West Virginia governor to call on lawmakers to consider child care and tax proposals this month

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice will call the Legislature back to the Capitol this month to consider several proposals, including one that would cut taxes and another that would provide child care support, he announced Monday.

The Republican governor said for a special session that will begin Sept. 30.

“We want to be super respectful to the Legislature, but we’ve got to get things across the finish line,” he said in a recorded video announcement.

Justice, who is in his second term and is running for Senate, has been pushing for lawmakers to slash the state’s personal income tax by an additional 5%, after signing a 21.25% tax cut into effect last year. The income tax is already expected to drop a further 4% in the new year, per a trigger in the 2023 law that allows for further tax cuts if the state meets higher-than-anticipated revenue collections.

“I promised you that I would try to help out with childcare, and absolutely try to get our tax break across the finish line with child care,” Justice said in the announcement. “There’s absolutely supplemental appropriations that need to be done, and we need to get the money out the door and get these projects moving.”

Justice said further details about specific proposals will come later. He has voiced support for introducing a child and dependent care tax credit in West Virginia to help families afford child care.