In early January, state lawmakers will return to Charleston with one task they are required to complete each legislative session: passing a balanced state budget. This process will be particularly challenging in the new year, happening amid declining state revenues from deep state tax cuts and a slowing economy, a looming budget deficit, and significant new safety net costs shifted onto the state from Congress. All of this comes after years of flat budgets have eroded public services, with the state putting less investment toward Medicaid, public education, PEIA, and child care than just a few years ago.
Meanwhile, the state’s wealthiest households are doing quite well. In 2026, West Virginia’s richest five percent of households will receive $1.2 billion from tax cuts enacted over the last decade—all of it revenue no longer available at the state and federal levels to fund public schools, health care, infrastructure, and other needs that benefit us all.
A Look at FY 2026 So Far
So far in FY 2026, West Virginia’s tax revenue, while exceeding low estimates, has been troubling, especially after the state experienced two consecutive years of declining revenues for the first time since the Great Recession, leaving policymakers working from baseline “skinny” and “flat” budgets that have failed for years to meet the needs of families and workers across the state.
After several rounds of rate cuts, the state’s personal income tax collections have flatlined, while corporate income tax collections have plummeted. Combined with weak job growth, West Virginia’s lawmakers face difficult choices in the coming legislative session.
West Virginia’s total General Revenue Fund collections have totaled $2.23 billion through the first five months of FY 2026, coming in $131 million over the estimate. However, as in past years, much of this so-called “surplus” is due to a modest revenue estimate. Through November, the state’s revenue estimate of $2.01 billion was set lower than last fiscal year’s actual collections at the same point in time of $2.10 billion. A low revenue estimate will generate a surplus on paper, even if actual revenues are flat—or even declining—compared to the previous year.
And remaining flat or declining is exactly what is happening to important sources of state tax revenue in West Virginia. Personal income tax collections, the state’s largest source of tax revenue, through November totaled $877.4 million, only $23.9 million (or three percent) above last year’s collections. Income tax collections for the first five months of the fiscal year are down $104.8 million compared to FY 2023.
Another troubling sign for the state is West Virginia’s declining corporate net income tax collections. Through the first five months of FY 2026, corporate net income tax collections totaled $103.5 million, $19.6 million below this point in FY 2025, and $58.3 million below this point in FY 2024.
While there haven’t been further tax cuts in FY 2026 to drive down revenues, weak economic growth can help explain the lack of revenue growth. So far in FY 2026, total nonfarm employment in West Virginia has declined by 3,400 jobs, as tax cuts continue to fail to generate economic growth. Total nonfarm employment in West Virginia has been largely flat since 2024, falling well behind national average growth. Since January 2024, West Virginia ranks 46th among the 50 states and D.C. for total nonfarm employment growth. In addition, there were 3,000 fewer West Virginians working in August of 2025 compared to August of 2024.
Looking Ahead to FY 2027
West Virginia’s revenue and economic numbers signal concerns for the FY 2027 budget and the state’s ability to invest in programs proven to help families and workers thrive.
Recent budgets, even under Governor Morrisey, have relied heavily on surplus and other one-time sources of revenue to close considerable budget gaps, and those budget gaps are only growing larger. According to FY 2026’s budget forecast, West Virginia faces significant budget gaps in each of the upcoming four years, growing from a $397 million gap in FY 2027 to nearly $500 million in FY 2030. Notably, those estimates were made prior to the passage of Congress’ “One Big Beautiful Bill” (HR 1) in July, which is expected to shift at least $650 million in additional costs onto the state budget through FY 2030.
An August memo to state agencies from Governor Morrisey’s Department of Revenue instructed them to submit their budget requests with a two percent reduction compared to FY 2026 and further specified that “additional state funding should not be requested to replace lost federal funding.” Put simply, many agencies that have already seen staff and programs slashed in recent years as budget allocations failed to keep pace with inflation should expect to see outright cuts next year if lawmakers do not change course.
