West Virginia lawmakers review work at session’s midpoint for WV Press
From WV Press newspapers:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thursday marked the halfway point of the 2020 legislative session, and leaders of both the Senate and House of Delegates Thursday briefed reporters, editors and publishers of the state’s daily and weekly newspapers.
Senator Ron Stollings, D-Boone, standing in for minority leader Roman, Prezioso D-Marion, speaks during the West Virginia Press Association’s annual Legislative Breakfast. Also pictured, from left, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison.
The West Virginia Press Association held its annual Legislative Breakfast at the Cultural Center in Charleston. Attendees heard from Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson; House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay; House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison; and state Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone.
In a roundup of his comments, Stollings said Democrats think education is the key to economic growth in West Virginia.
“We need an educated, drug-free workforce,” he said. “We have about 30% to 40% of our children who are not going to be able to learn because of adverse childhood experiences. We absolutely need to invest in these early childhood, birth to 3 (programs) providing in-home services, trying to lend resilience to these children, or school is going to be out for them.”
If the tax on manufacturing business inventory, machinery and equipment is successfully repealed, many Democrats fear that counties and school boards will lose an important source of funding, Stollings said.
“That’s a $100 million hole in the local county school systems’ budget,” he said. “If we can find a replacement, we’d like to get rid of this regressive tax. But when we balance the budget in West Virginia, where do we get the money? We get the money from higher education and from the DHHR.”
Senate Joint Resolution 8 would phase out the business and inventory tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment. The resolution would phase out the tax over four years and eliminate $100 million in tax revenue that goes to provide funding for county governments and school systems. That funding would have to be replaced by the governor through the general revenue fund.
The resolution requires a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Legislature, and a vote by the public in a special election. It remains in the Senate Judiciary Committee, though Carmichael said he expects the committee to take up the resolution.
Stollings, a Democratic candidate for governor in the May 12 primary, said Senate Democrats remain concerned about keeping county budgets whole. “The fear of a lot of Senate Democrats, and I suspect House Democrats, is that if we cut or did away with the business and inventory tax, that’s a $100 million dollar hole in the local county and school system budget. If we can find a replacement, then we can find a way to get rid of this regressive tax.” …
Read more on the discussions:
Parkersburg News and Sentinel: https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2020/02/west-virginia-lawmakers-tout-progress-at-sessions-midpoint/
Exponent Telegram:
