CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – As the West Virginia Legislature marks the thirtieth day of the 2026 legislative session, Governor Patrick Morrisey says his administration is focusing heavily on economic development.
“Economic development remains our top priority,” Morrisey said. “We have to make sure that we’re addressing the affordability concerns and ensuring that we have the kind of regulatory environment where people can expect to have access to these high-paying jobs.
The centerpiece of Governor Morrisey’s legislative agenda and vision for economic development is an income tax cut.
“There’s no better way to put more money in people’s pockets to address the high price of groceries and energy bills than an across-the-board income tax cut,” he said. “When I saw other states lowering their income taxes at a level substantially below ours, I knew that we had to take action.”
In his State of the State address, Governor Morrisey asked for a 10 percent cut to income taxes. A 5 percent tax cut is built into the proposed budget, and his office says it wants to work with lawmakers to achieve the other 5 percent. The state’s economy failed to meet a trigger in state law that would have automatically cut income taxes.
However, Morrisey said the state is financially healthy enough to support the cut.
“We have a surplus right now, and we have a surplus because of a lot of the hard work that we’ve done to be fiscally responsible,” he said. “It’s not bureaucrats’ money. It’s money that should go back to people. And we are going to continue to monitor and make sure we don’t have runaway spending. We can’t have that. We need to be fiscally disciplined.”
Governor Morrisey said infrastructure improvements are critical for economic development. He said his proposed budget addresses these needs, including improvements to roads and utilities. Earlier this week, Governor Morrisey announced a $2 million water expansion project in Greenbrier County.
West Virginia’s infrastructure is routinely ranked near the bottom of the country. The state received a D+ on its latest report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Governor Morrisey said his administration is working to confront these challenges.
“We want to invest in a lot of our bridges. When I came into office, West Virginia was considered to have the worst situation and bridges in the country,” Morrisey said. “We’ve been looking at a lot of the bridges that are in difficult condition and we’re trying to invest there. We also made a conscious effort on a lot of the secondary roads that perhaps needed some additional investment.”