State and Federal Tax Cuts Have Driven Inequality
Over the last decade, two-thirds of state and federal tax cuts have gone to the wealthiest 20 percent of households, with the wealthiest five percent (who have average annual incomes of over $500,000) now paying $1.2 billion less in taxes per year; this is directly related to the erosion in funding for public schools, PEIA, health care, and infrastructure.
The West Virginia Legislature enacted deep state tax cuts in 2023, cutting personal income tax rates by over 20 percent and then enacting two more tax cuts in 2024. Two-thirds of those tax cuts went to the wealthiest 20 percent of households, resulting in the state budget shrinking by nearly $500 million per year. At the federal level, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, giving tax cuts massively skewed toward high-income people and profitable corporations. Earlier this summer, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that extended and expanded these skewed tax cuts wherein 80 percent of the tax cuts went to the top 10 percent of households in exchange for the deepest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in our nation’s history.
Now, nearly 10 years into the failed federal trickle-down experiment, it is clear who has benefited the most. Two-thirds of the combined state and federal tax cuts went to the wealthiest 20 percent of West Virginia households according to a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
The richest 1 percent of households in West Virginia alone received 19 percent of the cuts, substantially more than the 13 percent received by the bottom 60 percent combined. The richest 1 percent of households have received combined state and federal tax cuts totaling an average $67,000 annually, higher than the median household income in the state.
In addition to being inequitable, the cost of state and federal tax cuts has been deeply damaging to everyday West Virginians and the public services we rely on. The combined tax cuts to the top 20 percent wealthiest households total more than $2.23 billion annually, or more than the state spends on K-12 education each year ($1.66 billion). The total annual benefit of the tax cut to the top 5 percent wealthiest households in West Virginia ($1.25 billion) is nearly double the state budget expenditure for Medicaid for more than 500,000 residents ($687 million annually). And the cost of the annual tax benefit to the wealthiest 1 percent in West Virginia ($661 million) is more than the state spends on PEIA for 270,000 West Virginians (450 million annually).
A Commonsense Path Forward
West Virginians and lawmakers need not accept more cuts to our schools, health care, and public services as a result of a shrinking budget to prioritize tax cuts that have overwhelmingly benefited the state’s wealthiest households.
Instead, we can meet the moment and address the affordability crisis working families are facing by raising their wages and investing in the services that help them thrive—and we can do all of it without raising taxes on 95 percent of West Virginians. The wealthiest households in West Virginia (those making more than $500,000/year) did not need the huge windfalls of $1.2 billion annually in state and federal tax cuts they have received over the last decade, and enough time has passed to demonstrate that their tax cuts have failed to result in economic growth more broadly for West Virginia. In contrast, they’ve likely harmed our economy by eroding funding for our schools, health care, child care, and infrastructure in the process of diverting more money into the wealthy’s pockets or to Wall Street. It’s time to ask the wealthy in West Virginia to chip in—recouping some of their windfall tax cuts to fill in federal and state budget holes and ensure West Virginia has the resources it needs to invest in its people.
Read Sean and Kelly’s full blog post.
What is the Hope Scholarship?
The Hope Scholarship is a school voucher program that diverts public taxpayer dollars to cover private school and other non-public school expenses like tuition and fees, uniforms, supplies, technology, and even extracurricular costs like dance lessons and zoo tickets.
The program is currently open to any school-aged child in West Virginia that has attended a public school for at least 45 days or is entering kindergarten. This will change drastically in 2026 when the program becomes “universal” and opens to all school-aged children in the state, including current private school students who have never attended a public school.
How is the Hope Scholarship Different From Other School Voucher Programs?
When the Hope Scholarship was enacted by lawmakers in 2021, it was the broadest school voucher program in the country at the time.
Unlike programs in other states, the Hope Scholarship has:
Who Benefits from the Hope Scholarship?
The Hope Scholarship, like all school voucher programs, benefits families that can already access and afford private education. This is made abundantly clear in the Treasurer’s Office most recent annual report on the program.
Of all the non-public education options, private schools benefit the most under this school voucher program. Nearly $32 million (7 in 10 dollars spent) went to private schools last school year, almost half ($13.9 million) of which went to unaccredited schools.
