Riley Moore Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Warned By Treasurer, 2 Banks Avoided List Of Restricted Institutions

Treasurer Riley Moore added HSBC, Citigroup, TD Bank and Northern Trust to its list of financial institutions barred from state contracts. BMO and Fifth Third were not added to the list.

West Virginia’s Treasurer added four banks to a list of restricted institutions this week, but two more were left off.

Treasurer Riley Moore added HSBC, Citigroup, TD Bank and Northern Trust to its list of financial institutions barred from state contracts.

They join five others that Moore determined were boycotting fossil fuel investments.

However, two more banks that received warning letters from Moore in February, BMO and Fifth Third, were not added to the list.

Both banks replied to Moore that they were not shunning such investments. Senate Bill 262, enacted two years ago, enabled the Treasurer to review banks’ environmental, social and governance, or ESG policies.

Of the nine banks now on the list, six are among the top banks financing coal-burning utilities, according to the Sierra Club.

They are Goldman Sachs, Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and TD.

Other states, including Kentucky and Texas, have passed similar laws in opposition to ESG policies that are perceived to discourage fossil fuel investments.

BlackRock, another bank blacklisted from state contracts, is financing EQT, the biggest natural gas producer in the state and the biggest customer of the nearly finished Mountain Valley Pipeline. EQT announced last month it is buying the builder of the $7.5 billion pipeline, Equitrans Midstream.

Applications Now Open For Hope Scholarship

Applications are now open for new families seeking to receive the Hope Scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year.

The online application process for new families in the program opened March 1, and the deadline to receive 100 percent of the funding for next school year is June 15.

The Hope Scholarship Program is an education savings account program available for kindergarten through 12th grade students.

Last year, the board received more than 6,300 applications during the initial enrollment period.

Existing Hope Scholarship students are required to reapply each year, and the renewal application period for those students began in January. The deadline for existing Hope Scholarship students to submit renewal applications is also June 15.

The scholarship amount for the 2024-25 school year will be $4,921.39.

In December, board members approved a new year-round application model that will allow families to apply for the program throughout the school year featuring prorated scholarship award amounts depending on when they apply.

Under this new timetable, a student application submitted within the following dates will receive the associated level of Hope Scholarship funding:

March 1-June 15: 100 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
June 16-Sept. 15: 75 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
Sept. 16-Nov. 30: 50 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
Dec. 1-Feb. 28: 25 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.

“We’ve seen tremendous interest and participation in the Hope Scholarship over the past school year, and we’re excited to start the application process for new students for the upcoming year,” West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore said. Moore is the chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board.

“This will be the first full academic year to feature our year-round application and prorated funding model, which will offer greater access and flexibility for the program and the families who choose to participate in it,” he said.

To qualify for the Hope Scholarship, a student must be a West Virginia resident and be either:

Eligible to be enrolled in a kindergarten program.
Enrolled full-time in a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for the entire instructional term during the current academic year (2023-2024) immediately preceding the academic year for which the student is applying to participate in the Hope Scholarship Program.
Or, enrolled full-time and attending a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for at least 45 calendar days during an instructional term at the time of application and remain enrolled and attending public school until a decision is reached on the student’s Hope Scholarship application.

In addition to filling out the application, state law also requires participating families to fill out a notice of intent to participate in the program with their local county superintendent.

Applications are available online at www.HopeScholarshipWV.com.

State Blacklisted BlackRock. But Guess What It’s Financing?

A report earlier this month from the Sierra Club shows that in 2022 and 2023, BlackRock bought more than $45 million in bonds issued by EQT Corporation.

One of the banks barred from state contracts by the Treasurer’s Office is financing the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

In 2022, following the enactment of Senate Bill 262, Treasurer Riley Moore issued the first list of “restricted financial institutions” he determined were not friendly to fossil fuels.

One of those was BlackRock. Moore accused the firm of putting China’s interests over West Virginia’s and encouraging companies to move away from coal, oil and natural gas.

