Wheeling Intelligencer, Weirton Daily Times and the Inter-Mountain – With natural gas companies investing billions of dollars around West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, state Senate President Jeff Kessler believes the time is now to ensure the resulting wealth remains for future generations to enjoy. Read
By the time lawmakers leave Charleston in March, Kessler hopes to have the framework in place to put away a portion of the state’s natural gas severance tax revenue to stabilize its economy and take care of future needs.
Had West Virginia implemented such a fund when the coal industry was at its height, Kessler believes, the state would be able to solve many of the problems that have caused legislators to scratch their heads – including fixing roads and bridges, increasing pay for teachers and phasing out taxes that make West Virginia a less attractive destination for new business than many of its neighbors.