Eric Nelson Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Senate Changes, Passes Bill To Reduce Unemployment Benefits

The engrossed bill that passed the Senate shaves two weeks of the current 26 weeks of unemployment benefits available to workers who have lost their job due through no fault of their own. It increases the initial benefit to up to $712 per week, or 70 percent of the original wage, for the first four weeks of unemployment. That’s up from $624 per week, and 65 percent of the wage. However after those first four weeks, the benefit decreases by 5 percent of the original wage, or max benefit.

Updated: 02/29/2024 5:13pm

The Senate passed a bill that would reduce overall unemployment benefits but increase initial benefits.

Senate Bills 840 and 841 would have steeply cut unemployment benefits. Those bills were combined and amended- and for the most part gutted with a new amendment.

The amended bill that passed the Senate shaves two weeks off of the current 26 weeks of unemployment benefits available to workers who have lost their job due through no fault of their own. The bill would also allow people to work part time while receiving unemployment. They would receive reduced benefits while working.

Under this amended bill the benefits are front loaded, and taper off as time goes on. It increases the initial benefit to up to $712 per week, or 70 percent of the original wage, for the first four weeks of unemployment. That’s up from $624 per week, and 65 percent of the wage. However after those first four weeks, the benefit decreases by 5 percent of the original wage, or max benefit.

For example, on week five, the benefit would be 65 percent, and on the ninth week it would be 60 percent. On week 20 through week 24, the last weeks of the available benefit, unemployed people would receive 45 percent of their original benefit.

The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy said that the average time an unemployed person collects benefits in the state is 13 weeks.

Sen. Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, said that this bill would benefit the average unemployed person, because they would collect that initial larger benefit.

The bill also requires that employers contribute more to the unemployment insurance fund.

“The average wage of those on the unemployed base is roughly $35,000,” Nelson said. “And so currently, over that 14 week period, they would receive $5,166. Under the proposed method, they would receive $5,991 to an increase of $800.”

However, Josh Sword, West Virginia AFL-CIO president, said the bill would cost some West Virginians who use the full duration of the benefit thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits.

“As it stands now, compared to the bill that was adopted in the Senate last night,” Sword said. “We know that individuals are going to receive about $4,000 less in benefits than they would today. So that’s concerning.”

The original bills would have reduced the maximum benefit to $550 per week and reduced the duration based on the current unemployment rate. It would reduce the benefits duration down to 12 weeks based on the current unemployment rate of 4.3 percent.

The 28 page amendment, which significantly changed the bill, was introduced on the floor 30 minutes before the bill was voted on.

Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said he understands the need for the bill but wanted more time to work out the details and bring stakeholders like business and labor unions to the table to talk about the bill.

“Don’t think it should be done in the 11th hour. I think it’s bad, bad government to do this,” Caputo said.

He said this sends a horrible message to the working people of West Virginia and the nearly 2,000 people who are slated to lose their jobs from layoffs from the closures of Allegany Woods and Cleveland Cliffs.

Sword agreed, and said he would have liked the AFL-CIO to have been involved in the drafting of legislation that would affect workers in the state.

“The best way to get good policy is to bring all impacted parties to the table,” Sword said. “And come up with a good common sense solution that makes sense for everybody. That absolutely did not happen. And that’s part of the reason that we don’t know what’s in it because we weren’t at the table trying to put something together.”

Nelson says the bill, that was put together privately over the course of three days, does include a few errors.

“One of the unfortunate things that does happen when we’re here at this speed at the end. This is not a final product, this goes over to the house. There’ll be additional discussions, and I’m gonna have more discussions with Senator Caputo and labor and others because we want the best product going forward. And that’s what we have,” Nelson said.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include Sen. Eric Nelson, and AFL-CIO President Josh Sword.

Former House Finance Chair Announces Bid for W.Va. Senate

A longtime Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates is vying for a seat in the state Senate. Del. Eric Nelson of Kanawha County made the announcement Tuesday outside the state Capitol.

Nelson, who was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2010, served as the House Finance Chair for four legislative sessions.

In late 2018, Nelson made an unsuccessful bid to lead the House as Speaker.

Following Del. Roger Hanshaw taking over the speaker’s gavel in the lower chamber, Nelson was moved off the Finance Committee and appointed chairman of the House Banking and Insurance Committee.

In a press release from Nelson’s campaign, he touts himself as a job creator and community leader, who has worked to diversify West Virginia’s economy by creating more jobs, attracting small businesses and entrepreneurial growth.

