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Jumpstart Savings Program Is Signed By Governor

Gov. Jim Justice signed into law Friday the West Virginia Jumpstart Savings Program. The program will allow individuals who have gone to a trade or vocational school to save for tools and equipment upon graduation.

HB 2001 creates a tax-free savings plan for state residents who have completed school in a particular trade or vocation, like welding, plumbing, car maintenance or electrical work.

The bill’s lead sponsor was House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, but the initiative was a campaign promise of newly elected West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore.

Moore spoke at the governor’s press conference on Friday.

“This is a bill for West Virginians,” Moore said. “Only 25 percent of our population has a college degree here in the state. This is for the 75 percent that do not. And we’re very excited to get this program rolling out.”

Moore said the program will help alleviate financial barriers to getting supplies for a career and help bolster West Virginia’s labor force.

Investments in these savings accounts can be used to pay for tools, certifications, licenses and business startup costs.

The bill requires an initial $25 deposit to open an account.

The program is similar to the state’s SMART529 savings program used to save for college.

The bill will go into effect 90 days from passage on June 9.

Republican Moore Defeats Longtime W.Va. State Treasurer Perdue In General Election

Republican Riley Moore, a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, has defeated incumbent Democrat John Perdue for the office of West Virginia State Treasurer.

Moore won the seat of state treasurer after gaining 56 percent of the vote, according to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office. His opponent, Perdue, has held the office since 1996 — the longest-serving treasurer in West Virginia’s history.

Moore said he’s grateful to his family and voters, and recognizes the historic significance of his win.

“No Republican, from my understanding, has ever beat a 24-year incumbent, statewide, in West Virginia state history,” Moore said. “And on top of that, we’ve not elected a Republican State Treasurer in 92 years.”

One of the platforms Moore ran on in his campaign was to create term limits for the office of state treasurer. He said he plans to suggest this change to the West Virginia Legislature during the 2021 session.

“I want to see term limits in these constitutional offices,” he said. “I think it’s good for government. I don’t think we should have anybody, whether it’s me, or anybody, just lording over these offices for decades at a time.”

Moore said his first goal, however, will be to create a savings account program for individuals coming out of trade and technical schools. The savings account would allow graduates to buy tools, equipment, licenses and certifications. Moore said he wants to help people get into the workforce.

“We [already] have a college savings account,” he said. “Twenty-five percent of our population goes to college. This is for the other 75 percent of West Virginians that don’t, because we need to be out there also trying to help them on their career path. Because the more we help them, the more we help West Virginia … have a more robust and diversified economy with a strong middle class.”

Riley Moore lives with his family in Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County. He will move to Charleston when he begins his term as state treasurer.

Decades On The Job Versus New Ideas — Meet Perdue And Moore, Candidates For W.Va. State Treasurer

The West Virginia State Treasurer is one of the many ticket items on the ballot this year. The office manages $16 billion annually. It’s responsible for overseeing the state’s operating funds, monitoring the state’s debt and performing additional banking and accounting duties.

The West Virginia Office of the State Treasurer was established at the Constitutional Convention held in Wheeling in 1863 after West Virginia split from Virginia.

The two candidates seeking the seat this year are incumbent John Perdue, a Democrat, and former House of Delegates member Riley Moore, a Republican.

Democrat John Perdue has held the office of state Treasurer, or Chief Financial Officer, since 1996. He’s held the position longer than anyone in West Virginia’s history and is currently the second longest-serving state treasurer in the nation.

He said the people of West Virginia motivate him to keep running for the office.

“I’ve never forgotten that I work for the people of this state. And I will continue to do that as their treasurer, regardless of politics,” Purdue said. “It’s about your work ethic and what you can do to manage the assets of this state, and I think I’ve proven that.”

Early in his career, Perdue worked for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. He went on to work in the office of former Gov. Gaston Caperton. He said it was during the job with Caperton that he learned he really liked working with numbers and budgets.

