Parkersburg News and Sentinel. February 7, 2023.
Editorial: Up in Smoke: Legislation needed to break tobacco’s hold
While our record in tackling the tobacco-product demon that has plagued so many Mountain State residents for generations has been poor, a bill in the state Senate could be an important step in the right direction.
Senate Bill 266, introduced by Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, would ban the use of tobacco products by anyone under the age of 21.
“As basis for this policy, the Legislature hereby finds and accepts the medical evidence that smoking tobacco may cause lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious health problems while the use of smokeless tobacco may cause gum disease and oral cancer,” the bill reads. “It is the further intent of the Legislature to reduce tobacco use by keeping tobacco products out of the hands of youth and young adults by banning the provision of tobacco products to persons under age 21 to ease the personal tragedy and eradicate the severe economic loss associated with the use of tobacco and to provide the state with a citizenry free from the use of tobacco.”
SB 266 also includes a section prohibiting smoking “in a motor vehicle while a person 16 years of age or less is present” and including a financial penalty for doing so. Good.
For now, the bill is in the Finance Committee. Once it passes there (and it should), it will head to the Senate floor.
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The Intelligencer. February 4, 2023.
Editorial: Senate Should Move on Tax Plan Now
Further proof that lawmakers in West Virginia should support Gov. Jim Justice’s proposal to cut to the state’s personal income tax in half came Wednesday when Justice and Secretary of Revenue Dave Hardy revealed that in January, tax collections came in at $621.1 million, more than 35% higher than the projection of $461.9 million.
So far this current fiscal year, which began July 1, the state has collected $3.676 billion, nearly $1 billion more than the estimate. That’s money that needs to get back into the pockets of hard-working West Virginians.
In our region, where we’re bracketed by Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the personal income tax is 3.99% and 3.07%, respectively, the tax cut is even more important. State senators in our region should be leading the charge to get that body to move on Justice’s plan, which overwhelmingly passed the House of Delegates several weeks ago, 95-2.
“We have knocked it out of the park again for the month of January,” Justice said Wednesday of the tax collections. “We’re now sitting at above estimates for seven months of this year.”
When combined with surplus money from last year, the state now sits on nearly $2 billion in tax collections that exceeded projections. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out in an opinion piece Tuesday, West Virginia is one of just a few states with surpluses that has not given a tax break to residents.
With the bill through the House, now it’s up to the governor and the Senate to work out a deal. That’s not going to be easy.
“I stand ready to compromise with the Senate if they’ll just give me something,” Justice said. “It’s nice to say we’re still studying it, but come on … we need to be absolutely doing something for the hardworking people of this great state and put money back in their pockets. It’s not our money.”
He’s right. The Senate needs to move on this now, not wait until later in the session.
If that happens, we could find that nothing gets done — and that would be flat-out wrong for West Virginia.
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Bluefield Daily Telegraph. February 2, 2023.
Editorial: Sweepstakes Scam: Please don’t fall for this scheme
In a cautionary alert for area residents, a victim in West Virginia recently lost $18,000 in a sweepstakes scam.
In this particular case, a resident of Upshur County fell for a common sweepstakes scheme, and shelled out more than $18,000 through gift cards, money orders, MoneyGram and Western Union payments under the false pretense of receiving a much larger cash prize.
However, legitimate sweepstakes, state lotteries and government agencies never require winners to pay money to receive their prize.
That means potential winners should never agree to send cash, wire money or provide numbers associated with a gift card, credit/debit card or bank account. This is almost always a flashing indicator of a scam.
“Consumers can fall prey to sweepstakes scams as the ploy can appear very attractive — who doesn’t want to win money?” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said. “However, it is important consumers verify the legitimacy of any win. Also, look for warning signs such as unusual word choices or improper grammar if you receive a letter from the supposed sweepstakes. Most importantly, never give money to a scammer or allow them to access your credit card or computer.”
Morrisey says the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division continues to receive reports from West Virginians victimized by such scams. Scammers have been known to use familiar names to lure consumers into a false sense of trust and unquestioned acceptance, according to Morrisey.
Consumers who are targeted by the scammers are normally told they have won a lottery or sweepstakes, but they must pay the taxes or fees upfront in order to collect the prize. Morrisey said those who send money lose it, as the impostor then disappears and the winnings never arrive.
Please be careful and don’t fall for a sweepstakes scam.
Consumers with questions or who think they may have been the victim of a sweepstakes scam can contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 800-368-8808 or visit the office online at www.ago.wv.gov.
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