House proposes changes to governor’s budget
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
In February, Gov. Patrick Morrisey submitted a proposed budget to the House and Senate for consideration in the form of HB 2026. Since that time, the committees have conducted budget hearings with all agencies in the executive branch in order to determine whether they agree with the governor’s proposed budget or desire to make changes.
The House’s Committee on Finance chose the latter option in a meeting yesterday afternoon, reshaping Morrisey’s first budget in several ways. Here are the highlights:
The Morrisey budget spends $5.3 billion, while the House budget spends $5.1 billion.
The Morrisey budget eliminated the budget surplus and had no remaining unused funds, while the House budget left over $300 million in surplus spending and placed $66 million in the budget unused for emergencies.
Surplus items in the House budget include:
State Road Fund: $100 million
Victims of Crime Act: $10 million
Water Development Authority: $10 million
WVU Washington Center: $1.5 million
Department of Tourism: $7 million
Spending increases in the House budget include:
PEIA employer share increase: $40 million
WV Birth to Three: $7 million
Senate $500,000
House $500,000
Joint Committee $1 million
Human Service Funding Restored: $90 million
Correctional Units: $30 million
Juvenile Services: $9 million
Victims of Crime Act: $3 million
WVU College of Law $250,000
Tuition Contract Program – Veterinarian Schools: $308,000
Military College Council Study: $294,000
Supreme Court: $1 million
Supreme Court pay increase: $1.2 million
Hope Scholarship: $7 million
Notably, the budget also restores most of the arts funding cuts in the Morrisey budget including funds to the WV Humanities Council, State Fair of WV, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and more.
However, the bill does assume Tourism and Arts, Culture, & History will be combined into one cabinet office at a savings of $300,000 in salaries and benefits.
The House budget does include some cuts not proposed by Morrisey, including $11 million to the school funding formula due to decreased enrollment across the state among public school students.
On a voice vote, the committee passed the amended budget bill. It will now go to the full House and will then receive Senate consideration.
Stay tuned to RealWV for updates on the budget bill.
