MORGANTOWN — With the former Department of Health and Human Resources now trifurcated into three departments, legislators began the process on Thursday of officially naming the new departments. House Health and Human Resources took up HB 4274: a 709-page bill that can be summarized in a ...
MORGANTOWN — Here is a sampling of bills introduced Thursday, Jan. 11. Local sponsors and co-sponsors are noted. SB 201, providing exemption from state severance tax for coal sold to coal-fired power plants located in West Virginia. SB 202, requiring certain municipalities to pay for ...
CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice’s administration is proposing a general fund budget of $5.22 billion, a figure that includes a few proposed tax cuts along with spending increases such as pay raises for state workers. The administration is setting a revenue estimate of $5.265 billion, an amount that the administration has been intentionally keeping low to keep state spending in check. By comparison, the revenue estimate for the current fiscal year is $4.88 billion. “Our revenues are strong again,” acting Revenue Secretary Larry Pack told reporters on Wednesday, the first day ...
CHARLESTON — During his final State of the State address, Gov. Jim Justice struck a reflective tone but also urged West Virginians to keep moving forward. “The first time you saw me, I stood before you pledging to fight for the soul of our state. We were staring down a dark tunnel. Our state was bankrupt. Our jobs and our people were leaving, and our spirit was broken,” Justice said during his annual address before state officials Wednesday evening. “You remember those days? You remember what that was like? It wasn’t any fun, was it?” Justice said the state has made ...
MORGANTOWN — The 2024 legislative session began Wednesday afternoon at the state Capitol. As usual, the opening floor sessions were largely formalities, but Babydog sparked a brief debate on the House floor, and the Senate continued its recent practice of accelerating passage of certain ...
CHARLESTON — In his first State of the State address seven years ago, Gov. Jim Justice spread his arms wide, moaned and gave his formal audience an impression of Frankenstein’s monster — his version of the shambling financial beast that had stalked the state’s budget. “I always thought, if you got caught by Frankenstein, you deserved to die,” Justice said at the end of his address and inspiring the laughter of delegates, senators and Supreme Court justices. “Let me tell you just this. If we don’t do anything, if all we do is kick the can down the road and all we do ...