“When I became state Treasurer, I realized I had a big job ahead of me in returning trust back to the treasurer’s office,” Perdue said. “And we started immediately working on that by putting professionalism into the office and the technology in the office to be able to manage the checkbook of the state.”

But he said he also feels very strongly about education issues. Perdue said that’s why he made it a priority to oversee a savings plan called SMART529. It’s a program designed to encourage families to save for college.

“The flexibility of that program gives you the opportunity to be able to go to technical education and become an expert in that and get the certification to be able to do that,” Perdue said. “You can use that money to buy the tools to be able to help with education.”

In his 24 years on the job, Perdue has also overseen other savings plans. One is for people with disabilities called WVABLE. Another is a financial education initiative called NetWorth and a budget simulation called “Get a Life.”

He’s hosted workshops and conferences to help West Virginians learn how to manage their financial assets. He’s returned more than $230 million in unclaimed property, and he heads the West Virginia Retirement Plus program.

It’s this track record, as Perdue puts it, that he’s hoping West Virginians will re-elect him for a seventh term.

“I think you stand on your record,” Perdue said. “I’m running on my record and what I’ve brought to the treasurer’s office – what I’ve brought to the people of the state of West Virginia.”

But Republican Riley Moore, who’s challenging Perdue on the ballot in November, thinks Perdue has moved too slowly on issues and has had long enough in the office.

Moore is running on three key areas: accountability, modernization, and transparency. He said the treasurer’s office should have term limits, similar to the office of governor or the president. By instituting term limits, Moore said, it will help spur change more frequently and bring innovative ideas to the office.

“I think that’s one of those things that is really good for transparency and accountability,” Moore said. “To have new blood, new ideas in the office and limit the amount of terms that an individual can serve in that capacity.”

Another major area for Moore is creating a savings account strictly to help those individuals who are graduating trade school or vocational programs and help them jump into the workforce. He calls this his Jump Start Savings Program.

Before entering public service, Moore was a welder while in college. It was this experience, he said, that opened his eyes to the needs of the working class. His Jump Start savings account would help individuals purchase major equipment for their career.

“People that are coming out of a trade, technical and community college, they could save money to buy tools, equipment, licenses and certifications in their trade or vocation,” Moore said. “Which I think would not only be prepared in terms of training, but we would have them equipped as well for the future.”

Moore said his program is different from the SMART529 plan, in that people will be able to save for tools and equipment for a job rather than for school.

“I think West Virginia is so well-suited for a program like this,” Moore said. “And I think we could demonstrate to the rest of the country what happens when we put a focus on the working people.”

Moore also said he’s suited for the job of treasurer after his work in the West Virginia House of Delegates where he served for three state Legislative sessions from 2016 to 2018.

While in the Legislature, Moore spearheaded the creation of the State Police Forensic Laboratory Fund. He was also a major supporter of medical cannabis access in West Virginia, which was approved by the Legislature in 2017. Moore said that program has yet to launch and claims Perdue’s office delayed the selection of a financial institution to handle banking for the medical cannabis industry.

“That is what I want to change in that office,” Moore said. “We’re going to move faster. We’re going to modernize that office. We’re going to be more transparent about what we’re doing, and that is why we need term limits to put pressure on people to perform within a certain given time period, not an indefinite one.”

Whether Moore can push his ideas for the office – when it comes to the banking aspect of medical cannabis or any of the other programs administered by the treasurer’s office – all depends on him unseating Perdue.

The race for state Treasurer, like all others in the general election, will be sorted out by voters as ballots come in through Nov. 3.

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.

W.Va. Riders of Maryland-Based Commuter Train Say They'll Likely Leave State if Service Ends

Hundreds of West Virginians travel from the Eastern Panhandle to Maryland or Washington D.C. every weekday for work. These commuters catch the Maryland-based MARC train, or Maryland Area Regional Commuter.

But during this year’s West Virginia Legislative session, lawmakers debated the future of the MARC train in the state.

Maryland threatened to discontinue MARC service to West Virginia unless certain provisions were met.

