After a roller coaster week, the Senate's omnibus reform bill, SB 451, is currently on second reading before the full Senate with likely passage next week. The bill links teacher raises, promised by Governor Jim Justice, to a whole host of other issues, including controversial Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Simply put, this voucher-like program would…
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The lowest-income West Virginians pay 21 percent more in taxes as a percent of their income compared to the state's wealthiest residents, according to a new study released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. The study, Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in…
Charleston Daily Mail and Huntington Herald-Dispatch - Over the next few weeks the Legislature will consider repealing or sharply scaling back the state’s prevailing wage law. ReadIn place since the 1930s, West Virginia’s prevailing wage law requires jobs on public construction projects pay a minimum wage based on occupation and area, typically from $15 to…
The State Journal - A recent guest column from Bryan Hoylman of the Associated Builders and Contractors of West Virginia and Jason Huffman of the West Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity made the claim that the repeal of the state’s prevailing wage law has saved the state $20 million in just two months. This claim…
West Virginia has some of the worst birthing outcomes in the nation. The WVCBP has previously focused on racial disparities in infant and maternal mortality, but the state must also address infant and maternal morbidity, or serious health complications that do not result in death. These are far more common and have a significant bearing on quality of…
A weak September for General Revenue collections underscored the heavy price of 2023’s tax cuts on the state’s budget and should serve as a warning against Governor Justice and lawmakers moving ahead with even deeper cuts to revenue. Weak September Numbers September General Revenue collections totaled $567.7 million, which is $104.4 million below September 2023’s collections, marking…
Summit on Race Matters in Appalachia Almost Here Time is running out to register for the Summit on Race Matters in Appalachia. Please take a minute to fill out the easy on-line registration form today to hold your reservation! Register now! Thanks to generous funding from foundations and organizations, there is limited scholarship money available.…
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…
On the first day of the 2022 legislative session, the West Virginia Senate introduced bills that would make major changes to the state's unemployment insurance system, to the detriment of the state's workers. While Senate Bill 3 would add additional strict work search requirements for unemployed workers collecting unemployment insurance, Senate Bill 2 would reduce…
With faltering revenue collections, Governor Justice has ordered a $100 million budget cut for the current budget year, with more cuts likely for the FY 2021 budget. And, as with past budget cuts, higher education appears to be a prime target. This is all happening on the heels of a new report from the Center…