A release from Jared Hunt Communications Director West Virginia House of Delegates CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The House of Delegates passed its first bills of the 2017 session this past week, with lawmakers focusing efforts on boosting government ethics and accountability and gathering more information on the state’s budget situation. The House[Read More…]
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Bill to change WV right-to-work law advances over objections
By PHIL KABLER Charleston Gazette-Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill to make retroactive changes to West Virginia’s right-to-work law — currently being challenged in Kanawha Circuit Court — advanced from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, over objections from senators who said it could violate separation of powers provisions of[Read More…]
Editorial: Legislature can help Wheeling with Tax Credit
From the Wheeling News-Register: Developers understand a few percentage points can make a critical difference when one is involved in a big construction or renovation project. The old Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel headquarters building, with 144,000 square feet of interior space, is a big project. Towering over downtown Wheeling, the building has been vacant[Read More…]
Local officials still optimistic for ethane cracker
By Casey Junkins The Intelligencer DILLES BOTTOM, Ohio — It took Royal Dutch Shell officials five years from announcing in 2011 their intentions to build a Marcellus Shale region ethane cracker to confirming they would construct the giant petrochemical plant along the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pa. This means[Read More…]
Editorial: State cannot just keep crying wolf
From The Dominion Post: “Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity.” Of course, no other than a saint said that. If you doubt the truth in that wisdom, look no further than how our state balances budgets. A little more than three years ago Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin proposed dipping[Read More…]
A steady hand, consistent plan needed to grow economy
From The Exponent Telegram: It’s all over the place. That would be the best way to explain how our leaders in Charleston — and Washington, D.C., for that matter — are approaching budget issues and attempts to stimulate the economy. With Republicans in control in D.C. — and mostly in[Read More…]
Editorial: W.Va. has bigger issues than unemployment pay for striking workers
From the Times West Virginian: Strikes, though not nearly as common as in years past, bring hardships. Those hardships hit workers, businesses and customers. The discomfort over strikes in West Virginia could become greater. State Senate Bill 222 is now being considered. It would make workers who have temporarily lost[Read More…]
‘At the Capitol’ Column Feb. 19: Slow start on passage of Legislation
By Phil Kabler For The West Virginia Press Association CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Unlike the past two legislative sessions, when the new Republican leadership jumped into each new session with the passage of a flurry of bills, the 2017 regular session has gotten off to a comparatively slow start. After 10[Read More…]
Commerce secretary seeks $105 million
By Rusty Marks The State Journal CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While members of the Legislature are struggling to figure out how to plug an estimated $500 million hole in the upcoming state budget, state Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher is trying to talk them into giving him $105 million. Thrasher told members[Read More…]
Proposed bills would have affect on Eastern Panhandle
By Danyel VanReenen The Journal of Martinsburg CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There are multiple bills in the state House and Senate that would affect the Eastern Panhandle if implemented. Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, has introduced and supported several of those bills. Known as the “Right of Eminent Domain,” SB 245 is one bill[Read More…]