Commuting on the MARC Train

It’s almost 7 o’clock in the morning. The MARC train approaches Harpers Ferry; its last West Virginia stop before making several stops in Maryland. The final destination of the morning is Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The closer we get to D.C., the fuller the train gets. From Martinsburg to Union Station – it’s a two-hour commute.

The passengers from West Virginia say the MARC train is one of the main reasons they decided to live or stay in West Virginia — like 27-year-old Matt Myers.

Myers is a Martinsburg native, and a graduate student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

“When we were looking for places, we found one that was only a mile-in-a-half from the train station,” he said, “so it’s been helpful having the MARC extend out that far. It definitely helped inform my choice to live there.”

The train is comfortable, well-lit, clean and air-conditioned. There are big windows and power outlets to charge a phone or a laptop. There’s a bathroom in the first car, and I’m told there’s one car labeled the “Quiet Car,” where you aren’t supposed to talk.

Some passengers read, some work or chat, and others sleep.

The MARC train’s Brunswick Line parked at the Martinsburg Train Station.

Another Martinsburg resident, 29-year-old Amber Darlington, actually moved from Maryland to Martinsburg for the lower cost of living and access to the MARC train for her job.

“My partner and I really couldn’t afford to live in Germantown for what we wanted,” she said, “so we chose Martinsburg mainly because of the train, and we could actually afford to live there.”

Maryland Demands Funding from West Virginia

The MARC train serves 300 to 400 West Virginia residents just like Matt and Amber every weekday.

For more than 30 years, Maryland paid for the trains into West Virginia, while West Virginia paid for its three local stations — Martinsburg, Duffields and Harpers Ferry.

But after 2010, Maryland requested funding from West Virginia if it wanted to keep the MARC train in the Eastern Panhandle.

In 2013, the Commuter Rail Access Fund was created by the West Virginia Legislature for this purpose…but each budget year, for one reason or another, funding was never added.

So, Maryland began imposing a fare increase on tickets purchased in West Virginia, and over time, fewer and fewer stops were scheduled in-state.

Jefferson County Delegate Riley Moore says in 2018, Maryland insisted that West Virginia lawmakers take action to fill the line item in the budget.

“MARC says, okay, look, you all have never paid us for this, and here’s the bill, and the bill originally starts off from Maryland at $3.8 million,” Moore said.

Maryland told West Virginia lawmakers if they didn’t receive that $3.8 million, MARC service in West Virginia would end as early as July of this year.

During the session, lawmakers didn’t find $3.8 million, but they did secure $1.5 million for MARC services…which Maryland accepted, for now.

“In the intervening year,” Moore explained, “what we are going to do is bring all the stakeholders to the table, which would be the counties, the towns, the state, and the federal level to see where we can find funding from each source to have a permanent solution here for funding for the MARC train and also expand that service.”

Moore says he’s hopeful they can come to an agreement, and notes ticket prices will not increase on West Virginia riders this year.

“Martinsburg, WV” flashes on the destination sign inside the MARC train car. Martinsburg is the first stop for MARC’s Brunswick Line Eastbound and the last stop for MARC’s Brunswick Line Westbound.

Future of MARC in West Virginia

Meanwhile, commuters like Matt Myers and Amber Darlington are still concerned about losing the train.

What would they do without the service?

“[Make] the longer commute to Brunswick? But that [would be] about 45 minutes in the car, an hour-in-a-half on the train, and then 30 minutes on the bike,” Myers said, “so I’m not sure. We [might consider] moving; kind of hard to even think about really.”

“I moved to West Virginia because of the train, because of the MARC train,” Darlington explained, “and if they cut the service, I’d have to drive to work, which is 65 miles one way, both ways, five days a week, and that’s going to take such a toll on my car, and I hate driving.”

The Maryland Department of Transportation’s Public Affairs Director Erin Henson was not available for an interview but said in a statement to West Virginia Public Broadcasting on April 5, 2018, “a formal agreement has not yet been signed,” however, the Department is working with the West Virginia State Rail Authority to come up with a deal.

