SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 50
(By Senators McCabe, Hunter, Foster, Bailey and Unger)
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study
issues of income adequacy and analyze policies to help
individuals striving for self-sufficiency.
Whereas, With the passage of welfare legislation in 1996 and
the advent of work requirements and time limits, helping low-income
persons or welfare recipients become self-sufficient has become a
top priority; and
Whereas, The Self-Sufficiency Standard documents the cost of
living that families of different sizes must meet to live
independently without public or private assistance; and
Whereas, The Self-Sufficiency Standard shows that, for most
families, earnings that are above the official poverty level or
earnings that are high enough to disqualify them from welfare are
nevertheless far below what they need to meet their families' basic
needs; and
Whereas, The Self-Sufficiency Standard is currently being used
to better understand issues of income adequacy, to analyze policy
and to help individuals striving for self-sufficiency; and
Whereas, The West Virginia Community Voices Partnership has
developed and calculated the Self-Sufficiency Standard for 70 different family types in each county and metropolitan area in West
Virginia; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby
requested to study issues of income adequacy and analyze policies
to help individuals striving for self-sufficiency; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance is requested to study ways to help employers move toward
meeting the Self-Sufficiency Standard for West Virginia workers as
measured by the West Virginia Community Voices Partnership; and, be
it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance examine ways to use the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a
benchmark to measure activity of public-sponsored economic
development efforts, including, but not limited to, job creation
and wage levels tracked by the Economic Development Authority and
the West Virginia Development Office; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2007, on
its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts
of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations;
and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this
study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.