While private schools benefit the most, there is a growing contingent of participants using the school voucher to fund homeschooling. About 3 out of 10 Hope Scholarship participants are in homeschool.
Does the Hope Scholarship Expand Options?
Currently, the Hope Scholarship does not collect or report the disability status of participants. As a result, there is no evidence to support an increase in opportunities for children with disabilities or their families.
Most participants are in kindergarten or first grade, with little to no previous public school education. These families likely would have attended private schools without assistance from the Hope Scholarship.
How Does the Hope Scholarship Hurt West Virginia?
The Hope Scholarship continues to grow from year to year. From 2022 to 2026, county-level participation in the program grew by more than 10 times on average. There is still even more room to grow as applications are open for the current school year through February 2026.
Every dollar that goes to the Hope Scholarship is a dollar that doesn’t go to a public school. To date, this school voucher program has diverted about $85 million in public taxpayer dollars.
What is the Amount of Money Given Per Student?
Depending on when they applied, families will receive between $1,300 (25 percent) and $5,300 (100 percent) per student this year.
Why is This Important?
Public schools are the only education option that is available and accountable to the public at large. By accepting public dollars, private schools and homeschoolers should at minimum be held accountable to the public. These education options already have little oversight and accountability in West Virginia and there have been efforts in recent years to further weaken that.
What Can We Do? A Simple Message for Lawmakers:
Stop the expansion of the Hope Scholarship to all school-aged kids in the state set for the 2026-2027 school year.
Implement reasonable guardrails for the Hope Scholarship including:
Read the full blog post here or download it as a fact sheet here.
Watch this recent video where Tamaya details the need to modernize the school funding formula to protect public education in the Mountain State.
Beginning November 1, 2025, West Virginia began implementing new federal SNAP restrictions as a result of the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which requires many adults to meet work reporting requirements or qualify for an exemption to remain eligible. Those who do not document that they meet these requirements or qualify for an exemption could lose coverage beginning in early 2026.
The new work requirements generally apply to those between ages 18 and 64 who do not receive SNAP for any children under 14 and who do not receive a disability benefit, though there are additional exemptions they may qualify for.
Those subject to these “able-bodied adults without dependents” (ABAWD) work requirements who fail to meet the requirements will only be eligible for SNAP three months in any three-year period. If you currently receive SNAP, you will likely be assessed for compliance at your next eligibility renewal or redetermination. If you are not currently on SNAP, these rules will be in effect when you newly apply.
If you do not qualify for an exemption, you will need to meet one of the following to remain eligible to receive SNAP:
Those experiencing homelessness, veterans, and those aging out of foster care are no longer automatically exempt from work requirements. If you fall into any of these categories, please assess whether you meet another exemption that protects you from losing assistance.
Exemptions to the SNAP work requirement include:
If you have proof you’ll be working soon, experience an emergency, or have another reason you think you should be exempt, contact the SNAP agency.
Does your health impact your ability to work?
Take this form to your health care provider, like your doctor or therapist. Ask them to sign it now! People with a signed medical form will be able to keep their SNAP benefits. Even if you currently work, it is a good idea to have the form filled out in case your hours change!
Have questions or ready to report an exemption?
Call the SNAP agency at 1-877-716-1212.
Need legal help?
Contact Legal Aid of West Virginia at 1-866-255-4370.
You can view the full fact sheet in the images below and download it here.
When the Hope Scholarship, West Virginia’s school voucher program, was enacted, proponents framed the program as one of choice — a way to provide alternative education options to families who could not otherwise afford it. Now, on the eve of the program’s expansion — set to double or even triple in annual cost amid unprecedented public school closures across the state — lawmakers will have the opportunity to decide the best way to allocate budget dollars to ensure West Virginia students receive an accountable, high-quality education.
In 2021, our state lawmakers placed a ticking time bomb in the Hope Scholarship bill that simultaneously made the program less about expanding choice and far more expensive, and now we’ve reached the point where it’s going to explode. That bomb was a trigger provision to make the program “universal” next school year. This was not to give more children “choice” at all but to subsidize the private school tuition of families who are already in — and can already afford — private school. Proponents can no longer argue this is simply money following the student from public schools to private schools — it’s nine figures in new taxpayer funds lawmakers have to squeeze into an already shrinking budget for families who were never in the public school system to begin with.
