West Virginia Grapples with Fiscal Woes

With West Virginia facing cuts to next year's budget and a recession battering its jobless benefits fund, Gov. Joe Manchin and lawmakers have proposed an array of measures to address the fading economy.

The Senate Finance chairman is behind a bill that "would give the governor the authority to order furloughs" of public employees "in the event of a budget reduction or a cut in state agencies' budgets."

"It's a precautionary measure," Helmick, D-Pocahontas , told AP's Tom Breen. "We feel very strongly that we're in a position where the economy continues to get worse, and that we may need to reduce our costs down the road."

West Virginia is not the first to weigh furloughs, Bree reports. "California has led the way, with state workers there now required to pick two days a month to take off without pay, a measure expected to save the state $1.3 billion through June 2010," the article said. "At least eight other states have either instituted furloughs for state employees or are considering doing so."

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are weighing tax breaks. "The House Finance Committee endorsed and advanced a bill Monday that would suspend the severance tax on timber starting in 2010, though 2013," AP reports. "But the state Division of Forestry warns the legislation will all but bankrupt that agency."

AP also reported earlier that "Hundreds of West Virginia property owners with no intention of mining the valuable coal underneath their feet can breathe temporary sighs of relief. The state has rolled back 2009 tax assessments on some coal reserves to last year's levels after unsuspecting landowners suffered sticker shock in January."