Executive Order
Gov. Jim Justice issued an executive order, effective 12 a.m. March 31, 2020, which included the following:
1. All state park campgrounds are closed.
2. Individuals who are traveling from areas with substantial community spread of COVID-19, including, without limitation, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Italy and China, are required to isolate for a period of 14 days upon entry to West Virginia or for the duration of their visit, whichever is shorter, provided that such individuals who are required to self-isolate may travel to seek such essentials as food and medical attention.
This does not apply to commercial activity including commercial trucking activities and individuals who commute into or out of the state for work, persons performing any emergency, health, military or infrastructure response activities necessitating travel into the state, or persons otherwise engaged in and traveling for Essential Businesses and Operations….
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State Income Tax filing deadline
Gov. Justice has asked West Virginia Tax Commissioner Dale Steager to extend the West Virginia income tax filing and payment deadline until Wednesday, July 15, 2020, to correspond with the federal government’s recent tax filing extension to the same date.
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Property tax interest and penalties waived through April
Gov. Justice announced that the state will be waiving all interest and penalties on property tax filings until Friday, May 1, 2020. The West Virginia State Tax Department has posted administrative notice of these changes on its website.
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DMV transaction extensions
A 90-day extension on many driver and vehicle transactions has been granted through the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles due to the closure of all Regional Offices, in keeping with the most recent guidelines and best practices recommended by both the CDC and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources regarding COVID-19.
DMV is extending the expiration date of any of the following documents with an expiration date in March or April of 2020 for three months from the date of expiration on the face of the document:
• Any Driver’s License including Commercial Driver’s License
• Instructional Permits, including Commercial Permits
• Vehicle registration, including temporary vehicle registrations or plates
In addition, any CDL holder whose medical certification expires in March or April will have an additional three months to provide a new medical certification to avoid the downgrading of the CDL.
Many of DMV’s most requested transactions can be done online or mailed in and do not require a trip to a regional office. Online services include:
• Driver’s license renewal (if no changes, and every other cycle)
• Duplicate driver’s license request
• Vehicle registration renewals
• Duplicate vehicle registration decals and cards
• Print your driving record
• Check your driver’s license status
A full list of online services may be found by going to dmv.wv.gov
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Special provisions for May 12 Primary Election
Secretary of State Mac Warner announced that he has issued guidance and a funding opportunity to assist county clerks with mailing an absentee ballot application to every registered voter in West Virginia.
Returning the absentee ballot application is the first step to receiving the official ballot via mail.
Warner said that voters can expect to receive an absentee ballot application sometime during the week of April 6.
• Absentee ballot applications must be received by the county clerk on, or before, May 6, 2020
• Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, May 12, 2020
Other key dates to remember include
• the last day to register to vote for the Primary Election, April 21;
• early in-person voting from April 29 to May 9.
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MNF campgrounds
Monongahela National Forest closed all developed campgrounds for the health and safety of visitors and staff. Notifications to renters who reserved sites using recreation.gov will be made as soon as possible, and refunds will be processed.
Visit the forest’s website for additional information www.fs.usda.gov/mnf
