West Virginia’s new state-based think tank, The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, has officially launched its operations; just in time for the start of the 2015 legislative session in Charleston.
The Cardinal Institute’s policy focus in 2015 will be on ethics reform, budget reform and education policy.
“We have started this organization for the purpose of being the leading resource of non-partisan policy research for the important economic and fiscal discussions we expect to take place in the coming years,” explains Keith Pauley, Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Directors. “We have assembled a strong and committed Board of Directors to form the organization and will continue to grow our presence and our voice here in Charleston and around the state.”
The Institute’s first white paper, “Public Integrity: Reforming the Ethical Checks and Balances in West Virginia” focuses on much needed ethics reform in the state. The paper is based on the State Integrity Investigation’s (SII) 50 states report on corruption, ethics and transparency – a project that is funded by the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity, and Public Radio International. In the SII report, West Virginia receives a D+ in its Corruption Risk Report Card and ranks 29th overall among the 50 states. A full copy of the white paper will be available on the organization’s website, www.cardinalinstitute.org.
“These are exciting times in West Virginia,” notes Pauley. “After 83 years of one-party rule, we finally have the opportunity to engage in a policy debate that will move our state forward. We believe our three key policy focus areas of ethics reform, budget reform and education reform are key to igniting positive economic change in our state. We have the resources, we have the talent and we have the cultural foundation in this state to be an economic leader – and the time to move us from bottom of the ranks to top of the ranks is now.”
For more information about The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, please visit: www.cardinalinstitute.org.
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Finally, we will hopefully have the means to move this state forward. If those involved will embrace conservative values along with commonsense then we may have a chance. Those three areas are a good starting point, but much more needs to be done to ensure success in the future. I will be praying for all those involved and that West Virginia will become a leader, setting the example for other states to follow.