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School Clothing Program Has Cost Morrisey Some Trust · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Perhaps surprisingly to some, truth is a valuable commodity even
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  Speaker 1: in politics, difficult to earn, easy to lose, absolutely essential
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  Speaker 1: for success, and Governor Patrick Morrissey's trust account has been
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  Speaker 1: heavily debudited of late. First, the state's school clothing allowance
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  Speaker 1: program opened late, despite lawmakers appropriating money in a budget
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  Speaker 1: the governors signed months ago. The administration offered little explanation
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  Speaker 1: beyond warning of a future structural deficit affecting TANIFF funded programs.
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  Speaker 1: But warnings require evidence, no detailed figures, no public forecast,
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  Speaker 1: and by the administration's own account, the funding problem remains
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  Speaker 1: thirteen months away. If the situation is truly urgent, why
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  Speaker 1: wasn't it raised during the legislative session when the budget
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  Speaker 1: was being written. Washington has not reduced West Virginia's TANOFF
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Block grant, at least not yet, and again, the administration
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  Speaker 1: says enough money remains to support tan OF programs for
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  Speaker 1: another thirteen months, ample time for lawmakers to address this
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  Speaker 1: issue through proper budgeting. Now, after opening late, the clothing
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  Speaker 1: program has stopped accepting applications after just seven days. The
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  Speaker 1: administration says all available money was allocated. Technically, officials warned
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  Speaker 1: to the program would close when the money was exhausted,
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  Speaker 1: but that misses the larger point. How did a back
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  Speaker 1: to school program exhaust its funding in only one week?
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  Speaker 1: Were more families approved than in previous years? Did eligibility
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  Speaker 1: or benefit amounts change? How much money was available, how
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  Speaker 1: much was obligated? And how do those figures compare with
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  Speaker 1: prior years. The administration has provided no detailed public reconciliation
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  Speaker 1: until it does. The money ran out is not an
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  Speaker 1: adequate explanation. It's an assertion, and neither lawmakers nor the
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  Speaker 1: public should be expected to accept it on trust alone.
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  Speaker 1: Absent a credible fiscal case, this looks less like necessity
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  Speaker 1: and more like an executive disregarding the legislature's expressed will.
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  Speaker 1: Next year, lawmakers should consider tighter statutory spending mandates and
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  Speaker 1: again pass the budget early enough to override questionable line
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  Speaker 1: item reductions. If they do, the governor can think himself
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  Speaker 1: for that. Meanwhile, the burden of proof rests with him
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  Speaker 1: until he meets it. The school clothing Allowance program should
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  Speaker 1: reopen without delay.