***Editor’s Note: The headline was tweaked on April 12, 2018 for clarification.

House Finance Looks at 2 Tax Reform Measures

Members of the House Finance Committee are expected to get their first look at the chamber’s budget for the 2018 fiscal year in a meeting this Saturday. In order to balance it, lawmakers will have to close an estimated $497 million hole.

To close the gap, Republican legislative leaders are largely looking to cut state spending, specifically in public education, higher education, and Medicaid, but on Friday, House Finance Committee members considered some new revenue increasing measures, or tax increases.

The House Finance Committee considered a committee substitute for House Bill 2816.

The bill would eliminate the West Virginia film tax credit – an annual $5 million cap awarded by the West Virginia Film Office to attract movie producers to the state. That elimination is one Democrat Jason Barrett, of Berkeley County, opposes.

Barrett says Berkeley and Jefferson Counties have hosted several Discovery Channel and National Geographic film shoots in recent years.

“This film tax credit brings people to the state of West Virginia; people who have never been here before, and probably wouldn’t come,” Barrett explained, “This brings them into our state; it allows them to see the beauty of West Virginia, not only in the Eastern Panhandle but the entire state.”

But the bill does a lot more more than just eliminate the tax credit. It also ends a transfer of some $12 million from the general revenue fund to the state’s road fund. That money comes from purchases of automobile parts and other items. Capturing the transfer and keeping it in general revenue will help balance the state’s budget.

The committee bill also includes provisions to increase the beer barrel tax, which is estimated to create an additional $3 million for the state.

The revenue aspect of the bill has changed quite a bit, though, since it was first introduced to the chamber on behalf of Gov. Jim Justice. It originally included an increase to the state’s sales tax and a new tax on businesses resulting in $400 million in new revenue. In total, the committee’s changes create only $15 million in increased revenue.

Minority House Finance Chair Delegate Brent Boggs spoke in opposition to the bill.

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

“I appreciate what little revenue it raises, but that’s the problem, it raises little revenue at a time that we need substantially more,” Boggs said, “and while no bill is perfect, and I’m sure no bill ever will be; this one falls way short of what I believe many of our needs are going to be, and it’s only a fraction of what was included in the governor’s original bill.”

Vice-Chair Delegate Eric Householder of Berkeley County spoke in favor of the bill.

“Under the original concept, if we were voting on the original concept, keep in mind, we would have a higher state sales tax, we would have $400 million in new taxes; more strain on an already existing economy that we’re seeing with our businesses that are having financial problems,” Householder said, “and I think for the most part, ladies and gentleman, this is a great compromise; it’s a better bill, and for those reasons, I support it.”

The bill passed on a roll call vote of 15 to 9, and will now be considered by the full House.

Del. Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, House Finance Vice-Chair.

There was another tax-related bill that moved in the House Friday. That bill is 2933, which expands the base of the current sales tax and lowers the overall rate to generate additional tax revenues.

Republican Delegate Riley Moore, of Jefferson County, is the lead sponsor. His bill would reduce the sales tax to 5.5 percent from the current 6 percent by January 1, 2018. It also ends current exemptions in the state sales tax on things like cell phones, personal and professional services, contracting services, mobile homes, and daycare services.

According to the bill’s fiscal note, the bill would bring in $105.6 million during fiscal year 2018, largely from the telecommunications and service taxes.

Moore says his bill would require businesses and residents who aren’t currently paying taxes to start paying, which he says will make the state’s tax system fairer and more competitive, especially in border counties.

“I think this is the best way to try to be able to do that, to be able to grow our economy,” Moore noted, “and also, especially for me, I’m from Jefferson County, our sales tax is quite a bit higher than our neighboring counties in Virginia, in particular. We have a lot of our folks go shopping over there, and we’re trying to keep some of that tax money here in the state.”

Moore says he think his bill will set a good foundation for West Virginia’s economy moving forward.