“I’m running for State Senate because I want to serve and help more of Kanawha County,” Del. Nelson said. “I’ve served House District 35, which encompasses parts of Kanawha County, for over nine years. I’m a leader who knows how to create jobs, grow our existing businesses and attract new ones, which is what the Kanawha Valley needs most right now.”

Nelson said if elected to the state Senate, his priorities include job creation, expansion of high-speed broadband, improvement of state and local infrastructure, and improving public and higher education.

The District 17 seat in the West Virginia Senate up for grabs in 2020 is currently held by Democrat Corey Palumbo, who has yet to decide whether to run for reelection.

W.Va.'s Racing Industry Fights to Survive Amid Years of Teetering State Backing

The dog and horse racing industries have played a major role in West Virginia’s economy since the mid-1930s. But in recent years, lawmakers at the statehouse have debated whether these industries fit into the state’s economic future. Those who support the racing industry are fighting to see it survive, while others say it doesn’t bring in revenue like it once did.

Nearly Ninety Years of Racing in W.Va.

Five thoroughbred horses spring from the gates in a nighttime race at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charles Town. Thoroughbred horse racing in West Virginia began here in 1933 when Charles Town Races first opened.

Jefferson County is also home to the oldest thoroughbred breeding farm in the state, O’Sullivan Farms. Many of the horses born and raised here go on to race at the Hollywood Casino or other racetracks around the world.

John Funkhouser is the Farm Manager and co-owner of O’Sullivan Farms. His great-grandfather founded the business in 1939, and eventually passed it on to John’s grandparents.

“At the end of the 40s, early 50s, my grandmother came out to the farm where we are now, and she bought this farm with her own money,” Funkhouser said.

John Funkhouser tends to a young foal with its mother.

Today, John, his brother Joe, and their parents keep the place going along with the help of six to twelve employees.

The Funkhousers have seen hundreds of horses go in and out of their gates over the past eight decades. And several of their horses have been champion racers. One made it into third place in one of the Triple Crown races— the Preakness Stakes— in 1939.

One of the eight stallions at O’Sullivan Farms.

Today, they have eight stallions, 42 broodmares, 46 yearlings and foals, and nearly 150 acres of farmland. About one of every four horses living on the farm belongs to clients from all over the country.

“There’s so much beauty in raising these horses,” Funkhouser said. “When you finally get that horse that you’ve been raising and breeding for five years, and it does well, [it’s] not much more gratifying than that.”

But it’s a tough industry, and it’s expensive.

Funding a Pricey Industry

A horsemen family like the Funkhousers rely heavily on state funding to keep their operation going. State funds pay for things like feeding and caring for the horses, helping pay bet winnings, paying jockeys and other staff.

A mare with her foal at O’Sullivan Farms.

The state’s racing industry is supported in a variety of ways, but the West Virginia Legislature supports the industry mainly through three accounts—the Greyhound Breeding Development Fund, the Thoroughbred Development Fund, and the Purse Fund.

The Purse Fund is the biggest. Each year, a certain portion of tax dollars and casino revenue goes into this fund. The cash mostly comes from video lottery, table games, and betting at the state’s four casinos.

But the Purse Fund has dropped over the years—from about $75 million four or five years ago to about $40 million in 2018.

The Greyhound and Thoroughbred Development Funds have both received between $1 million and $2 million less over the past four years.

These three accounts are directly linked to how well a casino performs each year.

And given the decline in casino revenue, some lawmakers question the remaining investment in the racing industries. But those who support the industry argue horse and dog races at the state’s casinos are key to keeping those casinos competitive with surrounding states.

Support or Opposition from the State of W.Va.

The Funkhousers and others in the racing industry constantly worry that funding from the state will continue to dwindle.

“Every year, for the last eight years, we’ve gotten less and less money from what we’ve been promised,” Funkhouser said. “But because you’ve got a legislature that doesn’t fully understand the industry, they’ve taken a successful industry that was hugely successful seven or eight years ago, and now it’s on the brink of collapsing.”

The 2017 state Legislative session was a tough budget year, with a $450 million shortfall. In that year, budget allocations for several industries, including the Greyhound Breeding Development Fund, were almost eliminated. There were concerns the same thing might be considered for the Thoroughbred Development Fund.

During the 2018 regular session though, continued funding for the state’s two racing industries was not in jeopardy. There was even a bill to help them get more money. That bill passed unanimously in the state Senate, but didn’t make it out of the House Finance Committee.

Jefferson County Delegate Riley Moore is passionate about the horse racing industry in his region, and he hopes to see state support for the racing industries restored back to a more competitive place.

