With more than a week to go, West Virginia lawmakers have passed a $5.5 billion budget and they’re ready to send it to the governor’s desk.
House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss said the timing is intentional.
“We wanted the budget out so that we have the opportunity for the governor to take a look at it, and if he decides to do line item vetoes then we have an opportunity to override those vetoes,” Criss, R-Wood, told reporters following the evening passage vote.
Criss said lawmakers ramped up their budget process this year because of experience from last year. In his first year in office, Gov. Patrick Morrisey used the line-item veto 29 times.
“That was very high,” Criss said.
A year ago, Criss said, “we had no knowledge of how this administration was going to act towards a budget. And so we learned in the process of the 29 veto items that he did in the current budget that we needed to have the ability to voice our opinions about those 29 line item vetoes.
“So this year we decided we were going to back up and with the consent of the Senate do this project so that we have an opportunity to voice our opinion if that’s what he decides to do.”
As it lines out, the Senate would send the budget bill to the governor on Friday. The governor then has five days to act. Overriding vetoes would take votes by two-thirds of legislative members. The regular legislative session ends in a little more than a week, midnight March 14.
On Thursday, the budget bill bounced first from the Senate in morning and then to the House in the evening.
“This is a process in which we have to negotiate with the governor’s office, with our counterparts in the House — and they’ve done a good job working with us on this budget, and we had it ready,” said Senate Finance Chairman Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley.
“So we’re comfortable putting the budget out early.”
The latest version of the budget bill reflects about $5.5 billion in estimated general revenue spending.
The package has the average 3% public employee pay raise and allows room for the 5% personal income tax cut that the governor proposed. The governor has consistently asked lawmakers to collaborate to find a way to get to a 10% tax cut.
The 5% amounts to about $125 million in state revenue. The 10% would be $250 million.
“Obviously the 5% tax cut that is built into the budget is incredibly important to the Senate. We wanted to go to 10 percent; just couldn’t get there,” Barrett said.
Total funding for the Hope Scholarship is about $290 million through several funding methods. This is the first year the funding has been available to all families outside the public school system.
“Fully funding the Hope Scholarship has been incredibly important to the Senate, particularly those in the Republican caucus,” Barrett said. “To be able to do that for five quarters and fully fund for fiscal year ’27 and also the first quarter of fiscal year ’28 is really important.”
Although lawmakers discussed additional financial support for the public school system, that is not reflected in this budget.
Delegate John Williams, the lead Democrat on the House Finance Committee, said the budget doesn’t make priorities of West Virginia’s needs. That includes school system funding, water infrastructure and needs in the foster care system.
“I’m concerned still with our state budget. I’m concerned that our services continue to suffer from attrition because of inflation,” said Williams, D-Monongalia.
“I know that the taxpayer expects us and deserves from us that we be good stewards with their dollars. I also think the taxpayer expects the state of West Virginia to take care of basic needs.”