And as program officials recently admitted, this is nothing new for the Hope Scholarship. Ninety percent of the vouchers have gone to students who “would have done alternative education without Hope.” This is a damning admission that the program has not achieved its supposed purpose of providing choice to families who could not afford it.
Notably, since the program was enacted, many of West Virginia’s public school families have seen their choice eroded or taken away altogether. Since 2019, more than 70 public schools have closed in West Virginia, from Hampshire and Mineral to Kanawha counties. In each of the communities impacted by school closures, parents and community members have opposed the closures, arguing their choice is for their children to receive an education in their neighborhood schools that are close to home, trusted and beloved.
Other families have faced the loss of music and arts classes, advanced placement courses and certified teachers as school districts deal with balancing their budgets amid an outdated funding formula that falls short of today’s needs. Again, the vast majority of families are telling us they choose well-funded public schools that offer their children the resources they need to succeed.
Earlier this month, the State Treasurer’s Office published its annual report for the 2024-25 school year, showing even more clearly how the program lacks equitable access and accountability.
Non-public schools that accept the Hope Scholarship are unaccountable to taxpayers, and recent admissions and reporting show the program is overwhelmingly benefiting households that already had choice in places that have private school options — at the cost of students in our public schools in all 55 counties.
While West Virginia has no tracking of educational outcomes for voucher recipients, the evidence in other states is clear: vouchers do not improve student achievement, they primarily benefit wealthy households at the expense of low-income and rural communities, and they lead to fewer funds for public schools.
In West Virginia, private schools that receive Hope taxpayer dollars are not required to meet the most basic of accountability or transparency standards: they are not required to provide assessment results, utilize certified educators, meet specific curriculum standards, undergo audits, accept all students, or have open meetings accessible to the public.
Public schools, which serve more than 85% of school-aged children in West Virginia, meet all of those standards and serve all students regardless of socioeconomic status, disability, religion, or need.
In the upcoming legislative session, state lawmakers will have the opportunity to put resources toward proven, transparent and accessible K-12 education policies that support all children. The vast majority of children receive their education in our public schools and they and their families are counting on lawmakers to make the right choice.
Read Kelly’s full op-ed.
Introduction
At the federal level and in West Virginia, there is broad, bipartisan consensus around the need to address unaffordable health care prices and give consumers, employers, and medical professionals the information they need to propose and make informed health care decisions.
In 2025 alone, West Virginia state lawmakers introduced eight bills to strengthen consumers’ rights and increase health care price transparency. This comes on the heels of a federal price transparency rule put forth by President Donald Trump that researchers estimate could result in consumer savings as high as $80 billion each year once fully implemented. West Virginia can build on federal efforts and its own momentum to enact meaningful price transparency efforts during the 2026 legislative session.
How Can West Virginia Strengthen Price Transparency for Consumers?
In 2019, President Donald Trump issued an executive order focused on improving health care price and quality transparency, which resulted in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requiring hospitals to post prices for 300 of the most “shoppable” procedures, goods, and services they provide. These requirements were continued under President Joe Biden and, subsequently, President Trump again.
While federal efforts have somewhat increased price transparency, research shows limited compliance among hospitals nationally and in West Virginia, where only 10 percent of hospitals were in compliance according to a 2023 analysis.
Further, given that federal administrative rules and executive orders do not carry the weight of law, future federal administrations could rescind, eliminate, or undermine it. This presents a strong need for states to codify and strengthen the federal hospital transparency rule. Three bills related to this were introduced in the WV Legislature in 2025. While those bills were a strong start, state lawmakers might consider ways to strengthen them during the 2026 state legislative session.
Any state price transparency legislation should:
Additional Health Policy Priorities in 2026
Lawmakers could also consider additional policies to better understand and address rising health care costs.
