Search Block
Smoking tax increase clears Senate, heads to the House
By Hoppy Kercheval | WV MetroNews
The state Senate has approved on a bi-partisan vote a $1 per pack increase in the cigarette tax to help offset the state’s budget problems, while reducing the high rate of tobacco use.
SB 420 would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes to $1.55. Governor Tomblin proposed only a 45-cent increase. The bill also raises the tax on other tobacco...
West Virginia Senate OKs permitless concealed gun bill
By Jonathan Mattise Associated Press
People 21 years and older would be allowed to carry concealed guns in West Virginia without permits or training under a bill that passed the Senate on Monday.
Senators voted 24-9 to approve the measure Monday. The bill requires at least one additional House vote before the Republican-led Legislature sends it to Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who vetoed a similar...
Religious Freedom bill causes upheaval under the dome in Charleston
By Pamela Pritt, Register-Herald Reporter
The Restoration of Freedom of Religion Act, passed by 21 other states and adopted in some form by 11 others, is championed by a coalition of House Christians and opposed by some lawmakers here as an unnecessary measure that is divisive and discriminatory.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects religious freedom, and on the floor of...
House bill backs state school board’s decision on common core; no repeal language included
By Jeff Jenkins, WV MetroNews
The House of Delegates is moving a bill that does not repeal the teaching standards the state Board of Education replaced Common Core with late last year.
The House of Delegates Education Committee quickly passed a reworked bill Saturday morning. There was no discussion on the bill before the vote.
The bill (HB 4014) was approved...
Jim Justice: ‘I am the only guy who can win’ in November; Other Democratic candidates disagree
By Shauna Johnson | WV MetroNews
Businessman Jim Justice says there is “no chance on Earth” any of the other Democratic candidates running for governor in West Virginia can win against Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer, 06), the likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, in November.
“They just can’t beat Bill Cole,” Justice said of Booth Goodwin, a former U.S...