Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, stands at the podium in the West Virginia Senate Chambers on the final day of the regular legislative session, March 14, 2026. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack delivered a letter to Comptroller Mark Hunt on Wednesday requesting further information to clarify the legality of Sen. Jay Taylor’s contractual employment in the comptroller’s office.
Pack’s request comes almost two weeks later Reporting by Kyle Vass in Dragline revealed that Hunt hired Taylor, R-Taylor, as a contractor for his office despite Attorney General JB McCuskey raising legal red flags.
In his letter to Hunt on Wednesday, Pack requested invoices submitted by Taylor during his contract work, timesheets showing hours worked, copies of any “deliverables” completed by Taylor, documents proving Taylor’s current status with the auditor’s office and any state or local licenses Taylor holds as a contractor.
He also requested any documents showing that Taylor was hired as a contractor and not an employee. Pack wrote – echoing McCuskey’s warnings from October – that the latter is “expressly prohibited” under the state constitution.
Pack told West Virginia Watch on Wednesday that the Dragline story “raised some eyebrows” in his office. Now, he said, he is seeking more information to ensure the relationship between Taylor and the comptroller’s office is appropriate.
“From the treasurer’s perspective alone, we have a duty to protect taxpayers’ money. West Virginians work hard to pay their taxes and we need to make sure we are stewards of those funds well,” Pack said. “I have been a (certified public accountant) for 20 years and am very knowledgeable about contractors versus employees. (McCuskey’s) opinion and the other public reporting here raises many questions. We wrote this letter to get answers so we can determine whether this is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.”
Background information on Taylor’s role in the WV Auditor’s Office
According to documents obtained and reported by Dragline, Hunt sent one Quick query to McCuskey on October 16, 2025, requesting a written opinion “whether there are any prohibitions” against hiring a sitting member of the Legislature as a contractor or as an employee of an agency within the executive branch of the state (such as the Auditor’s Office).
McCuskey responded on Oct. 27, 2025. He said a lawmaker cannot be hired as a clerk “under any circumstances.” Without further information, he said, the office is “unable to comment” on whether a contractor position would be a violation of state law or policy. McCuskey continued by citing several examples of government regulations that could be legally binding on contractors.
According to emails released by Dragline, during his tenure there, Taylor was given an email address at the auditor’s office and conducted official business with the title “Budget-Finance Specialist” in his email signature. He regularly contacted supervisors in the Comptroller’s Office and others in the Local Government Services Division where he worked.
Taylor, reached by phone Wednesday, said he found it “ridiculous” that there was so much focus on a two-month, one-time contract gig.
“This was a one-time thing. I knew it was a one-time thing. This is just – my God, I mean, we’re talking about $5,000 over two months. If you take out taxes and stuff like that, that’s basically minimum wage,” Taylor said. “We’re not talking about a lot of money here; this wasn’t a lucrative thing. It’s kind of weird that we spend so much time on such a non-lucrative thing.”
Pack said the amount of money spent doesn’t matter.
“I grew up in Hernshaw, West Virginia, and $5,000 is a lot of money for a lot of people,” Pack said. “But the amount doesn’t really matter – we ask these questions to see whether tax dollars, regardless of the amount, were paid appropriately or inappropriately. That’s all.”
Taylor said that while he worked in the auditor’s office, he helped with an office move, completed paperwork and filled positions while some positions remained vacant. He said he knew he couldn’t be hired as a “normal employee” and didn’t want to.
When he accepted the contract, Taylor said Hunt told him he had checked with McCuskey and was told “everything was fine.”
“I wasn’t part of that request, I didn’t see the response, I was told everything was fine and I believed it,” Taylor said. “I trust Mark (Hunt). I know we didn’t do anything wrong here.”
Taylor describes studies of contractual employment relationships as “politics”
In one Press release After the Dragline story broke, state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin warned of the precedent that could be set if a lawmaker was allowed to hold a “lucrative” job in the executive branch while elected.
On Monday, Pushkin continued to call demanded Taylor explain why the $5,000 he received was not included in a financial disclosure statement sent to the Ethics Commission in February. On Wednesday, Taylor said the payment was made in January and was after the reporting deadline. The payment, he said, will be included in his next report.
Hunt — who sent his own release in response to Pushkin on Wednesday, hours before Pack’s letter was delivered to his office, said criticism of Taylor’s hiring amounted to “political theater” by Democrats.
“We will not be distracted by partisan attacks from those who seek to undermine our efforts to reform and strengthen West Virginia’s financial management,” Hunt said in the statement.
Representatives for Hunt did not respond to requests for comment on the letter from Pack — a Republican — by press time Wednesday.
Taylor, per emailsent business emails from his government email address from November through at least December 15th.
A month later, West Virginia’s 2026 regular legislative session began. There, as a state senator, Taylor promoted and introduced legislation directly related to the Auditor’s Office and his contacts there, including his immediate supervisor. He contacted his former colleagues through his personal email address and they worked together on draft legislation that would require county boards of education to submit annual financial reports to the comptroller.
On February 12, Taylor filed Senate Bill 929 for introduction into the legislature. A key provision of the bill would have made county boards of education subject to oversight by the state auditor. The bill unanimously The bill passed the Senate on March 3 but stalled in the House and did not become law.
Taylor said Wednesday that his sponsorship of SB 929 was not a conflict of interest. He said he learned a lot from his two months working with the auditor’s Local Government Services Division and wanted to translate some of that knowledge into helpful legislation.
“I learned a lot about how these things work and I thought it would be a good thing to have that oversight, that check and balance,” Taylor said. “That’s why I introduced this bill.”
He compared his contractual work with the auditor with his previous work as a substitute teacher.
“It’s taxpayer money and no one has ever said anything about (my substitute teaching). They don’t say anything about the teachers in the Legislature or all the lawyers or other workers who have state contracts,” Taylor said. “I really don’t understand why we’re wasting time on this.”
He said, like Hunt, he believes the investigation into his hiring and work is a political matter.
“That’s clear policy. That’s all. I get it, it’s fine, but that’s all,” Taylor said.
He did not elaborate on what political motivations he believed Pack may have had in sending the request for more information.
Pack vehemently denied that politics played a role in his request.
“There’s nothing political about it. I’m doing my job,” Pack said. “I was elected to make sure tax dollars go to the right place. That’s what I do here and what I always will do. Politics don’t play a role here.”
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