“We are eager to get started with the new legislature and the new administration,” said West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts.

The West Virginia Chamber submitted extensive comments to Morrisey’s website, wvprosperitygroup.com, urging him to prioritize bolstering the economy.

“Most of our members are small businesses, and they want to see economic growth because more people with more money to spend brings more money into your store. There’s a real sense of enlightened self-interest. If we don’t start growing then people are going to continue looking elsewhere,” Roberts said.

Bill Bissett, president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, said he remains optimistic about the potential economic impact of both new heads of state despite the uncertainty transitioning administrations often bring.

Trump has spoken highly of West Virginia in the past, especially its energy sector.

“It’s good to have someone in the White House that thinks positively about our state,” he said.

Rural parts of the state that were thriving during a boom in oil, natural gas and coal 15 to 20 years ago have found themselves faltering as coal production and coal-adjacent employment has since sharply fallen.

West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton said he is very excited about the change in administration and the upcoming legislative session.

He characterized the incoming administrations as “a significant change of guard” and “the stars aligning.”

As the new state and federal administrations gear up to start their term, Hamilton said leaders of the coal industry have been working with legislators to promote a package of incentives to increase the use of coal-based energy utilities.

These incentives would seek to encourage data centers, which require substantial amounts of power, to use West Virginia-produced coal even outside of West Virginia, Hamilton said.

Coal historically has been a top contributor to West Virginia’s economy, but Bissett and Roberts are hopeful the incoming administrations will work to bolster the economy in more ways than one.

“We at the West Virginia Chamber have been cheerleaders for West Virginia and pointing out the good news. But we also have some very bad news,” Roberts said.

Studies conducted by the Chamber have found West Virginia is 50th in economic output per worker, 50th in job creation over a ten-year period and 49th in workforce participation.

“Legislators are really surprised to find out what our performance is. It’s not the most pleasant thing to talk about or deal with, but the fact is economically we’re not keeping up with the rest of the country,” Roberts said.

The state should invest in post-secondary education and create a more competitive tax environment to attract businesses, Roberts said.

“Ohio is creating jobs, Kentucky is creating jobs, Virginia is growing economically. We have to ask ourselves ‘What is it they are doing that is working for them?’ And ‘What is it that they are doing that is causing places not more than an hour or two from West Virginia to grow?'” Roberts said.

Roberts and Bissett said they support the creation of a cabinet-level position to inform policy relating to the state’s workforce.

Repairing the disconnect between the skills being taught in K12 and higher education and the skills needed to fill the more than 40,000 job openings around the state is of the utmost importance, they said.

“When I worked for Sen. (Shelley Moore) Capito, pretty much every business we talked to had workforce challenges,” Bissett said.

“We really need to focus on the next generation. Putting post-secondary education students on a career path after high school is important — whether or not it is higher education. A trade school or some other shorter skill development makes them valuable in the economy.”

West Virginia is one of only a few states that taxes businesses for inventory and equipment.

Small businesses can now receive a 50% rebate of these taxes, but it’s a semi-unique situation that repels some companies from establishing themselves in West Virginia.

Legislators attempted to undo this tax with a ballot measure in 2022, however it failed.

Business advocates continue encouraging legislators to eliminate the tax.