He argues the industry is good for West Virginia—that it supports green space, tourism, and boosts the economy.

“As important as the coal industry is to other parts of the state, that is the level of importance the horse racing industry, the thoroughbred industry, is for Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle at large,” Moore said. “That is our coal industry here. That is the long term industry that is one of our biggest employers here. So it’s certainly huge for the area and for the state of West Virginia.”

Thoroughbred horses spring from the gates in a race at the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, W.Va.

But other lawmakers think it’s a bad investment because it doesn’t bring in enough revenue for the entire state like it did in previous decades.

Delegate Eric Nelson, the House Finance Chairman, said he’s sympathetic to the struggle of the racing industry, but has concerns the industry is declining and fewer people are attending races.

So, in tough budget years, he said state funding can’t always be guaranteed. “It’s a big balancing act,” Nelson noted. “[The racing industry] means more to some of those districts that actually see the full component of that, but then there are many other areas of state that don’t get the full benefit or see the full benefit of that, and there’s concerns about the priorities of dollars and where they should go.”

The Racing Industry’s Impact

An economic impact study done by West Virginia University in 2012 indicates that declines in attendance has affected the amount of cash going into the funds, impacting the level of state revenue accrued each year.

The report found that the industry brings in roughly $4.5 million in total state tax revenue annually.

A foal with its mother at O’Sullivan Farms.

Charles Town Races accounts for nearly 50 percent of the total business impact from the state’s racing industries. Mountaineer Park in Hancock County accounts for 30 percent, and the two greyhound tracks, Mardi Gras in Cross Lanes and Wheeling Island in Wheeling, together contribute about 10 percent of total business volume impact.

The 2012 study also indicates the thoroughbred and greyhound racing industries in West Virginia contribute more than $320 million in total business volume to the state’s economy.

That’s 7,300 jobs, which is about 10 percent of employment in West Virginia’s leisure and hospitality sector.

A more recent economic impact study on the state’s racing industry has not been conducted.

Opinion: Road Bond Will Bring Immediate Benefits

When West Virginians turned control of the Legislature over to Republicans in 2014, they did so with a clear mandate: turn the state’s economy around and help create jobs.

In the years since, we’ve reformed the state’s legal environment, begun stripping needless regulations off the books, and passed a right-to-work law to make our state more attractive to new businesses.

While those important reforms can help improve the environment for job creation, they don’t themselves directly create jobs. But earlier this year, the Legislature did give West Virginia citizens the opportunity to vote on a new, ambitious program that will create thousands of new jobs here in our state.

On Oct. 7, West Virginians will have the opportunity to vote on a $1.6 billion road bond initiative that will dramatically improve our state’s infrastructure while boosting our economy through the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in the coming years.

I fully support this road bond proposal, and encourage you to vote for it too. If passed, it will mean greater safety for motorists, significant reduction in potholes (thus less money spent on vehicle repairs), and investment in economic and job growth for many years to come.

It is well noted businesses look at the local infrastructure when they decide to move to a location. That’s why it’s important to have the best system of roads and bridges possible to attract companies to this state.

Recently, West Virginia was ranked last in CNBC’s “Top States for Business.” The second-most important factor in that ranking system: infrastructure.

If we want to make our state more attractive to business, we need to improve our infrastructure, and this bond issue will do just that.

No other bill or program approved by the Legislature can create so many jobs in one fell swoop. This could mean more people working instead of being unemployed, more money in peoples’ pockets to spend in our local stores, and more hiring by those businesses who see that boost.

In addition to the immediate construction jobs, improving our infrastructure will have a significant long-term effect on our state.

“But what about the cost?” you may ask.

Many times when a bond or levy is put before voters, it means there will need to be increased taxes to pay for them. But that’s not the case with this bond vote.

Earlier this year, Gov. Justice, with the Legislature, took steps to raise additional revenue for our State Road Fund. During the special session in June, the Legislature passed $130 million in additional annual revenue from gas taxes and other fees for our roads.

These additional funds are dedicated to repay the $1.6 billion bond issue. The bond will be fully supported by leveraging these annual revenue flows over 25 years. These funds will produce more than $3.2 billion over the life of the bond – more than enough to cover repayment.

This is important: Approving this bond will not increase taxes. The funding is already there.

The question before voters is whether we use that $130 million that was already approved to fund the bonds or, instead, delay investment over time.

Think about it: We can either get $1.6 billion to pay for projects now, or let the money be spent here-and-there over time.

We’ve already seen how the pay-as-you-go system has not kept pace with inflation and needs. Total annual State Road Fund dollars have remained flat for the last 10 years at $1.2 billion, while costs have gone significantly higher.