“Any company that thinks Communist China is a better investment than West Virginia energy or American capitalism clearly has a bad strategy,” Moore said in 2022. “We will continue to give our state’s business to people who aren’t simultaneously trying to destroy our economy.”

Two years later, BlackRock is still on the list.

“It’s one of the largest shareholders of publicly traded fossil fuel companies on the planet,” said Ben Cushing, director of the Sierra Club’s Fossil Free Finance campaign.

A report earlier this month from the Sierra Club shows that in 2022 and 2023, BlackRock bought more than $45 million in bonds issued by EQT Corporation.

Not only is EQT one of the largest gas producers in Appalachia, it also is poised to be the biggest user of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Once the pipeline becomes operational this year, EQT plans to use it to ship 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day 303 miles from north central West Virginia to southern Virginia. That’s two-thirds of the pipeline’s total capacity.

Environmental groups and landowners have long opposed the pipeline. The state’s leading elected officials have been its biggest champions.

Cushing said BlackRock’s earlier public commitments to address climate change may have made it a target.

“Lots of speculation, I suppose as to why they’ve been particularly attacked, I think, because they are the biggest and one of the best well, well known and that they have at least nominally stated their commitment to climate action, has put them in the crosshairs of this climate denial movement,” he said. “But the fact remains that many of those commitments have not actually been implemented, and they continue to be one of the largest investors in fossil fuels in the world.”

Five banks are on the original list. Moore sent letters this week to six more. They have 45 days to prove they’re not boycotting fossil fuels, or they will be added to the list.

Jared Hunt, a Treasury spokesman, said SB 262 allows any company to petition the Treasurer to be removed from the list. None has asked to be removed, Hunt said.

State Treasurer Warns 6 Banks They May Be Added To ‘Restricted’ List

Treasurer Riley Moore has sent letters to six financial institutions warning them their environmental, social and governance policies could cost them state contracts.

West Virginia’s treasurer has warned a new set of banks they may be barred from engaging in contracts with the state.

Treasurer Riley Moore has sent letters to six financial institutions warning them their environmental, social and governance policies could cost them state contracts.

The restricted financial institutions list arose from Senate Bill 262, which became law in 2022.

Moore initially placed five banks on the list: BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

Kentucky enacted a similar law the same year, though the Kentucky treasurer’s office has different banks on its list.

Through a Freedom of Information Act Request, the banks that received the new letters are: BMO Bank, Citibank, Fifth Third, Northern Trust, TD Bank and HSBC.

They have 45 days to prove they are not engaged in a boycott of fossil fuel companies, or they will be added to the list.

A report last year from the Sierra Club showed that four of the five banks originally on the West Virginia Treasurer’s list – Goldman Sachs, Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo – are among the top providers of financing to utility companies that burn coal.

Citibank and TD Bank are also among the companies supporting coal-burning utilities.

Three of the banks on the combined list – Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo – are among the top six providers of financing to coal-burning utilities.

The three banks have committed to align their financing with the Paris Agreement and the Net Zero Banking Alliance yet have injected billions of dollars into coal-consuming utilities since 2016.

Study Looks At Cost Of Hope Scholarship For Public Schools

The analysis from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy published Wednesday estimates the Hope Scholarship costs West Virginia public schools up to $21.6 million.

A new report calculates the state’s education voucher program cost on public schools.

The analysis from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, published Wednesday, estimates the Hope Scholarship costs West Virginia public schools up to $21.6 million.

The Hope Scholarship allows K-12 students to receive state funds that can be used for tuition at private schools, homeschool curriculum, and other qualifying expenses.

Kelly Allen, executive director of the center, estimates the diverted funding will mean up to 364 paid positions, educators and personnel, could be lost.

“We hear a lot from proponents about the impact on the families and students who utilize the Hope Scholarship, but we really wanted to take a look at what the impact the Hope Scholarship is having on public schools,” she said.

Allen and Sean O’Leary, senior policy analyst for the center, arrived at the figure by multiplying the state school aid formula by the number of Hope Scholarship applicants in its second year.

