Sixteen states lost population in 2020

FEBRUARY 1, 2021 | BALLOTPEDIA | by Scott Rasmussen

By Scott Rasmussen, includes “… On a percentage basis, the biggest increases were found in Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.”

Virginia sees improvement on U-Haul ranking of states people are moving to

JANUARY 11, 2021 | INSIDE NOVA (VIRGINIA)

Ranking 28th out of 50 on any list may not be something to brag about, but for Virginia, it represents a degree of improvement.

Thirty-nine states ill-prepared for coronavirus pandemic

SEPTEMBER 22, 2020

The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.

West Virginia officials cheer budget surplus

AUGUST 4, 2020 | THE WEIRTON DAILY TIMES | by Steven Adams

Hindsight is 20/20, with Gov. Jim Justice and state revenue officials looking back on the last fiscal year and the first month of the new fiscal year, which both showed surpluses even as the pandemic affects the economy.

West Virginia expected to end the year with small surplus

JUNE 29, 2020 | THE INTELLIGENCER (WEST VIRGINIA) | by Steven Adams

When the 2020 fiscal year ends Tuesday, West Virginia could still end up with a small surplus after sweeping state agencies for cash and utilizing excess Medicaid dollars.

McKinley miner pension bill heads to house floor

OCTOBER 25, 2019 | THE INTER-MOUNTAIN (WEST VIRGINIA) | by STEVEN ADAMS

U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., hopes his version of a fix for coal miner pensions passes the House of Representatives and breaks through the blockage in the U.S. Senate.

Justice confirms state ending fiscal year with budget surplus

JULY 9, 2018 | METRONEWS (WEST VIRGINIA) | by Brad McElhinny

Gov. Jim Justice confirmed today that West Virginia’s state budget will end the fiscal year with a surplus.

Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day: 1,166

JUNE 22, 2018 | BALLOTPEDIA | by Scott Rasmussen

The filing deadlines for candidates to enter state legislative races have already passed in 31 states.

Second wave of 2017 FSOS now available!

MAY 15, 2018 | by Truth in Accounting

See the financial condition of Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, Utah, Washington and West Virginia.

Congress should act to ease student loan crisis

MAY 7, 2018 | THE HERALD-DISPATCH (WEST VIRGINIA) | by Nigel Jeffries

The student loan bubble is going to burst in the very near future. Student loan debt is second only to housing debt at $1.4 trillion in outstanding loans.

Tens of thousands of teachers planning massive rallies and classroom walkouts

APRIL 2, 2018 | ABC NEWS | by Bill Hutchinson, Brendan Rand

On Monday, thousands of teachers and supporters in Kentucky are expected to descend on the state capitol in Frankfort to demand Gov. Matt Bevin veto a bill that overhauls their pension plan, which they say was forged by lawmakers in secret backroom deals.

Small government monitoring project can help small government stay open

MARCH 12, 2018 | THE STATE JOURNAL (WEST VIRGINIA) | by John McCuskey

The struggling finances of small incorporated towns in West Virginia is by no means new to this state, and has been a topic of numerous news stories over the past decade. 

Legislature unanimously passes balanced budget in unprecedented fashion

MARCH 12, 2018 | WVNS-TV.COM (WEST VIRGINIA) | by Jeff Mitchell

Bucking a practice that had been standard for decades, the Republican-led Legislature today unanimously passed a Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Bill that provides significant public employee pay raises, controls other government spending, and balances the state’s finances without any tax increases.

W. Va. bill would criminalize failure to make public pension system contributions

MARCH 1, 2018 | PLANSPONSOR | by Rebecca Moore

A bill introduced by the West Virginia legislature would make it a criminal offense for any participating public employer of any retirement system administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board to fail to make required contributions.

Bill to encourage timely state audit is a needed step

DECEMBER 14, 2017 | THE HERALD-DISPATCH (WEST VIRGINIA) | by Editorial Board

West Virginia's lawmakers are considering a step to prevent a repeat of a situation that caused some of the state's public colleges and universities to face some financial duress this year.

Numbers doom Bevin’s pension plan

NOVEMBER 13, 2017 | LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER (KENTUCKY) | by Editorial

Gov. Matt Bevin’s plans to railroad massive changes to Kentucky’s public pension systems through a five-day special session appear to have been derailed by his party's sexual harassment scandal.

Hardly any state agencies meet audit deadline, Justice administration says

AUGUST 2, 2017 | METRONEWS (WEST VIRGINIA)

In the wake of sanctions from the U.S. Department of Administration on West Virginia’s higher education institutions over the late audits, Casey expressed exasperation.

States face a $1 trillion pension problem - here are the worst 10

AUGUST 29, 2016 | THE FISCAL TIMES

While a handful of states including West Virginia, New York and Indiana have made important strides in reducing major shortfalls in their employee pension plans

Defusing the debt bomb

JANUARY 4, 2016 | THE WASHINGTON TIMES | by David Walker

Public’s right to know undercut by some pension systems

DECEMBER 11, 2014 | THE HERALD-DISPATCH (WEST VIRGINIA)

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