Public Comments

Hello,

As someone who deeply cares about the well-being of children and families in West Virginia, I strongly oppose the privatization of our child welfare system.

It is deeply troubling to see a bill of this magnitude appear at the 11th hour, especially when it could place major decisions about our children’s welfare in the hands of private organizations. Our children, our caseworkers, and our communities deserve transparency and thoughtful consideration—not rushed legislation.

I am also very concerned that there is still no fiscal note for the state attached to this bill. How can such a significant policy move forward when lawmakers and the public have not been clearly told what it will cost? We are already hearing estimates of over $12 million for just two counties alone. That raises serious questions about the financial impact on the rest of West Virginia.

Please slow this process down and put the interests of West Virginia families first. Decisions that affect our children’s safety and well-being should be made carefully, openly, and with full accountability.

I respectfully urge the committee to oppose this legislation due to the significant risks it poses to administrative stability, community services, and responsible governance in West Virginia.

Public policy should be guided by careful evaluation, measurable outcomes, and the protection of systems that serve our communities. Unfortunately, HB 937 raises substantial concerns in each of these areas.

1. Disruption to Existing Systems and Administrative Processes

HB 937 proposes changes that could significantly disrupt existing administrative and operational frameworks that agencies, organizations, and service providers rely upon. Major structural or procedural changes implemented without clear transition planning create unnecessary uncertainty and operational risk.

When policy changes occur too rapidly or without clear implementation guidance, the burden falls on frontline agencies and local organizations tasked with translating legislative intent into practical operations. This often results in delays, confusion, and inefficiencies that ultimately affect the public.

2. Increased Compliance and Administrative Burdens

The provisions outlined in HB 937 appear likely to introduce additional reporting, compliance, or operational requirements. While oversight and accountability are important, policies that increase administrative workload without corresponding resources can reduce the ability of organizations and agencies to focus on their primary mission—serving West Virginians.

For many local programs and community-based organizations, administrative capacity is already stretched thin. Adding new regulatory layers may divert time, funding, and personnel away from direct services.

3. Potential Harm to Community Services and Vulnerable Populations

Stable policy environments are critical for programs that provide essential services to West Virginia residents. Sudden policy shifts can create unintended consequences that disrupt service delivery and negatively impact individuals and families who rely on these systems.

Legislation should prioritize strengthening service delivery infrastructure rather than introducing uncertainty that could destabilize it.

4. Insufficient Evidence of Policy Benefit

Sound policymaking requires a clear demonstration that proposed legislative changes will produce measurable improvements. At present, HB 937 does not appear to provide sufficient evidence that the benefits of the proposed changes outweigh the risks.

Before adopting sweeping policy changes, the legislature should ensure that comprehensive impact assessments, stakeholder consultations, and fiscal analyses have been conducted.

5. Need for Broader Stakeholder Engagement

Effective legislation benefits from the perspectives of those directly responsible for implementation. Agencies, community organizations, and subject-matter experts should have meaningful opportunities to provide input prior to advancing legislation that affects operational systems and public services.

Greater stakeholder engagement would strengthen policymaking and help ensure that legislation achieves its intended goals without unintended consequences.

Conclusion

For the reasons outlined above, I respectfully urge the committee to reject House Bill 937 or delay its advancement until further analysis and stakeholder consultation can occur.

West Virginia deserves policies that strengthen administrative systems, protect community services, and ensure that legislative changes are implemented thoughtfully and responsibly.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Drury

Oppose SB 392

The governor’s tax cut is up for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee even though lawmakers already passed a budget that

The budget has already passed, it under funds Medicaid, provides no new money for public schools, and falls short on child care, water, infrastructure, and roads. Moving tax cuts first while leaving schools and other essential needs behind.

McDowell, Wyoming, Boone, Logan, Mingo, Lincoln, Mercer, Fayette, and Raleigh counties and can’t afford a tax cut...they need clean water first.

