West Virginia budget bill on the move
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CHARLESTON -- A bill setting West Virginia's general revenue budget emerged out of a state Senate committee Friday morning, beginning the race to finalize a balanced budget before the end of the legislative session in two weeks.
The Finance Committee recommended Senate Bill 150, that body's version of the budget bill, for passage.
SB 150 would set the general revenue budget for fiscal year 2024 beginning July 1. The Senate version of the budget bill comes in at $4.399 billion, a 10% decrease from Gov. Jim Justice's introduced budget of $4.884 billion.
The Senate budget only contemplates bills that have passed the Senate that have costs, plus the Senate's 15% personal income tax cut and tax rebate plan in Senate Bill 424. SB 150 leaves $300,000 unappropriated.
"To me, this is an incredibly proud moment to be a senator up here and a member of the committee to accomplish all of that in one budget that is $300,000 less than the revenue estimate," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam. "I'm firmly in support of this budget."
The Senate budget bill includes $524.6 million in cuts, including cutting $264 million in Medical Services and $220 million in Social Services line items. These funds would be restored in the surplus section of the budget bill. Non-salary improvements to the budget were $38.2 million, including $33.7 million for the school aid formula for SB 274.
Justice introduced his budget bill to the Senate and House of Delegates during his State of the State address on the first day of the 60-day session on Jan. 11. Justice presented another relatively flat budget for fiscal year 2024 at $4.884 billion, 5% more than the $4.645 billion budget for the fiscal year 2023 passed by lawmakers last year.
Some of the new expenses in the governor's budget included $59 million for the Public Employees Insurance Agency to cover the cost of a premium freeze and increasing reimbursements to in-state health care providers and $42 million for the School Building Authority.
The governor's budget also included $115 million for another 5% average pay raise for state employees, teachers and school personnel and West Virginia State Police troopers and staff at a cost of $115 million. It would make Justice's fourth 5% pay raise for state workers.
The Senate's version of the budget also includes a pay raise for public employees, but instead of a 5% average, SB 150 provides state employees with a $2,300 increase to base salaries. The salaries for troopers/staff, teachers, and school service personnel were dealt with in a separate bill, Senate Bill 423, which also provides them a $2,300 increase in base salaries. The cost of the Senate's public employees pay raise proposal is $120.2 million.
The Senate version of the budget also includes $1.145 billion in funding for projects placed in the surplus section of the budget to be paid at the beginning of the new fiscal year out of the surplus tax revenue available at the end of the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. The Department of Revenue estimates the state will end the current fiscal year with more than $1.7 billion above revenue estimates. The state already has collected just short of $1 billion in excess tax revenue as of the end of January.
Besides the funding for Medical Services and Social Services, some of the other items in the surplus section of the budget include: $282 million for the governor's contingency fund for federal matches and grants; $125 million for the first half of a payment for new consolidated state labs; $50 million for the National Cancer Institute at West Virginia University; $21 million for dam repairs; and $37 million for state park improvements.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.