As West Virginia’s common legislative session reaches its midway level this coming week, it’s clear there’s nonetheless a giant hole on Gov. Jim Justice’s high precedence, a 50 p.c private revenue tax discount over three years.
The governor has continued to barnstorm the state to advertise the tax reduce. However an increasing number of, the governor has expressed frustration with the Senate’s Republican majority, saying they’re taking too lengthy to choose a tax reduce.
Requested about the opportunity of the legislative session ending with out an settlement, Justice mentioned final week that’s an actual chance. Thursday is day 30 of the 60-day common session.
“That not solely is the chance, which may be the technique,” mentioned Justice, a Republican. “From the standpoint of what’s happening on the Senate aspect, it could really be the technique — which might be catastrophic to our individuals. However on the finish of the day, we don’t have something again from the Senate. The Senate says they’ve bought a plan. Nicely, the place’s the plan? The place’s the meat?”
There are a number of proposed tax reduce plans. What’s the threat that there isn’t a tax plan earlier than the tip of this 12 months’s legislative session? @WVGovernor addresses that query to @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/TGgNrRXQjj
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) February 1, 2023
The view from the Senate is totally different. Senate leaders have described a deliberate method to the tax reduce, saying they must get it proper to keep away from future fiscal catastrophe.
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, mentioned it’s necessary to rigorously assess the consequences of the tax proposal in years to return. The Senate Finance Committee on Friday had a particular listening to to scrutinize every of the numerous supplemental and surplus appropriations proposed for this 12 months’s state finances.
Tarr contends the governor’s actions aren’t serving to.
“The governor must be faraway from the method. I’ve mentioned this earlier than. I believe he’s an obstacle to getting what’s greatest carried out for the state of West Virginia,” Tarr mentioned final week on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“I believe this governor is taking a number of the Roman emperor’s view that you simply give them bread and circus and also you rule them eternally. I believe that’s what he’s been doing goes across the state and doing the bread and circus a part of it by passing out issues and letting different issues which might be essential to our state’s wants actually disintegrate.”
Tarr says the Home and Senate might work out the state’s monetary priorities on their very own.
“He’s not wanted on this course of. We have now mega-majorities within the Home and Senate. The one purpose he must be within the course of is for his personal ego, interval. If he would step out of the way in which, I imagine the Home and Senate will get much more manufacturing out of this Legislature,” he mentioned.
The Senate Finance chairman has been involved about coming bills comparable to a declining federal Medicaid match, a monetary time bomb on the Public Workers Insurance coverage Company, pay raises for state workers together with lecturers and corrections officers, growth of the Hope Scholarship for college kids opting out of public faculties and a precedence for extra classroom help at early grade ranges.
Hoppy Kercheval: How Justice and Senate Republicans get to sure
A fiscal notice assessing the governor’s tax proposal concludes it might lower Normal Income Fund collections by about $161.8 million in fiscal 2023, somewhat greater than $1 billion million in fiscal 2024, $1.2 billion in fiscal 2025, and virtually $1.5 billion in fiscal 2026.
Proper now, West Virginia is working a finances surplus simply shy of a billion {dollars}. However that’s primarily based on a number of components, together with excessive power costs which have produced high-performing severance tax returns and artificially-low state income projections which have enforced comparatively “flat” budgets for a number of years in a row.
Tarr says the spending will increase and tax reduce simply don’t steadiness.
“The numbers are damning,” Tarr mentioned. “It’s as dangerous a factor and reckless as I’ve ever seen, and he doesn’t care as a result of it’s the subsequent governor’s downside.”
.@EricJTarr4WV joins @HoppyKercheval LIVE from the State Capitol to debate Governor Justice’s proposed revenue tax plan reduce. What must occur to return to a compromise? WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/RNTXnKMxw4
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) February 2, 2023
The finance chairman is appropriate to be cautious, mentioned Kelly Allen, govt director of the West Virginia Middle for Funds and Coverage. The assume tank concludes the governor’s tax proposal would knock holes within the state finances.
“I believe the Senate’s strategy of being far more deliberate is an effective one,” Allen mentioned.
“That is actually main tax reform we’re speaking about, actually main hits to the state finances and with out getting our finances home so as, understanding what expenditures we have to prioritize, understanding issues which might be looming like PEIA, the necessity to make pay extra aggressive for public workers and a number of different priorities, we are able to’t actually assess what impression a giant tax reduce goes to have on our capacity to supply primary providers.”
She mentioned there’s no have to rush towards these main monetary selections.
“I believe the concept we’re below some type of time strain is a foul one. It doesn’t deal with it with the seriousness and financial accountability that it wants,” she mentioned.
Individuals for Prosperity West Virginia, a libertarian-leaning group, has been distributing flyers to help the tax reduce and maintain senators’ ft to the hearth. The flyer urges state residents to contact their senators and “ask them to maintain their promise to enact daring, transformational tax cuts.”
Jason Huffman, state director for the group, says persons are responding. “The persons are conscious, and I believe when there’s that a lot grassroots strain, one thing’s bought to interrupt someplace,” Huffman mentioned. “So I believe finally cooler heads will prevail and people will discover a pathway ahead on this.”
Huffman contends the state’s funds are on strong footing. He additionally suggests the massive revenue tax reduce can be a serious financial stimulus. “Once you dump a billion {dollars} again into the fingers of taxpayers, you’re going to see development,” he mentioned.
He mentioned there’s nonetheless loads of time to strike a deal — even when which means going into additional time.
“The fiscal 12 months doesn’t finish till July 1,” he mentioned with each darkish humor and realism. “For the parents paying consideration at residence, we’ve had particular periods within the summertime earlier than. That may be a actual chance, I believe.”