“The state aid formula also has a calculation for the number of teachers, educators and the number of school service personnel based on enrollment figures for each county,” Allen said. “We were able to estimate how much less funding they would get for those positions with that drop in attendance related to students leaving the public school district for the Hope Scholarship.”

One of the biggest concerns the report highlights is the lack of public reporting on how Hope Scholarship money is being spent, as well as the academic outcomes for the students receiving the funds.

“I can go on the Department of Ed’s website right now and look up test scores, assessments for any public school in the state,” Allen said. “But there is no such mechanism for private schools, and there’s no data collected for Hope Scholarship students.”

Another West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy report earlier this year showed that thousands of dollars in Hope Scholarship funds are being spent outside of the state and at unaccredited institutions. The state Treasurer’s office, which oversees the voucher program, previously said spending Hope Scholarship funds in out-of-state school systems is permissible and consistent with the “money follows the student” intent behind the Hope Scholarship.

“We’re seeing our public schools pare back art and music classes, or teachers buying supplies out of their own pockets,” Allen said. “It just seems really, really concerning that these dollars aren’t being accounted for, tracked in the same way that our public schools are accountable.”

Allen applauded Treasurer Riley Moore for voluntarily reporting Hope Scholarship figures, but pointed out he will no longer be in his position after the 2024 election. Moore is running for a Congressional seat in West Virginia’s 2nd district.

“I think it’s really important that robust public reporting be codified,” she said. “He will not be the treasurer next year, so we shouldn’t rely on the generousness of the current treasurer.”

In its second year, the Hope Scholarship program has grown significantly, and Allen expressed concern over the financial impact of continued expansion.

On Tuesday the Hope Scholarship Board approved changes to the program’s legislative rules that will allow eligible students to apply year-round. A press release from the treasurer’s office announcing the rule changes noted that “more than 6,000 students have been awarded the Hope Scholarship for the current 2023-2024 academic year, nearly triple the 2,333 students who received it the previous academic year.”

In an email, Allen told WVPB the expanded application window “will almost assuredly increase costs of the program and create significant disruptions for public schools.”

At Dubai Climate Summit, U.S. Officials Commit To Coal Phase-Out

The United States has built no new coal plants in more than a decade and is on track to close half its coal capacity by 2026.

The United States joined six other countries over the weekend in a commitment to stop building new coal-fired power plants and phase out existing ones.

The United States joins the Powering Past Coal Alliance along with the Czech Republic, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Kosovo and Norway.

The agreement, reached at an international climate conference in Dubai, formalizes what has already been taking place domestically and worldwide as natural gas and renewables have eroded coal’s place as the dominant fuel for electricity.

The United States has built no new coal plants in more than a decade and is on track to close half its coal capacity by 2026.

This year alone, coal has fallen below renewables and even nuclear, accounting for less than 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. Next year, it is projected to account for even less.

While it is true that China and India have been building new coal plants at a rapid pace, they are also building more wind and solar, and the pace of new coal construction is expected to slow.

The nations meeting in Dubai have attempted to achieve consensus on how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to keep the global temperature increase to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Still, state officials are pushing back on the U.S. entry into the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

Treasurer Riley Moore, who’s running for a seat in Congress next year, criticized John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, and the administration policy.

“John Kerry has made the Biden Administration’s position crystal clear: they want to eliminate the coal industry worldwide regardless of the economic destruction or inflation it will cause,” Moore said in a statement Tuesday.

Moore asked Congress to reverse the U.S. commitment made at the COP28 summit in Dubai.

“I urge Congress to exert its authority and reject any attempts to commit the United States into an international climate cabal that would destroy our nation’s energy sector and overall economy,” he said.

West Virginia is the nation’s No. 2 coal producing state behind Wyoming and gets close to 90 percent of its electricity from coal, more than any other state.

West Virginia’s coal-producing neighbors, principally Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, have largely shifted to natural gas from coal for their electricity.

Notably, Kosovo currently gets about the same percentage of its electricity from coal as West Virginia. The Dominican Republic gets about 10 percent, while Cyprus has never used coal.