Government Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

PEIA Finance Board Holds Last Public Hearing

Over the course of three hours, retirees, teachers, emergency services personnel, and a range of state employees with PEIA health insurance spoke about anticipating more financial strain.

The finance board for the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) hosted its last public hearing on cost increases Thursday night in Charleston.

Over the course of three hours, retirees, teachers, emergency services personnel, and a range of state employees with PEIA health insurance spoke about anticipating more financial strain.

“We don’t have collective bargaining,” America Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees retirees from West Virginia union president Spud Terry said. “We have collective begging.”

Many pointed to the new legislature and governor – who could designate funds to offset the rising healthcare costs – to take action next year.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, and chair of the state Democratic party, attended the hearing. He asked the governor and state legislature for action.

“The House Finance Committee and the Senate Finance Committee is who actually needs to hear this,” Pushkin said.

When Pushkin asked if anyone in the audience was from the legislature, Gov. Jim Justice’ office, or governor elect Patrick Morrisey’s office, he was met with no response.

Del. J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, attended the first portion of the meeting. The hearing’s registration pages recorded no other state legislators in attendance.

Those who want to comment to the PEIA finance board may email PEIAComments@wv.gov or send mail to 601 5th St. SE, Suite 2, Charleston, WV 25304. The PEIA finance board will consider comments received by Dec. 4.

New W.Va. Wood Product Company Gets Shark Boost

A company that manufactures food-grade charcoal broke ground in Fairmont Friday.

West Virginia’s hardwood industry is getting a new supporter in a company called Prime 6.

The company uses hardwood waste to create products like a charcoal alternative that is certified by the USDA for use in wood-fired cooking.

The woman-owned business is relocating its headquarters from Asia to West Virginia.

Gov. Jim Justice, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Fairmont Mayor Anne Bolyard and Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary joined the company’s CEO Riki Franco at the ground breaking on Friday.

“It’s an honor to stand before you as the CEO of Prime 6, a company built on innovation, stability and the commitment to making a meaningful impact,” Franco said. “This achievement would not have been possible without the incredible support of Gov. Justice, whose leadership has made this venture a reality. We are deeply grateful to the West Virginia Economic Development Authority for their guidance in navigating this process.”

Startup investor O’Leary was present for the groundbreaking.

“The key to success is building strong relationships around good policy and effective leadership, and West Virginia has both,” O’Leary said. “When I first met Gov. Justice, I knew right away he got business. We shared the business of all the incredible things West Virginia has to continue building its economy. Gov. Justice made it very easy to make West Virginia a place to invest in. Work is just getting started, but Prime 6 has an exciting future ahead here in Fairmont.”

The $35 million investment is expected to create 75 to 100 jobs.

Heating Cost Assistance Deadline Extended

The deadline to apply for LIEAP assistance to cover heating costs this winter has been extended to Dec. 13.

West Virginians have more time to apply for assistance covering home heating costs as temperatures drop.

The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) assists eligible households with the cost of home heating through direct cash payments or payments to utility companies on their behalf.

The Department of Human Services Bureau for Family Assistance (BFA) announced Thursday it extended the deadline to apply for the federally funded program to Dec. 13.

Eligibility is determined by household income, size and responsibility for paying heating costs.

For fiscal year 2025, households with up to seven members may qualify if their income is at or below 60 percent of the state median income.

According to the most recent Census data, in 2022, West Virginia’s median household income was $55,217. According to the LIEAP income guidelines, a four person household making about $54,000 or less annually qualifies for the program.

For households with more than seven members, the income eligibility threshold increases to 150 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).

In 2024, the FPL for an individual is $15,060, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For a household with more than seven members, the 2024 FPL is $52,720.

This means a household with more than seven members would qualify for LIEAP assistance if their income is $79,080 or less annually.

All applicants must meet the program’s eligibility requirements to qualify.

According to Kent Nowviskie, the deputy commissioner for programs and policy at the BFA, the program helps 45,000 to 50,000 households in an average year.

High School Football Playoffs Begin This Weekend

After a week’s delay, the West Virginia high school football playoffs will begin this weekend. The games begin Friday afternoon. The championship games in all four classes will be played in Charleston at Laidley Field Dec. 13 and 14.

This all comes after the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Tuesday vacated injunctions issued by two circuit courts, reaffirming the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission’s (WVSSAC) authority to oversee and implement its rules for interscholastic athletics.

The point system that was used for the entirety of the regular season will be used to determine the playoff fields and matchups.

The decision from the court said:

“It is beyond question that the WVSSAC had the authority to reclassify under West Virginia Code of State Rules §127-3-10. Upon our review, we find that the circuit court’s entry of injunctive relief was not based on the WVSSAC’s lack of authority to reclassify, but rather on the timing and manner of that reclassification. We have repeatedly held that the manner in which the WVSSAC applies its rules is not subject to judicial review.”

Read the order from the state Supreme Court here.

State Leaders Break Ground On Agricultural Lab

West Virginia State University has been the only land grant institution in the nation without an agriculture school. However, due to a new law that is about to change.

The 2024 Legislature passed a bill that would allocate $50 million to West Virginia State University to build an agriculture school. Gov. Jim Justice ceremonially signed the bill in May.

On Tuesday, city and state officials broke ground on a new facility that will house a laboratory space for both WVSU and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

A Segregated and Underfunded History

The University is one of two Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the state. The other is Bluefield State College.

Last year, the Biden administration sent a letter to Gov. Jim Justice, addressing an “ongoing underinvestment in West Virginia State University” compared to the state’s other, predominantly white, land-grant university — West Virginia University.

WVSU President Ericke Cage said the groundbreaking brought on mixed emotions, although he said he felt a great deal of pride.

“With today’s groundbreaking,” Cage said, “we take steps to fully fulfill our mission as a land grant institution and to do away with the dubious distinction of not having an agricultural school.”

West Virginia State University is an 1890 Land Grant Institution. Such Institutions were founded under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, a federal mandate that states either consider Black students equal or create separate land-grant schools for them.

Recent Steps Towards Increasing Investment in WVSU

Cage said this investment is a step forward for the university.

“Today, we plant our flag in the sand and we say that we at West Virginia State University are going to establish a School of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and this facility will serve as a cornerstone of that vision, of that goal,” Cage said.

In the 2023 legislative session, the legislature passed a bill that funded the university by an extra million-plus dollars to help maximize federal matching programs.

In Justice’s final State of the State address in January, he proposed the new Agriculture Lab at West Virginia State University. Now, with that proposal realized, he says this funding will help take the school to greatness — again.

“We’ve pulled the rope together, from the legislature to the Agriculture Commissioner to all of us at this great school,” Justice said. “We’ve made some real goodness happen in West Virginia right now, and we’ll reap the benefits forever and ever and ever and ever.”

Department Of Human Services Reports Increase In Children In State Custody

In July the reported number of children in state custody dropped below 6,000 for the first time in six years. However, that number is back up.

Every month the Department of Human Services (DoHS) reports how many children are in state custody on an online dashboard. November’s updated numbers show 6,126 kids in state custody, which is up from last month’s report. Overall the state is up by nearly 200 children since the state hit a six year low this past July.

West Virginia has led the nation in foster care entry rates since 2010. Experts say this crisis was largely fed by the state’s Substance Use Disorder epidemic. In 2020 the state hit an all time high with 7,433 thousand children in state custody