Public Comments

1. I write in opposition to this bill.
2. West Virginia has a long and unfortunate history of extraction by outside entities that results in the detriment of our people and environment.
3. To preserve our culture, we must preserve our environment. Data centers consume natural resources, offering nothing of value to WV's people. We struggle to provide clean water to our own people and this would steal it from them to cool computers.
4. Montani semper libri, yet we are continually sold and traded to those who see us as expendable.
5. The Earth groans with us (Romans) as we wait for redemption. Those of the Christian faith are called to live as if the Kingdom is now and that all of Creation is our sibling. We have abused and misused this charge we were given and the damage we have inflicted is reflected in our own bodies and minds.
6. The AI bubble will not last forever and we will be left with nothing but mess, much like an abandoned well or unclaimed spoil pile.
7. I urge you for the sake of all West Virginians, present and future, to reject this betrayal of WV. West Virginians deserve so much better.
8. Thank you.

Delegates, I am imploring you not to pass this bill. For decades West Virginians have been sold to the highest bidder. Given data centers unecessary tax breaks when West Virginians struggle with basic needs such as food, housing, and healthcare is deplorable. Data centers will decrease our water quality, increase our power bills, and WILL NOT create long term jobs. If we are to attract industry to WV via tax breaks it mustn’t be industry that does not create jobs, while creating pollution, expense, and an eye sore on our beautiful state.

House Bill 4060 addresses a narrow and largely symbolic issue while failing to engage with any of the substantive economic challenges facing West Virginia residents or small businesses.

Cashless retail is not a demonstrated, widespread problem in this state, particularly outside of a small number of urban or chain establishments. The bill provides no data showing that West Virginians are being meaningfully excluded from commerce due to an inability to pay with cash, nor does it identify essential goods or services where such exclusion is occurring.

Additionally, the bill contains minimal enforcement mechanisms and grants broad exemption authority to the Treasurer’s Office, which significantly undermines its practical effect. A modest civil fine and discretionary exemptions suggest that the bill is not intended to produce consistent or enforceable outcomes.

While concerns about financial inclusion, privacy, and access to payment systems are legitimate, this legislation does not meaningfully address those concerns. It does not improve access to banking, reduce payment processing fees, assist small businesses with compliance costs, or protect workers or consumers in any substantive way.

For these reasons, HB 4060 appears to be a symbolic measure rather than a serious policy response to a real economic problem, and it should not be prioritized over legislation that addresses wages, affordability, healthcare, infrastructure, or access to essential services in West Virginia.

Concerning House Bill 4003, the WV First Small Business Growth Act, I am not persuaded that this legislation will reliably accomplish its stated goal of growing small businesses in West Virginia.

The bill provides substantial incentives to financial intermediaries and capital allocators through insurance premium and retaliatory tax credits, yet it contains no enforceable mechanisms to ensure that small businesses—or their workers—receive durable, meaningful benefits. There are no requirements related to wage growth, job quality, worker retention, local ownership, or reinvestment of profits into West Virginia communities.

In practice, the structure of this bill primarily reduces risk for investment funds and insurers while offering only indirect and weakly constrained benefits to operating businesses. The public assumes real fiscal risk through foregone tax revenue, while the upside of successful investments is captured entirely by private actors.

My concerns are informed not only by a close reading of HB 4003, but also by evidence from other states that have implemented similar insurance-tax-credit–based investment programs. These programs have shown mixed or poor results in terms of long-term small business growth and worker benefit, and many have been scaled back, sunsetted, or quietly discontinued after failing to deliver promised outcomes.

For these reasons, I oppose HB 4003 as written and urge the Legislature to reconsider approaches to small business development that include enforceable outcomes, worker protections, and mechanisms for the public to share in the value created by public policy.

• Bills mandating or privileging Christian religious texts in public schools
• Bills requiring Christian religious displays in classrooms
• Official recognition and observance proposals centered on Christian doctrine

• It conditions compensation on surplus revenue while many state workers continue to struggle with rising housing, food, healthcare, and utility costs.
• It excludes non-state workers — including taxpayers funding state operations — from relief during the same surplus conditions.
• It provides no mechanism to ensure the bonus addresses workforce retention, wage compression, or cost-of-living disparities.

1. Replace the full exemption with a refundable, income-tested child/family credit that applies regardless of marital status (with a clear phaseout by income).
2. If the Legislature wants to help larger households, base it on number of dependents + income/poverty level, not on whether the taxpayer files as “married.”
3. Require a public fiscal note showing who benefits by income bracket and county, and what services may be reduced to offset lost revenue.

• prior income tax cuts,
• declining or uncertain federal funding,
• and agency directives to cut budgets without replacement funds,

1. A transparent fiscal impact statement,
2. Identification of which services will be reduced or eliminated,
3. Assurance that essential agencies will not absorb disproportionate harm.

• Standards and Expertise: Certified fire investigators must meet rigorous national standards (such as NFPA 1033) and maintain ongoing education to accurately determine fire origins and causes.
• Economic Fairness: Classifying these specialists as professionals ensures their services are treated equitably under the tax code, similar to other highly regulated fields like engineering or law.
• Public Safety: Professional recognition reinforces the importance of high-quality investigations, which are critical for both criminal justice and the improvement of fire safety codes.

Removing this tax would provide immediate relief, promote public health, and reflect basic fairness. I urge you to support this exemption.

“In any fiscal year in which the Legislature appropriates money for the program,”, is this meaning that say if the bill was passed in its current form, that the program could have money not allocated by the legislature in a fiscal year?