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NEWS
W.Va. lawmakers pass $11.6B budget, end session
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia state government is poised to spend $11.6 billion during the next budget year, after the Legislature sent Gov. Joe Manchin a compromise spending plan Saturday.
The state Senate passed the budget bill 29-0, while the House of Delegates voted 84-12 to approve the 204-page measure.
An absent Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, had his opposition to the bill noted as a paired, uncounted vote with another absent lawmaker. The House roll call also featured several pairings, allowed under legislative rules.
Before ending their weeklong extended session, lawmakers also passed corrected versions of all five bills that Manchin had vetoed because of technical flaws. Those included the Jerry Alan Jones Act, named for a Charleston police officer killed by friendly fire while trying to capture a suspect following a pursuit. The measure would increase penalties for those who flee or obstruct law enforcement, particularly when injury or death results.
The new budget year begins July 1. Among other revenue sources, Saturday's bill relies on $3.7 billion from general taxes. That's down $46.2 million from the version passed last year.
But overall state spending will rise a half-percent, the smallest rate of growth in at least two years when compared to previous budget bills as passed. The new budget also depends on $4.4 billion in federal funds, $1.45 billion from special revenue sources such as fees, $1.39 billion from the State Road Fund and $561 million from lottery proceeds.
Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, said $150 million from the federal stimulus had helped lessen cuts to public schools, higher education and the state's Medicaid program. West Virginia also tapped the stimulus last year to avoid painful cuts, though lawmakers and administration officials note that this source will all but disappear before next year's budget-crafting.
Unspent lottery revenues from prior budget years also offset cuts that Manchin had included in the spending proposal he sent lawmakers in January. A recent change in the premium rates that public employers are charged for the future pensions of their workers, meanwhile, freed up nearly $15 million in the budget's general revenue portion.
County property taxes also yielded $10 million more for public education than initially projected, reducing the state's share of funding as a result. The public school system, its employees and their benefit costs will consume nearly half of the general revenue part of the budget, and more than a third of its lottery portions.
Helmick estimated that the entire budget includes $413 million devoted to the sometimes-massive funding shortfalls in the retirement-related programs for teachers and other public employees.
The state Health and Human Resources Department will spend about 21 percent of general revenue, and higher education will get around 10 percent. Public safety programs, including the State Police, the National Guard and corrections, will take another 9 percent
Besides the stimulus offsets, the federal portion of the budget includes $2.3 billion for health care programs, mostly Medicaid. The State Road Fund portion, meanwhile, would allow for the spending of $140 million in a highway-related follow-up to the stimulus — if that potential funding ever passes Congress.
Lawmakers included a number of earmarks for constituents and projects or causes in districts back home. The lottery portion includes $2.7 million for fairs, festivals, museums and other cultural concerns. Portions of the state Development Office's $23 million general revenue budget will fund scores of "community participation projects" requested by lawmakers on behalf of constituents.
Saturday's bill also provides nearly $15 million from general revenue to two programs that aim to allow seniors and the developmentally disabled to receive care at home instead of institutions. While the House had sought $22 million, its Health and Human Resources chairman, Don Perdue, called an increase in funding a victory.
Lawmakers have repeatedly sparred with Manchin officials over the backlogs of people seeking waivers necessary to take part in those programs. Arguing before the vote that "a budget is a state's morality walking" Perdue, D-Wayne, urged fellow delegates to take pride in the bill's health care-related spending.
"I hope that we never let health become simply the slowest way to die," Perdue said. "We can't do that, and that means we're going to have to spend money."
