Category: Government & Policy

Yes, let’s be informed and vote

kathy@h2cstrategies.com Election, Elections, Government & Policy, Legislation, Local Government, State Government, State Legislatures, Uncategorized, Voting, West Virginia

May 12, Election Day, approaches. Early voting is well underway across West Virginia. Politicians, media, business leaders, and others encourage voters to go to the polls, which tend to see less activity during nonpresidential-year elections. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office reported a 22.9% voter turnout for the 2022 primary, the last off-year election. …Read More

Berkeley County asks about data-center tax policy

kathy@h2cstrategies.com Broadband, Data Centers, Economy, Energy, Energy & enviroment, Gas and Oil, Government & Policy, Local Government, Tax Policy, Technology

Berkeley County public officials are inquiring about the tax implications of a potential data-center development in Falling Waters, an unincorporated community on the Potomac River. Reporting on April 26, Brad McElhinny of WV MetroNews suggested that Berkeley County could be on the leading edge of counties assessing data-center development. McElhinny reported that Berkeley County sent …Read More

Public knows what it wants: reliable power grid

kathy@h2cstrategies.com Energy, Government & Policy, Legislature, Local Government, State Government, Uncategorized , , ,

A recent public opinion survey shows that 95% of West Virginia voters support modernizing the state’s electric grid. Mark Blankenship of MBE Research, writing in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on April 22, said a February survey shows the importance that registered voters place on the reliability of the power system. Furthermore, he said 68% of those …Read More

Workforce a Focus in Broadband Deployment

kathy@h2cstrategies.com Broadband, Business, Economy, Government & Policy, Technology, Workforce , ,

Telecommunications industry leaders and state and federal officials, meeting October 22-23 in Charleston for the 2024 West Virginia Broadband Summit, expressed optimism as the federal government’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program promises to deliver high-speed service to the state’s unserved and underserved areas. Summit organizers concentrated on workforce readiness as federally funded broadband …Read More

Debriefing the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session — Elections

Brian Skinner Elections, Government & Policy, Legislation, Legislature

By Brian J. Skinner, Esq. After the 2020 general election, many state legislatures have made election integrity a priority. Many states have enacted legislation that affects everything from voter registration timelines and absentee ballots to election crimes, ballot harvesting, and drop boxes. The West Virginia Legislature’s efforts during the second session of the 85th Legislature …Read More

Legislature authorizes exemptions to employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Brian Skinner COVID-19, Employers, Government & Policy, Legislation, Workforce
COVID-19

By Brian Skinner, Esq. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of vaccines critical to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. After determining the vaccines met applicable statutory standards and the agency’s specific safety and efficacy standards, the FDA issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for the vaccines under Section …Read More

New Report Explains How Governments Can Leverage Federal Funds to Partner with Local Nonprofits

Brian Skinner ARPA, Government & Policy, Local Government, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq.  The National Council of Nonprofits has issued a report on how state and local governments can partner with nonprofit organizations in their communities to use relief funds distributed through the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) by expanding existing programs or creating new ones.   Congress expressly declared in the ARPA that state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments may use their allocations of the $350 billion in Coronavirus …Read More

West Virginia and American Rescue Plan Act Funds

Brian Skinner ARPA, Budget, COVID-19, Government & Policy, State Fiscal & Economic Policy

By Brian Skinner, Esq. State governments, including West Virginia, are beginning to receive the first allocations from $193.5 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The ARPA, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, establishes the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund.  The Fiscal Recovery Funds are intended to provide support to …Read More

HHS eliminates LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections.

Brian Skinner Adoption, Government & Policy, LGBTQ

  By Paige Winfield Cunningham, – Washington Post – January 13, 2021.   The Department of Health and Human Services has finalized a rule change that will permit social-service providers that receive government funds to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.   “Critics claim the new guidance could have wide-ranging implications for agencies that …Read More

Drug and Health-Focused Groups Urge Incoming Biden Administration to Address Opioid Abuse and End the Drug War

Brian Skinner Government & Policy, Opioid Drug Crisis

By Brian Skinner, Esq. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that more than 200 drug and health-focused groups are urging the incoming Biden administration to address opioid abuse and end the drug war. The letter calls on the incoming administration to take bold, decisive, evidence-based action that shifts the government’s response to substance use. The The …Read More

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