That’s why it’s taken so long to get projects like the U.S. 35 expansion moving, or why we’ve not expanded Jefferson Road to Corridor G in South Charleston, or moved to complete Corridor H and the King Coal Highways, to name a few large dollar projects.

If we approve the $1.6 billion bond, we can get to work immediately.

If we don’t approve the bond, these projects will continue to sit on the back burner waiting for funds to free up. It will also make these projects more expensive as costs continue to rise due to additional deterioration and inflation over time.

Approving this road bond during the Oct. 7 election (early voting takes place Sept. 22 – Oct. 4) will mean these critical projects are completed sooner and cheaper, long-overdue maintenance will be addressed, our road safety improves, and – best of all – we provide a more immediate economic benefit and job creation for our state.

I encourage everyone to support this investment in West Virginia’s future.

Republican Delegate and House Finance Chairman Eric Nelson represents the 35th District, which includes portions of Kanawha County.

This op-ed represents the views of the author, and does not necessarily represent the views of West Virginia Public Broadcasting or its employees. We want to hear from many diverse viewpoints on this and other issues – submit prospective op-eds to feedback@wvpublic.org

House Changes Sales Tax, Cuts Higher Ed in 2018 Budget

Members in the House of Delegates have approved their budget bill for fiscal year 2018 – bringing $140 million additional dollars in revenue and making $75 million in cuts to government agencies. The House’s budget is largely based on revenue brought in under a Senate bill that was drastically changed by the chamber’s finance committee.

That bill, Senate Bill 484, originally would have just captured some $12 million a year that goes into the state Road Fund, but while it still contains the provision, it’s been transformed into what House leadership is calling a tax reform measure. The House’s version looks to broaden the base of taxable goods and services in two phases, July and then October of this year. Under the plan, things like cell phones or personal services would become subject to the sales tax, bringing in some $140 million in additional revenue in the 2018 budget.

Del. Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan, House Majority Leader.

The bill would also require that by July 2018, the state’s current 6 percent sales tax would be reduced to 5.5 percent, then to 5.25 percent in July 2019. Over time, if the fiscal climate is favorable in the state, the tax rate could go down to as low as 4.75 percent. That reduction of the overall rate will also lead to deficits in the state budget, that is if spending doesn’t increase in the state.

Majority Leader Daryl Cowles of Morgan County adamantly supports the measure, saying West Virginia’s border counties will see a boom in revenue.

“It’s tax relief for the people of West Virginia,” Cowles said, “It does capture revenue in the short-term, it is very quickly, within two short years, revenue neutral as the rate is lowered for everyone on every purchase, point of sale that’s taxed. And then, for another two years, the rate drops all the way down to 4.75. Imagine that. Imagine the growth our border counties could see if we have a competitive advantage at a tax rate of 4.75 considerably lower than all of our surrounding neighbors.”

But Minority Finance Chair Delegate Brent Boggs, of Braxton County, says he’s concerned this revenue idea lacks fairness.

“It seems like with this, when we’re talking about broadening the base, we’re really not broadening much, because it’s all the things that we’re not picking up, and we seem to be disproportionately hitting the people that are at the low income and middle income level, and possibly that takes in a lot of our seniors,” Boggs said.

After nearly two hours of debate, Senate Bill 484 passed 52 to 48.

Del. Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, House Minority Finance Chair.

House Budget

In an evening floor session Wednesday, delegates also took up the chamber’s budget bill, House Bill 2018, which relies on $75 million in cuts to state agencies to balance the budget. The House’s budget no longer includes the 2 percent pay raise to classroom teachers first proposed by Gov. Jim Justice. It reduces funding for West Virginia four-year higher education institutions by 6 percent and the state’s community and technical colleges by 5 percent.

The budget also grants the Higher Education Policy Commission the authority to decide how the state’s higher education dollars will be divided between institutions.

It was this part of the budget that had some delegates in the House concerned. Several Democrats argued the provision is unconstitutional, including Delegate Rodney Miller, a Democrat from Boone County, who says the House had even considered getting rid of the organization at one point.

“It’s interesting that we are giving them the pot of money to let them be the arbitrator, the disseminator of this funding; letting them be the ultimate choice when at the same time,” Miller said, “during this legislative session, we had, if I’m not mistaken, we had some legislation proposed to actually either get rid of or completely alter, significantly change the CTCs and HEPCs in our state. Now we’re going to give them all this power and authority and money. It’s very confusing with the consistency of what we have going on in this body.”

