IWVP: Vaccines and broadband; talking coal and the business inventory tax

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Inside West Virginia Politics

Miscellaneous


In Segment 1, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice talks about being sworn into a second term in office and how the Mountain State leads the nation in distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines.The governor shares the importance of bringing more COVID-19 vaccines to the Mountain State and how quickly the state has been putting its current supply into the arms of the people, especially the elderly. He also talks about bringing students back to the classroom while keeping both the kids and the teachers safe. Justice says it was important to return to in-person learning to help students struggling with online learning and potential problems at home.In Segment 2, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice returns to talk about broadband and the income tax.Justice says a major goal of his second term is to “blanket the state” in broadband, especially after the pandemic has shown the need for better, more reliable access to broadband in the state through online learning, telehealth and telework.The governor says the possibility of eliminating the income tax in the state is a big undertaking, especially with the tax being 43% of the total revenue of the state. He says the idea has had a lot of appeal to many West Virginians, and making it happen will need to be an “all in type of approach” to see if there is a way to move forward with the endeavor. Justice also shares plans for the “Roads to Prosperity” project and making the state’s roads safer for drivers.Justice and our host Mark Curtis also take a moment to honor the memory of Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance, Dennis Davis, who died Jan. 19. Mark asks West Virginians to remember Davis’s legacy by buying a plant or flowers and placing them on a veteran’s grave at the state cemetery for veterans because Davis himself worked hard to keep the veterans’ cemeteries beautiful.In Segment 3, Bill Raney, who recently retired from being president of the West Virginia Coal Association, joins us to talk about the importance of the coal industry in the Mountain State and sending West Virginia coal to other industries.The WV Coal Association works to represent the coal-producing part of the industry, including coal miners. The group’s objective is to make sure coal mines keep running and make the job more economical for coal miners.In the 28 years Raney was part of the association, he says many changes have come to make coal-mining more efficient and safe. He says the organization plans to work to raise awareness of the importance of coal to the state and the country.In Segment 4, Former president of the West Virginia Coal Association Bill Raney is back, and we’re also joined by another special guest, Raney’s successor to the position, Chris Hamilton.Raney says Hamilton and the rest of the Association are more than prepared to represent the industry amid transitions in federal politics. Hamilton talks about the hopes of getting the business inventory tax repealed, a big objective for both the WV Coal Association and the Business Industry Council, for which Hamilton also serves as president. The largest question before moving forward is how to replace the money.