Tax Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Crown Act Sparks Debate Over Fiscal Note

The Senate considered bills Friday on welfare programs, the Crown Act, oil and gas taxes, and a bill that would affect West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

The Crown Act, a bill that would prohibit racial discrimination based on certain hair textures and hairstyles, hit the Senate floor Friday.

Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, is a sponsor of Senate Bill 496 and the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee approved the bill Thursday evening following testimony from Veronica Clay-Bunch, Miss Black West Virginia.

“Whenever it comes to wearing ethnic hairstyles, sometimes we do tend to have issues with being discriminated against,” Clay-Bunch said.

The bill was read for the first time and then debate erupted.

Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, asked for the bill to be sent to the Senate Finance Committee, which he chairs. He indicated he was concerned there might be costs associated with the bill that had not been discussed.

Trump asked for evidence of the fiscal implications, and then opposed the motion to send the bill to the Finance Committee. He said it was unnecessary for the bill to go to Finance, because the bill would not increase expenses to the state.

“In fact, I think this bill, if we pass it will reduce, has a chance to reduce expenses to the state,” Trump said.

He reiterated that it is already illegal to discriminate against someone because of race in the state.

“This bill simply clarifies that if you discriminate against someone because of his or her hairstyle associated with his or her race, it qualifies as racial discrimination,” Trump said.

Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said the bill passed the Senate four years ago without a fiscal note.

“I don’t know what the motive is for moving this bill to Finance this late in the session, but I can certainly anticipate what the motive is,” Caputo said.

The Senate voted 22-12 to send the bill to the Finance Committee.

All bills have to be out of committee by Sunday, Feb. 25 to have a chance at making it across the finish line.

Senate Bill 562 expands job training requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

West Virginia has the second lowest labor participation rate in the United States, behind Mississippi.

Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, lead sponsor of the bill, said it would address multigenerational dependence on welfare.

“I would describe this legislation as in this bill as a compassionately structured three year plan designed to gradually wean able-bodied adults without dependent children off of SNAP benefits,” Roberts said.

There is no fiscal note on the bill. Roberts said that counties can fund these programs using opioid settlement funds.

Caputo asked for the bill to be sent to Finance. Tarr opposed the motion.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing, quite frankly,” Caputo said.

Caputo and Tarr debated why one bill was getting a fiscal note, and another bill that would involve programs that require some form of funding was not going to the Finance Committee. Ultimately, the bill was passed by the Senate without Caputo’s motion and heads to the House for consideration.

Senate Bill 844 would directly affect West Virginia Public Broadcasting. It changes the name of the oversight committee from the Educational Broadcasting Authority to Educational Broadcasting Commission. But it also shifts the ability to select the executive director to the secretary of Arts, Culture and History.

Caputo read a letter from a constituent urging him to vote no.

“It happens to come from two of my constituents who happen to be pretty large donors to the public broadcasting system. Now, I’m not going to mention their names, but, ‘I’m writing in hopes that you will vote against Senate Bill 844. This bill will fundamentally change public broadcasting by changing it to a state commission. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is funded by donations, of which my husband and I contribute generously, and bequests. Our donations are specifically for the independent journalism provided by WVPB. We’re not going to be supporters if our donations are simply to a state commission, which can be raided by a future governor to fund other pet projects,’” Caputo read.

The bill was passed by the Senate and heads to the House for consideration.

Regular Tax Incentive Evaluation Suggested To Legislature’s Economic Development Committee

A member of public policy organization Pew Charitable Trusts proposed a regular evaluation of state tax incentives during Tuesday afternoon’s interim meeting of the West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Commission on Economic Development.

A Pew Charitable Trusts map detailing how tax incentives are evaluated by state.

“Tax incentives are one of the primary tools that states use to try to create jobs, attract new businesses and strengthen their economies,” said Pew representative Logan Timmerhoff. “But they’re also major budget commitments collectively costing states billions of dollars a year.”

Examples of processes mentioned by Timmerhoff included creating a legislative committee or hiring an outside agency to regularly review these incentives, and analyzing how certain credits impact taxpayer decision making.

“When evaluating incentives, it’s hard to know exactly how much they influence business behavior,” Timmerhoff said. “However, states have used analytic approaches that make reasonable estimates.”

How the evaluation process is done differs by state, but Timmerhoff said evaluations matter because lawmakers nationwide have often lacked good information about how well incentives are working.

The number of states that regularly evaluate tax incentives has increased within the past decade, going from six states to more than 30.

“We don’t have a formal process in West Virginia,” said Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam. “It typically comes when there’s a specific sector that is looking to grow.”

Questions asked by legislators at the meeting included weighing the pros and cons of other states’ evaluation processes, and if a similar process could be used to evaluate the elimination of certain taxes, citing the legislature’s previous effort to eliminate personal property taxes on vehicles.

Bill To Restrict W.Va. Municipalities From Banning Plastics, Etc. Passes House

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Tuesday that would limit local governments from banning or regulating certain plastics and to-go containers.

House Bill 2500 would disallow municipalities from banning “auxiliary containers,” which the bill defines as “ a bag, cup, bottle, or other packaging, whether reusable or single-use” that is used in the food or retail industries. Examples include plastic grocery bags, to-go food containers and plastic silverware.

Local governments would not be able to regulate, prohibit or impose a fee or tax to use these items.

Delegate Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh County, is one of the sponsors of the bill. He answered questions from Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha County, about what would be banned.

“It would be like when the city of San Francisco banned the use of plastic straws,” Steele said.

Pushkin asked Steele if there were any similar examples in West Virginia.

“It’s been discussed in several municipalities, but it hasn’t happened,” Steele said.

House Bill 2500 was passed 79 to 19 and will move onto the Senate.

West Virginia Revenue Slide Continues as Energy Prices Drop

West Virginia’s budget gap has topped $60 million as low energy prices continue to dampen tax collections.

The West Virginia Department of Revenue says September’s tax collections missed estimates by $55.5 million. That pushed the deficit for the fiscal year’s first three months from $12 million at the end of August to $67.8 million.

The deficit is projected to grow to $250 million by the end of the fiscal year.

Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss attributes the decline to low energy prices that have eroded severance tax collections.

Severance tax collections for the fiscal year’s first three months were more than $43 million below estimates.

On Monday, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin told most state agencies to cut spending by 4 percent to help close the gap.