– by Delegate Roger Hanshaw
Last week the West Virginia Legislature adopted a budget and sent it to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s desk for signature. This was the second balanced budget passed by the House of Delegates, one during the regular session in March, and another in the special session last week. The version sent to Governor Tomblin filled the gaps in the 2017 budget in two ways – (1) reducing spending in certain government programs, and (2) taking money from the state’s revenue shortfall fund. The adopted budget fully funds the PEIA program and keeps the Promise Scholarship Program funded. While this budget doesn’t make anyone completely happy, it does balance the state’s finances for the next year without increasing any taxes. All of West Virginia is now waiting to see if Governor Tomblin will sign this budget or veto it and force the Legislature to spend more time and money writing a third budget.
In my last column I explained a bit about how the state budget process works. This week I want to give you a picture of how West Virginia spends its money. The state’s fiscal year begins on July 1 each year. The budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins in less than a month, contains approximately $12.8 billion in spending. Interestingly, the budget for fiscal year 2008 was just a little more than $10 billion. Many have wondered over the past several weeks how our state, which has steadily lost population over the last decade, could have increased our budget by over $2 billion in that time. The answer involves a long list of special programs created by the legislature, money transferred from the federal government, and other decisions made by prior legislators and governors over the past decade, all of which have resulted in over $2 billion worth of new spending in the past eight years.
The total $12.8 billion in spending proposed for fiscal year 2017 consists of a few major sources. For example, West Virginia will receive nearly $4.5 billion, over a third of our entire budget, in federal funds next year, almost all of which must be spent in a specific way dictated by the federal government. Approximately $1.26 billion will come from money directed into the state road fund. The proposed budget contains millions more for road maintenance than last year, but those dollars must be spent in specific ways. Approximately another one-third of our budget comes in as general revenue dollars. This $4 billion in spending is what the legislature actually has available in order to make cuts in spending to balance the budget.
In our general revenue budget, that $4 billion that isn’t required to be spent in a certain way, West Virginia must fund public education, the DHHR, higher education programs, the courts, senior programs, veterans’ assistance initiatives, and a long list of other programs familiar to many. Now, over $1.9 billion, nearly half of the entire general revenue budget, is allocated for public education. Under our state constitution, we are required to fund the public schools, and many counties believe they are already underfunded. Another $1 billion from the general revenue is used to fund DHHR and the various programs administered by that office. For those who want to see the state’s budget balanced through cuts to programs alone, that leaves another $1 billion, which funds the entire rest of the state government, to be cut. These programs are the only available places where the legislature can actually make cuts to state government spending without the cooperation of the governor. Changing the existing balance of spending requires that we either change the laws which dictate how spending is done, or amend our constitution to change how we fund public education. Both are hard, and many West Virginia’s have very different opinions about which way we should go as a state to achieve a balanced budget. For now, we await the governor’s decision on the budget adopted by the Legislature last week.
In other news, the Legislature also adopted a bill last week which makes needed changes to the rules which govern our farmers, coal, and natural gas industries. For many farmers and natural gas producers in our area, the rules adopted three years ago to govern storage tanks were a step too far and represented an unworkable burden on these industries. The new rules adopted last week substantially reduce that burden on tank owners and focus DEP’s enforcement efforts on only those tanks that pose an actual threat to public water supplies. This is a far more sensible approach to dealing with this issue and should relieve the burden on our local industries.
The legislature adjourned in the special session last week until June 12, which coincides with the regularly scheduled interim meetings. When the legislature reconvenes next week, we will know whether Governor Tomblin signs the budget, or chooses to leave West Virginia waiting for the legislature to develop yet another approach. We shall soon see.