CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia faces another budget gap next year, but experts say much of it could be made up by figuring out which tax breaks are not living up to their promises.

The state expects a $300 million shortfall in 2014, and the governor has told agencies to expect another round of steep spending cuts.

Sean O'Leary, a policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, says the state should first look at tax breaks that reduce revenue.

He asserts the state does a very poor job of tracking how much the various tax breaks cost, let alone which ones are worthwhile.

"I think we could close a significant part of that budget gap if we actually took the time to come up with a number of these tax expenditures and ask the question, are they working?" he says.

The state estimates a tax credit on alternative-fuel vehicles, including flex-fuel cars and trucks, has cost a $100 million. That was much more than expected.

O'Leary says there are many other tax breaks that deserve more attention.

Last year, O'Leary was one of the authors of a West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy report on the dozens of tax breaks intended to speed economic growth. He says the center found the state didn't even know how much tax breaks cost each year, let alone how many jobs they spark.

"If it's to create jobs, are we creating jobs?” he asks. “If it's to encourage coal production, is it encouraging coal production?

“We don't ask these questions and we don't even know the true cost of all these tax expenditures."

Tax-break supporters say they do help the state promote economic development.

But officials including the secretary of commerce and the chair of the Senate Finance Committee have in the past publicly said the current level of oversight is lacking.

O'Leary cites a severance tax break that mine companies get for taking coal out of thin seams.

"Is that an activity we want to encourage?” he questions. “Is that helping the coal industry?

“Is it encouraging more production or is that something that's occurring naturally? We don't know, but we do know that it's costing $75 million a year, and growing each year."








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FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky lawmakers heard from the state's nurses, firefighters, truck drivers, grocery store employees and other essential workers yesterday in the first of two public hearings on how to distribute essential-worker bonus pay.

Gov. Andy Beshear has said he wants to use $400 million in federal aid out of more than $2 billion the state is expected to receive in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Rep. Joni Jenkins, D-Louisville, said workers' input on how the coronavirus impacted their profession will be considered by a special workgroup as lawmakers debate how to divvy up the funding.

"The workgroup will be issuing recommendations to the governor about how to use this money, and may be part of his budget bill or may be a stand-alone bill when we go back into session in January," Jenkins noted.

According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, more than three quarters of the state's residents, 1.4 million people, are employed in critical occupations, the third highest in the nation, behind Mississippi and Indiana.

Federal rules issued by the Treasury Department allow states to provide bonus pay up to an additional $13 per hour in addition to a person's regular pay, without exceeding $25,000 dollars per eligible employee.

Rep. Buddy Wheatley, D-Covington, explained bonus pay is available specifically to frontline workers who could not work remotely and who faced health risks due to the nature of their profession.

"All of these groups will have an opportunity to say what they want," Wheatley stated. "We're not going to be able to get everybody to testify. But we have left open the availability of written testimony."

He said written comments will be accepted through the end of December. Anyone who wants to testify or submit input in writing can contact Shellee Hayden in the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus office at shellee.hayden@lrc.ky.gov.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As the U.S. Senate considers President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act, environmental advocates have a musical message for West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who has repeatedly said he is holding out on voting for the legislation over concerns about the bill's cost, the national debt and inflation.

"Hey Joe" is pegged to the tune of the Beatles' classic "Hey Jude." The song's music video features residents from across the state urging Manchin to support the climate initiatives outlined in the $1.75 trillion spending package.

Ron Sowell, a singer-songwriter based in Charleston, said he was asked to sing at a recent climate rally when he got the inspiration for the song.

"I think it's a very respectful but very direct appeal to him," Sowell explained. "We're appealing to his better angels. I think he's a reasonable man, and we're hoping that we're having a positive impact on his decision process."

The video was released by AMP Media, with support from West Virginia climate groups.

According to the Center for American Progress, the $555 billion allotted in the bill to tackle the climate crisis are estimated to slash the nation's carbon emissions in half by 2030.

Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said over the past decade, West Virginia has experienced nearly a dozen extreme weather events, costing the state $2 billion in damages and leaving residents increasingly vulnerable.

"We know that Sen. Manchin is a key vote on this, and important to make sure he's hearing from West Virginians in every way possible he has our support in supporting those climate provisions," Rosser asserted.

Doris Fields, a Beckley resident who wrote a segment of the song's chorus, said it was important to her to voice her opinion as a resident of the Mountain State who has seen firsthand the impacts of climate change in her community.

"I think this was like one of the very least things that I could do to contribute to whatever might compel Sen. Manchin to actually represent for his state," Fields argued.

A recent survey by the group Blue Green Alliance showed 66% of West Virginia voters want the Build Back Better Act to prioritize investments to coal mining communities likely to be most affected by the transition to clean energy.

The poll also found three-quarters of those surveyed believed making more products in the U.S. and bringing good jobs back to the U.S. is a very or fairly important reason to pass the Build Back Better plan.

ASHLEY, Pa. -- The trillion-dollar infrastructure bill passed by Congress last month includes $11.3 billion for abandoned-mine reclamation and cleanup over the next 15 years.

For Pennsylvania's coal communities, the support is long overdue, and they are hopeful it will create jobs for the region.

Bobby Hughes, executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, said the funds could help redevelop the estimated 180,000 acres left abandoned in the wake of the 1977 Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Act.

Hughes pointed out the federal resources are a chance to invest in clean energy.

"We're 50 years out from that, and we're still looking for new economies," Hughes remarked. "This is a way for us to see a shot in the arm to have other industries start looking toward Pennsylvania to start coming up with some other types of solutions that are long-term commitments to the region."

Pennsylvania will receive roughly $253 million annually for abandoned-mine lands from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more than any of the other 24 states and three tribes, according to the Appalachian Citizen's Law Center.

Abandoned mines can have far-reaching consequences on local communities, with toxic heavy metals having the potential to leak into groundwater, surface water and soil.

Dana Kuhnline, legislative coordinator for the group Appalachian Voices, said with a large influx of money, the goal is to address the environmental hazards.

"State agencies and local reclamation partners have all been pretty strapped," Kuhnline explained. "They've been doing a lot of what I've heard described as chasing landslides. So they're only able to address the most severe or dangerous incidences of abandoned mine lands that are in communities."

An analysis by the Ohio River Valley Institute found an estimated $20 billion are needed to clean up abandoned-mine lands in the U.S.