Tax Increase Highlights Disappointing Special Session
Today, we begin another special legislative session.
The agenda as a whole is disappointing.
It isn’t responsible, and it lacks boldness.
I see two particular items of concern right now.
1) Gas tax increase
We will take up a bill to increase the gas tax and permanently lock in the 11th highest gas tax rate in the country at about 32 cents per gallon.
Continuing to raise gas taxes isn’t a solution to improving roads.
We need to look at the costs of these projects, such as the cost of labor for construction projects. WV taxpayers pay the Flagman $33 per hour on a highway project.
We can also find plenty of savings by eliminating wasteful spending, such as the over $1 billion sitting in “No-Named” Accounts.
2) Public employee retiree health insurance benefits
State and local governments and school boards are struggling to find solutions to fund promised retiree health insurance benefits.
Currently, accounting rules require governmental entities to report the estimated cost of these retiree health insurance benefits as a 30 year liability on their balance sheets.
A “temporary” fix before the legislature in this special session is to allow local governments and school boards to report this liability as a 1 year liability on their balance sheets just for this year.
The effect of this is to take a big number (the 30 year liability) and reduce it to a small number (1 year liability) in order to improve the financial situation of the local government or school board on paper.
This is like you telling your bank you want to count your 30 year mortgage as a 1 year mortgage this year so you can make it through this recession.
It may make you feel better, but it doesn’t improve your financial situation, and it definitely doesn’t reduce your debt.
Better, more responsible solutions exist to this problem. We need to give the local governments and school boards the tools they need to take more control of their health care benefits. Most use the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) as a health insurance provider, which doesn’t afford them the control and flexibility that they should have.
*This bill did not pass. The House passed it while the Senate defeated it, so it did not pass both houses so it could become law. Instead, a committee has been created to find solutions to the problem.
There are some other items that I have questions about, so I hope to receive some answers during the special session.
*The bills I had questions on were the new energy tax bill and the new pension for professional firefighters and police officers who work for WV cities.
I was afraid the new energy tax was really a new energy tax, and my fears were confirmed in committee. That's why I voted against it. You can read more here.
And I wanted to know why we were creating a new state government pension program for professional firefighters and police officers who work for WV cities, not the state government.
I didn't receive a good explanation as to why this was needed.
I felt the pension problems could have been addressed without creating a new state government pension. The new pension program may put all WV taxpayers on the hook for pension benefits of employees that work only in certain cities in WV. That's why I voted against the bill. |