April 24 (UPI) — West Virginia plans to appeal a recent ruling against the state’s transgender athlete ban to the U.S. Supreme Court, the state attorney general announced Wednesday.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is running for governor of West Virginia, told reporters Wednesday at the state Capitol in Charleston that he will ask the high court to consider BPJ vs. West Virginia State Board of Education after it declined to take the case last year.
“We will be filing, over the next month, and we’re going to make sure we time our filing to maximize the chance this case is going to be heard, and most importantly, that we will win,” Morrisey said.
“This is a significant case to bring to the Supreme Court, and it will potentially set precedent for the entire country.”
Last week, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked West Virginia’s 2021 ban on transgender students participating on sports teams that match their gender identity, because it violates federal law.
Appeals Judge Toby Heytens said the ban violated Title IX, after the American Civil Liberties Union brought the suit on behalf of eighth-grade trans teen Becky Pepper-Jackson.
“West Virginia’s transgender sports ban’s sole purpose — and its sole effect — is to prevent transgender girls from playing on girls teams,” Heytens wrote in his opinion on April 16. “Offering BPJ a ‘choice’ between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all.”
“Somehow, defying logic, the 4th Circuit majority still concluded that this law was targeted at transgender students. They are wrong,” Morrisey responded.
West Virginia became the seventh state in 2021 to pass a law, banning transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams under the Save Women’s Sports Act. It requires public schools and colleges to base sports participation on biological sex rather than gender identity. There are currently 24 states that have similar laws in place.
Fairness West Virginia said Wednesday that Morrisey’s statements about transgender youth create a hostile environment, allowing for more bullying and discrimination.
“Transgender women are women, period,” said Jack Jarvis, communications director for Fairness in West Virginia. “If you want to support women, you need to support all women.”
Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas, host of the 2024 Big 12 Golf Championship, proved to be fertile ground for West Virginia golf to post their program-best team finish in tournament history.
After an impressive penultimate round, the Mountaineers finished one-over-par for the final round on Wednesday, setting their total for the tournament at five-over-par — good for a fifth-place finish out of the 14 teams competing.
What a week for the Mountaineers at @Big12Conference Championship!
▶️ https://t.co/Zok3bkuFLR pic.twitter.com/KDfpV9fuv3
— WVU Golf (@WVUGolf) April 24, 2024
Before this weekend, WVU had previously only managed a ninth-place finish in the tournament, which they achieved in 2023, 2021 and 2018 — the Big 12 was a ten-team league at the time. The Mountaineers’ best finish to par before this season was 24-over-par in 2019 when the Big 12 Championship was hosted inside West Virginia at The Greenbrier — they bested that total by nearly 20 strokes this week.
“This was the most impressive tournament of any during my time at West Virginia,” coach Sean Covich said. “Our postseason hopes were on the line in the biggest, most challenging tournament of the entire season and the guys got it done. Each one of these guys contributed to our top five finish, even those not in the lineup pushed our starters to play their best. Words can’t explain how proud I am of them and most of all, how happy I am for them.”
Junior Max Green led the way for WVU, finishing tied for 18th-place individually with a finish of two-over-par through 72 holes. Fellow junior three-over-par over the course of the tournament to secure a tie for 23rd place. Senior Jackson Davenport and junior Pierce Grieve also secured Top-40 finishes individually.
With both the early signing period and the initial days of the late one in the books, what are the primary needs for West Virginia as the program looks to fill out the 2024 roster?
The first transfer window closed, but another opened from April 16-30 while there also will be the possibility of graduate transfers entering at any time to provide even more options. West Virginia is expected to continue to be aggressive when it comes to filling out the roster.
Yes, there is the possibility of junior college or late high school options, but it is much more likely that the coaching staff places the emphasis on transfers.
The primary needs remain in the defensive backfield at both cornerback and safety for the program.
The Mountaineers were able to reel in a pair of cornerbacks in December in Colorado State transfer Ty Crandall and Duquesne transfer Ayden Garnes and then added another in February in Northwestern transfer Garnett Hollis. Still, the position is one that could continue to receive a look depending on what unfolds.
Finding safeties that can bounce around to fill multiple roles also remains a priority in order to sure up the secondary. The Mountaineers did add Northwestern transfer Jaheem Joseph in February but the program lost a pair of commitments there in Louisville transfer Josh Minkins and Old Dominion transfer Tahj Ra-El.
Still, expect that position to receive plenty of attention moving forward. And much like at cornerback, it’s realistic to expect at least one more addition there.
Expect West Virginia also to keep an open mind when it comes to possible additions with both young pass rushers and defensive linemen. The focus here is to continue cultivating depth and avoid a situation where the program constantly recruits new one-year options there every off-season. These don’t have to necessarily be immediate impact options, just ones that fit and have multiple years left.
On offense, the coaching staff will continue to be more selective overall and are only looking at the possibility of even adding to a few of the rooms on the roster.
One of those is wide receiver, where the program could still use some veteran depth. Even with the addition of Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray the coaching staff could still explore the possibility of adding more.
The same can be said at tight end as the coaching staff has discussed possibly adding another multi-year option to that room but that is expected to be something the staff discusses in the coming weeks.
The final spot would be offensive line but given the addition of Jacksonville State transfer Xavier Bausley that likely isn’t as necessary as some of the spots on defense. The coaching staff likes the current makeup of that position room and believes that while the right fit could change that, overall, the Mountaineers have done a good job building that room up over the years.
West Virginia has been aggressive to date when it comes to mining the portal and you can expect that to continue as the coaches look to fill out the roster with both immediate and long-term options.
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