• The legislature needs to prioritize childcare and take meaningful action this legislative session.
• Childcare employees working 20+ hours per week deserve a child care subsidy, regardless of household income.
• Child care subsidy payments to licensed facilities should be based on enrollment rather than daily attendance

Support for HB 5353

Policy Suggestions to Strengthen HB 5353

1. Strong Fee Transparency Requirements

2. Consumer Education and Fraud Prevention

3. Avoid Overly Restrictive Access Limits

4. Maintain a Balanced Approach to Innovation

Additional Policy Recommendations

5. Suggested Amendment: Clear Fee Disclosure Language

6. Suggested Amendment: Fraud Warning Requirements

7. Policy Precedent from Other States

• mandatory fee disclosures
• transaction transparency requirements
• anti‑fraud warnings and consumer education
• licensing through existing money transmission frameworks

Conclusion

Oppose SB 392

I rise in opposition to House Bill 5687.

For more than a century, West Virginia’s economy has been built around the extraction of our natural resources. Coal companies have generated enormous wealth from these mountains. But too often, that wealth did not stay in the communities where it was created. Profits flowed to corporate headquarters and distant investors while the people of West Virginia were left to deal with the long-term consequences.

Those consequences are still with us today: damaged landscapes, polluted streams, struggling communities, and an economy that was never allowed to fully diversify.

House Bill 5687 would once again cut taxes for the coal industry. Supporters may claim this will increase production or bring back coal jobs, but the reality is that market forces, automation, and changes in the global energy economy—not state tax policy—drive coal production today. A tax cut will not reverse those trends.

What this bill will do is remove hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget over time.

That revenue should be used to strengthen the public services that West Virginians depend on—maintaining our roads and bridges, investing in public schools, ensuring safe drinking water, protecting our natural resources, and supporting the communities that powered this country for generations.

West Virginians are tired of being treated as disposable while our resources are extracted and the wealth leaves the state. If companies profit from our mountains, then they should also contribute to repairing the damage and supporting the communities that made those profits possible.

This legislature should be working to rebuild West Virginia’s economy and invest in its people—not continuing a cycle where the state weakens its own revenue base while expecting communities to make do with less.

For those reasons, I urge you to reject House Bill 5687.

West Virginia currently ranks 49th in the nation in median household income. That fact alone should frame this entire conversation.

Senate Bill 392 proposes a 10% reduction in the state income tax. For the average West Virginia household, that reduction would amount to less than $30 a month. That is the reality of what this policy delivers to most families.

At the same time, the bill removes roughly $250 million in revenue from the state budget.

That $250 million matters far more than a $30 monthly tax cut.

West Virginians are not asking the government for symbolic gestures. They are asking for the basic services that the government is supposed to provide under the social contract between citizens and the state.

We should be using that revenue to fix our roads and bridges, maintain clean and reliable water systems, strengthen our public schools, and protect the natural resources that define this state. Those investments are what actually improve the quality of life for the people who live here.

Instead, we continue to see partisan politics driving policy decisions that weaken the state’s ability to meet those responsibilities. Every time we cut the revenue that funds public services, we make it harder to address the very problems that people across West Virginia raise every day.

West Virginia is not New Jersey, and we should stop trying to import political talking points and ideological experiments that do not reflect the realities of our state.

Our state ranks near the bottom in income, population growth, and economic opportunity. The solution to those problems is not to continue ravaging the limited revenue we have available to invest in our communities.

If we want West Virginia to grow and thrive, we must invest in the things that make communities livable and competitive: education, infrastructure, public health, and environmental stewardship.

Those are not partisan priorities. They are the government's basic responsibilities.

For those reasons, I urge the legislature to reject SB 392 and focus instead on strengthening the foundations that West Virginians rely on every day.

Thank you for your time.

Please vote to invest these dollars in public services that help children, families, and workers thrive.  We do not need tax cuts that will only help the wealthiest among us, and will cut funding from important programs for families in West Virginia.  

Please pass House Bill 4191. This bill would help my daycare in so many ways. Please support us Child Care Providers. Thank you for your time.

This bill is incredibly important to not only myself but our community and state. Please pass!