On February 11, 2025, Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, chair of the West Virginia House of Delegates Health Committee, hosted a pre-session round table. (Perry Bennett, West Virginia Legislative Photography)
West Virginia is consistently ranked among the top ten poorest states in the country, but instead of doing anything to help residents, lawmakers continue to introduce bills that make life more difficult for them.
In 2023, roughly 16.7% of West Virginians lived in poverty, which is 5.6% higher than the national average.
The Mountain State’s median household income is $57,917. Families of four earning $55,500 or less are eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children benefits, also known as food stamps. In 2024, 277,400 West Virginians, or roughly 16% of the state’s population, used SNAP benefits.
People are struggling to pay their bills. Some are unable to find child care, preventing them from working to make ends meet.
And what are lawmakers doing to address these issues? They’re concerned about what’s inside your kitchen cabinets.
Republicans believe that people receiving SNAP benefits should not buy sweets. House Bill 2350 would prevent SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soda. Lawmakers provided no data on how much SNAP money is spent on these items. Sorry, kids, but the government has said no birthday cake.
Some Republicans also want to ban artificial dyes in food because they believe they cause behavioral problems in children. Although the dyes do not affect all children, and foods containing natural dyes are significantly more expensive, legislators do not want to give parents the option of allowing their children to eat Skittles or those blazing orange Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
To be clear, parents should be able to choose between vaccines that prevent life-threatening diseases from infecting entire communities and artificial dyes.
Lawmakers did not stop with policing the kitchens of SNAP households. West Virginia currently has a voluntary SNAP Employment and Training program, but lawmakers want to make it mandatory for all able-bodied adults up to the age of 59, unless they meet an exemption.
SNAP E&T requires those between the ages of 18 and 54 who do not have an exemption to work at least 20 hours per week or face a three-month time limit on their SNAP benefits over the next three years.
What about someone who works part-time in retail or food services and has their hours reduced below 20?
Or suppose someone uses all of their SNAP benefits because it took them four months to find a great job with the federal government, and then a billionaire comes in and fires them a year later. Is that person forced to starve until they find a new job?
In other states with mandatory SNAP E&T programs, “it’s both increasing food insecurity as well as not achieving the intended outcome of the SNAP E&T program, which is to connect people with tools, resources, and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency,” said Caitlin Cook, director of advocacy and public policy for Mountaineer Food Bank.
Other bills indirectly target the poor.
Consider the Hope Scholarship. This program diverts funds from public schools, which are free for all, to pay for tuition at religious, private, and charter schools. School superintendents believe the Hope Scholarship is partially to blame for the closure of 25 public schools.
Lawmakers like to say that the scholarship benefits all families, but the $4,400 does not cover the full tuition at most of these schools. And now our free public schools are struggling with less funding, and when they are forced to close, students must travel further for school.
And then there’s the homeless population. What does the Legislature do for them? Giving shelters more money so they can build more beds? Create more programs to help them get back into the workforce. No. They’ve introduced legislation prohibiting homeless people from sleeping on public property and imposed fines of up to $500 for those who violate it.
Yes, charge them money that they do not have. Alternatively, send them to jail, where they will be housed and fed with taxpayer money, which lawmakers will also be upset about. Long-term, it appears that funding shelters would be a better option.
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, they keep going. While the state already has a nearly complete abortion ban, House Bill 2712 will eliminate exemptions for victims of rape and incest. This will only affect those who cannot afford to travel out of state to receive the necessary care.
Similarly, Senate Bill 299 would prohibit hormone treatment for minors with gender dysphoria who are at risk of suicide. Those fortunate enough to live near the state line or have the means to travel can still receive life-saving gender-affirming care.
The Republicans in West Virginia want you to remain poor, sick, and under their control. In each bill, question their motives. Inquire as to how that legislation benefits the majority of West Virginia residents. Where are my child care bills? Where are the bills for clean drinking water? What about increasing the minimum wage? They simply ignore anything that does not fit into the MAGA playbook.
