By LACIE PIERSON The Herald-Dispatch CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia lawmakers on Tuesday came close to a revenue deal for fiscal year 2018, only to have the deal die early Tuesday evening, setting off a new round of bargaining over the state’s budget, minus the additional revenue that would have[Read More…]
Government
Furlough bill goes to conference committee
By ANDREA LANNOM The Register-Herald CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill allowing for the furlough of state employees in a declared fiscal emergency is now heading to a conference committee. The Senate made changes to House Bill 106, the furlough bill, but the House refused to concur with the amended version.[Read More…]
Governor updated plan has no tax cut for those make over $300k
By ANDREA LANNOM The Register-Herald CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice presented an updated revenue plan Monday, including changes in the reduction of personal income tax and a sales tax rate change. Justice unveiled three whiteboards in an early afternoon press conference representing what he said were House Speaker Tim[Read More…]
Gov. Justice pleads with lawmakers to vote on budget
By LACIE PIERSON The Herald-Dispatch CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With 18 days to go before the start of fiscal year 2018, Gov. Jim Justice on Monday told lawmakers “it’s time to vote” on revenue and budget measures to avoid a government shutdown and further spending of taxpayer money. The governor also[Read More…]
Trio of West Virginia budget plans on the table in Charleston
By JOSELYN KING The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register WHEELING — An amended plan for tax reform set forth by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice would eliminate a proposed reduction in personal income tax for the state’s higher-earning residents. A “Wealthy West Virginians Tax” proposed by Justice on Monday leaves in[Read More…]
Latest Justice plan retains WV tax cuts, but not for higher incomes
By PHIL KABLER Charleston Gazette-Mail After a weekend of negotiations with House and Senate leaders, Gov. Jim Justice is pitching a tweaked version of the 2017-18 West Virginia revenue plan that retains income tax cuts — but with no cuts for residents with incomes of $300,000 or more. It also[Read More…]
Legislative conference committee discusses Justice’s new revenue plan
By ANDREA LANNOM The Register-Herald CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The legislative Conference Committee continued discussing options for a revenue bill, focusing a plan offered Monday by Gov. Jim Justice. The committee’s final day to release a report is today. The conference committee, which originally was scheduled for 9 a.m., was delayed[Read More…]
Democrats say Kansas revenue crash should be a warning
By RUSTY MARKS The State Journal CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Democrats in the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates say recent events in the state of Kansas should serve as a warning to West Virginia lawmakers contemplating eliminating the Mountain State’s income tax. “It’s almost like someone is trying to[Read More…]
Turnpike tolls doubling?
By CHARLIE BOOTHE Bluefield Daily Telegraph CHARLESTON, W.Va. — If Gov. Jim Justice’s plans for the West Virginia Turnpike come to fruition, toll fees may double, but passenger cars could use the toll road as often as they like for only $8 a year. “If House Bill 103 passes in[Read More…]
Editorial: Sen. Mitch Carmichael’s lesson to all – A principled stand
From the Register-Herald of Beckley: Make no mistake, when a big and powerful corporation doesn’t get its way on public policy matters no matter the venue, it will often resort to petty retribution because, well, it can, proving that the bottom line – heads and tails above all other concerns[Read More…]