Curb the rising use of facility fees for routine outpatient care. As hospitals and other entities continue to purchase physician practices, consumers are more likely to receive two separate bills for a single routine outpatient care visit: a facility fee and a physician fee. Historically, facility fees were intended to cover overhead expenses associated with a hospital stay, but now they are adding significant costs to routine visits to physicians with little regulation. Importantly, these costs are often not included in price transparency databases and tend not to be covered by health insurance. Multiple states are taking steps to address this source of rising costs and frustration for consumers by prohibiting, limiting, or notifying patients of facility fees.
Enact strong anti-trust and merger review legislation. Hospital mergers have been shown to increase prices, lower health care workers’ wages, and reduce access to care—all of which contribute to poorer health outcomes. While mergers that would substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly are illegal under federal law, mergers under a certain monetary threshold are not required to be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the FTC cannot share the information they receive with state attorneys general. As a result, regulators are often unaware of potentially harmful mergers and acquisitions. West Virginia can pass legislation with clear authority for the state attorney general to solicit input, review, and block mergers or consolidations that would limit competition or create a monopoly.
Increase access and choice in maternal health care. West Virginia faces significant consolidation and loss of maternal health services, with a 42 percent reduction in hospitals providing deliveries and NICU care between 2006 and 2024. Residents who live in maternal care deserts are more likely to go without prenatal care and experience birthing complications affecting themselves and their babies. Policymakers must increase access to prenatal and maternity care to improve birthing outcomes. One way to do so is to create and recognize licensure for Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) who provide both prenatal and birth care outside of traditional hospital settings and can fill critical gaps in maternal care deserts. West Virginia is one of just twelve states that does not recognize CPMs as health care professionals.
Strengthen Medicaid and PEIA. In recent years, state spending on Medicaid and the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) has failed to keep pace with inflation. This has contributed to rising consumer costs for those who rely on these programs—combined, nearly half of the state’s population. As federal Medicaid funding cuts are phased in over the coming years, state lawmakers will need to contribute more to these programs to protect health coverage for recipients.
Download Kelly and Rhonda’s full fact sheet here.
Paid family and medical leave policies are proven to strengthen families’ economic security, support the health and wellbeing of children and parents, improve mothers’ labor force participation, and reduce instances of infant mortality, all while remaining budget neutral to the state.
West Virginia does not currently have a statewide paid family and medical leave policy. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Centerat Vanderbilt University partnered with us here at the WVCBP to assess the implications of adopting a proposed paid family and medical leave policy.
The proposed policy would provide all eligible parents with up to 12 weeks of paid leave to bond with a new child following birth, adoption, or foster care placement. Eligible parents would receive 90% of any wages below 50% of the state average weekly wage, plus 67% of any remaining wages. The maximum weekly benefit would be capped at the state average weekly wage, which is $1,067 as of September 2025. The program would be funded through payroll contributions from employers and employees, at no additional cost to the state.
The study found that this proposed program would be budget neutral and would generate $27 million in net annual benefits to families, employers, and the state. Families would see an average $4,776 increase in resources in the year a child is born. The analysis estimates a return of $8.60 for every $1 invested.
This research supports that paid leave is both pro-family and pro-business. It improves workforce participation, reduces costly health outcomes, increases infant and maternal health, and strengthens long-term economic stability without drawing from the state budget.
Read the full brief here.
Read a two-page summary here.
Please note, this analysis was conducted by the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development in partnership with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.
The WVCBP is excited to invite you to our annual Budget and Bites mixer and happy hour! Each year we gather to network, learn from each other, and share the Center’s analysis of the governor’s proposed budget.
It’s no secret that the state budget impacts every area of life. We want the West Virginia budget to work for West Virginians. We welcome you to join us and share in our vision for a more thriving Mountain State.
The event will be hosted at the WV School Service Personnel Association Conference Center on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 from 4:30-6:00pm.
At 5:00pm Kelly Allen, executive director, will introduce Sean O’Leary, senior policy analyst, who will provide a brief analysis of the governor’s proposed budget. Guests can enjoy an informal meet and greet with our team following the presentation. Appetizers and drinks will be provided. We’re thrilled to be joined this year by local folk musician, Jim Snyder, who has generously offered to share his talents with us.
Please note, registration is required to attend. You can purchase your ticket for the event here and submit a sponsorship form here. The WVCBP has long offered event sponsorship options for corporations and partner organizations; this year, we’re excited to offer a “Citizen Supporter” sponsorship option for Budget and Bites for the first time, giving our friends and supporters a direct way to champion our research and advocacy. Your contribution strengthens the work we do every day to ensure a fair, transparent state budget that invests in our communities. Purchasing a ticket to the event or becoming a sponsor is a great way to be part of the ongoing movement for a better Mountain State.
If you have questions about the various sponsorship levels, please reach out to the WVCBP’s operations manager, Krysta Rexrode, and she would be happy to provide further details. While tickets will be available for purchase up until the day of the event (January 21, 2026), the deadline to submit a sponsorship is Monday, January 5, 2026.
On behalf of all of us here at the WVCBP, thank you so much for your support of our effort to improve economic mobility and quality of life for all West Virginians. We hope to see you at next year’s Budget and Bites!
The enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) that millions across the country depend on to afford their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace are set to expire on December 31, resulting in massive premium spikes and inaccessible care. Our partner group, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), recently released a statement explaining why the House Republican health care bill passed earlier this week fails to meet the moment and provide Americans the path to affordable, reliable health care they need. Excerpt below:
As more than 20 million people face imminent spikes in their health care premiums, House Republicans passed a bill this week that does nothing to address this health care affordability crisis. Without congressional action, premium tax credit enhancements will expire at the end of this year, the premiums everyday people have to pay for 2026 marketplace plans will rise for nearly all marketplace enrollees, and 4 million people, including many self-employed workers and small business owners, will lose coverage.
Congressional Republicans could have followed through on their promises to help families afford the basics by extending the premium tax credit enhancements to help them enroll in affordable, comprehensive coverage. Instead, they recycled old ideas, refused to address the current affordability crisis — and made plans to go home.
In fact, the House Republicans’ answer to these problems was to pass a bill that, overall, will leave 100,000 fewer people with health coverage on top of the 4 million expected to lose coverage due to the expiration of the premium tax credits. And it will raise the premiums for millions of people with marketplace coverage even beyond the increases caused by the expiration of the premium tax credit enhancements.
Congressional Republican leaders, most Republican members of Congress, and the President continue to ignore the urgent need to prevent premium increases for marketplace enrollees that will leave millions uninsured or forced to make impossible choices, like paying for coverage or making car payments, affording groceries, and paying rent. The failure to date to address the looming premium spikes comes on top of huge cuts to Medicaid and other marketplace changes in the Republicans’ megabill that will leave even more people without coverage over time.
During this holiday season, millions of people are bracing for higher costs and considering how to make difficult tradeoffs in the new year. It is long past time for congressional Republicans and the President to solve the problem with the only solution available: extending the premium tax credit enhancements will make coverage more affordable and prevent millions from losing coverage.
Read CBPP’s full statement here.
The WVCBP was recently joined by over 120 individuals and 40 businesses from across the state in sending a letter to Congress urging them to extend the enhanced ACA premium tax credits that help keep health care accessible. You can read our letter here.
HB 2014, West Virginia’s new data center law, prohibits nearly all authority of counties and municipalities to oversee development of data centers and microgrids, redistributes local resources to the state’s wealthiest households, and undermines state-funded programs. A recent op-ed provides further insight into how the law harms communities across the Mountain State. Excerpt below:
Nationwide, communities are pushing back against data centers and the fossil fuel, polluting power plants that come with them. Many localities have successfully urged their governments to pass temporary moratoriums on the developments while the localities study the effects data centers might have on their water supply, land use and more. Some localities have simply denied permits outright.
If Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the Legislature get their way, communities in West Virginia won’t hold that ability to push back thanks to the pro-data center House Bill 2014 that became law this year. Among other goals, one part of the bill allows anointed “high impact” data centers and “certified” microgrids to bypass all aspects of local control.
