bills 2 and 3, we urge them to keep in mind the conclusions of a recent study, which found that the harmful effects of job loss on opioid overdose mortality decline with increasing state unemployment benefit levels. The study, titled “Unemployment Insurance and Opioid Overdose Mortality in the United States,” looked at county…
New SNAP restrictions included in the federal debt ceiling deal will impact West Virginia more severely than any other state on a per capita basis due to the Mountain State’s aging population. Nationwide, nearly 750,000 older adults aged 50-54 will be at risk of losing their food assistance due to these new provisions, including 7,000 in West…
Essential workers were championed throughout the pandemic for their critical jobs keeping our economy afloat. But now, West Virginia legislators are considering gutting earned unemployment benefits for those very same workers if they lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Senate Bill 2 would cut the number of weeks that displaced workers are eligible for…
Today is the last day of West Virginia's 2023 Fiscal Year. Undoubtedly in the coming days, Governor Justice will tout the so-called revenue "surplus" from this fiscal year, but it cannot be overlooked that a significant portion of that surplus was only made possible due to the Justice Administration intentionally low-balling revenue estimates, thus all…
Governor Justice signed HB 2526 into law this week. Rather than utilizing state revenues to create shared prosperity by investing in programs and services that benefit all West Virginians, HB 2526 enacts permanent tax cuts that undermine public investments and further rig our tax system for the wealthy. Nearly two out of every three dollars of the…
As one piece of the federal response to the pandemic, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which increased income-based health care subsidies, known as advanced premium tax credits (APTCs). These credits help make health insurance premiums more affordable to Americans at all income levels. While the increased APTCs have played a critical role in helping…
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
WDTV.com - The West Virginia Tax Reform Committee recently heard a recommendation to eliminate personal property tax, mainly to attract more businesses to our state. But would this actually work? And where would the money without that tax come from? 5 News talked to economists, senators, and locals to hear all sides and see how…
The WVCBP is excited to welcome Teri Castle and Veronica Witikko to the team as our 2023 summer research fellows! Teri is serving as our criminal legal reform summer research fellow. She was born in Huntington, WV, and grew up in the surrounding region. She recently graduated from Marshall University, earning a B.A. with a…