Democrat Mike Caputo, of Marion County, says allowing the HEPC to control higher education spending will result in a lack of accountability.

“These folks, they’re appointed for a certain term. They don’t have to account to the people; they don’t put their name on the ballot. We put our name on the ballot. And that bothers me,” Caputo explained. “I don’t know who come up with this crazy idea to throw all the money in one pot and just let some people toss it out how they feel without any accountability. Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, that to me is just absolutely irresponsible.”

Republican Delegate Mark Zatezalo, of Hancock County, spoke in support of the budget bill, and suggested the HEPC work more closely with the state’s colleges and universities than the Legislature does.

“We are allocating resources to two groups who have the most interface with higher education, and I’m wondering if they might have more insight into how things are spent at the higher education level than we do,” Zatezalo noted. “I certainly, you know, I can see money go in and out of here, and I can see money allocated for schools; frankly I’m not in the weeds enough for each school to understand exactly what they need and exactly who needs the money.”

House Finance Chair Eric Nelson argued this was a tough budget year all around, but when it came to giving the HEPC the authority, it makes the most sense.

“I mentioned we had a bunch of agencies come before us to give budget presentations. The presentation for Higher Ed and CTC was made by HEPC and the CTC chancellors,” Nelson said. “It was not the individual colleges. You know what, we had very tough choices, and we’ve been in some unchartered territory. It’s been a balancing act. This balance is structurally sound; difficult decisions had to be made. Without a doubt, this has been an all-inclusive and a very transparent process.”

The House’s budget bill passed on a vote of 58 to 42.

House Committee Advances Sales Tax Changes

Members of the House Finance Committee have advanced their bill to “broaden the base and lower the rate” of the state’s sales tax, a bill that the chamber is relying on to balance its 2018 budget.

Members were initially presented the latest version of Senate Bill 484 Saturday and took the bill up once again Monday morning.

It was first introduced to lawmakers by Gov. Jim Justice as a sweeping tax increase, raising some $450 million in new revenues.

As it passed out of the Senate, though, the measure only included recapturing about $12 million in annual sales tax revenue generated from some road construction purchases. Those funds are typically transferred to the state Road Fund, but the Senate’s bill would keep them in general revenue for legislative appropriation.

The bill gets rid of the sales tax exemptions for a number of services in two phases, first in July then October of this year.

Del. Brent Boggs during the Monday morning Finance Committee meeting.

On July 1, 2018, the bill would begin to gradually reduce the state’s sales tax rate from the current 6 percent to 5.5 percent, then by a quarter of a percent in each following year.

Deputy Revenue Sec. Mark Muchow told the committee Monday that while the bill will initially result in an increase in revenues, some $150 million in 2018 budget year and $67 million the following, it would eventually result in a budget deficit for the state of around $120 million.

Muchow admitted his calculations only include a small amount of growth due to increased sales from a lower tax rate, but House Finance Committee Chair Eric Nelson said it’s possible that sales growth could prevent future deficits.

“When we get below 5.5, we’re below all of our surrounding states and if anything would drive economic activity, it would be a lower tax on consumer products that others would search to come to West Virginia for,” Nelson said.

Still, those out year deficits are why members of the committee chose to amend the bill Monday morning, adding triggers for sales tax reductions after July 2019.

The amendment offered by Del. Steve Westfall would keep the tax rate at 5.25 percent and set the 2017 sales tax revenues as a baseline. State sales tax revenues each year would have to meet that baseline before any future reduction to the rate could occur.

“This is a protection that it won’t blow a hole in the budget, but still allows a vehicle that it will still be a tax cut for a people,” House Majority Leader Darryl Cowles said during the committee meeting.

The amendment was accepted and the amended bill was approved on a 13 to 11 vote.

Nelson said the new revenues created by the bill are the base of the House budget, which he presented to the committee late Monday night, but the bill is the completely opposite of the tax reform approach taken by the Senate.

Their bill focused on increasing the sales tax while decreasing the personal income tax rates in order to incent economic growth.

Del. Cindy Fritch raises her hand to ask a question during Monday’s House Finance Committee meeting.

“Well I guess one of the main reasons for taking this different approach is trying to get a product that is most favorable with a majority of our members in the House,” Nelson said, “and the Senate approach unfortunately, was not that approach to move forward with.”

The amended Senate Bill 484 will have to be approved by the full House of Delegates and agreed to in the Senate before becoming law.

Gov. Jim Justice has already expressed concerns with the business taxes in the bill and is publicly pressuring lawmakers to reconsider the proposal.