When the Legislature returns to Charleston in January, it must return local control to local communities rather than bureaucrats in the Secretary of Commerce’s office.
Removing the opportunity for genuine public input removes the incentive for large companies to work collaboratively with localities. When control is in the hands of residents and local elected leaders, they can negotiate community benefit plans and other concessions from data center companies. They could ask firms like Google and Amazon to fund public parks, job training programs, or EMS.
But robbing local governments of the opportunity to give input and collaborate on these developments — meaning letting them take hard, honest looks at environmental and community impacts — means companies locating here have little need to add incentives that could improve the communities they move into. Why agree to fund community services and win public favor if you’ve already received the green light from the state to do anything you want, in any way you want?
It seems there is some recognition that the legislation went too far. Per Country Road News, Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, is dissatisfied with the bill and “had a hard time voting for it,” but did so for his political career because it’s hard to go against the governor. Shouldn’t the people in his district — where a deeply contested data center complex has been proposed — take priority over his political career? They’re the ones who vote him into office, and many of them were outspoken against HB 2014.
The irony of removing local governance is that Morrisey has preached personal autonomy when it comes to vaccines. If the West Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows people to not put something into their bodies, I think my religion should keep me from being poisoned by methane gas and diesel fumes, as well as whatever impacts data centers will have on my water quality.
To add insult to injury, projects that are given the greenlight under the certified data center and microgrid program will pay only a fraction of their property taxes to the community that they are taking water from, driving on the roads of, and, in many cases, directly polluting. Normally, the property tax revenue generated from these developments would go to the county and school districts to help offset their use of community resources and the negative environmental externalities they cause. However, Morrisey’s legislation instead collects all the revenue, sends it to the state, and divides it into buckets prioritized by state lawmakers — not local communities.
Under HB 2014, only 30% goes back to the county. None goes to local public schools.
A whopping 50% will go to the new Personal Income Tax Reduction Fund. The goal of that is to amass a large enough fund to allow the state to eliminate its income tax even further.
There are at least two things wrong with that approach. One, we’ve seen what happens when we rely on one industry. The state banked heavily on coal throughout our history, and its decline led to serious distress throughout our vulnerable communities. When it was good, we didn’t put money into a trust fund like Alaska or New Mexico.
I should mention that New Mexico’s trust fund, paid for by fossil fuel revenue, was created in 2020 and already has $10 billion in reserve. West Virginia leaders squandered our shot at this by neutering the Future Fund.
The other error in this approach is that it puts the burden of reducing everyone’s income tax on the backs of people forced to live with these data centers, methane gas plants and diesel generators in their communities. Should those in Tucker County bear the burden for people in Jefferson? What about Mingo County? Two-thirds of past income taxes go to the top 20% of households, per the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.
Folks in Tucker, Mingo and Mason counties have been vocal about what they think of the proposed data centers and power plants.
I’m not sure the people in power are listening.
The certified data center and microgrid program is finishing up its rulemaking phase, so none of the proposed projects in West Virginia can blow past local input yet. But our elected officials need to make that a priority in January before it’s too late.
Otherwise, communities should know that Morrisey and the kowtowing Legislature are to blame.
Read the full op-ed.
Read the WVCBP’s fact sheet on HB 2014 in the images below or download it here.
Black Policy Day was established by Crystal Good (Black By God), Katonya Hart (Partnerships for the Arts & Education), and Dr. Shanequa Smith (WV Black Voter Impact Initiative) who shared a vision of creating space for historically oppressed and ignored groups to amplify their stories and participate in the policymaking process.
This free event welcomes all to visit the Capitol to engage with their state leaders, discuss the issues that are most impacting Black and minority communities, and learn how to take action to make impacts in their communities.
Throughout the day, there will be opportunities to engage in meetings with lawmakers, space for vendors and tabling opportunities, youth activities, and much more. Information about current opportunities and resources will be provided. The afternoon will include a youth-centered lunch event with accompanying activities. Child care is available all day.
Learn more, register for free, or make a donation to the event here.
