The state legislature has approved a new state budget. The House passed the plan 86-11 Wed. afternoon and the Senate followed with a unanimous 34-0 vote.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, told senators the budget, which includes just more than $4 billion in general tax revenue, has little wiggle room.
“This Finance Conference Committee put together a lean budget. We had some serious challenges before us,” Prezioso said.
The challenges include shrinking revenues because of decreases in coal production and the low price of natural gas.
Prezioso says the balanced budget includes no cuts to current services or vital programs. He says there are no layoffs or furloughs.
“We can take pride in knowing that our hard work and conservative approach to budgeting from previous years (has worked),” Prezioso said.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin ordered state agencies to submit proposed budgets to his office last fall that included a 7.5 percent reduction in spending. The legislature made some changes in those requests, but not many.
Prezioso says they had to look for extra money.
“Funds that were not appropriated we swept through and brought those forward to balance this budget,” the senator said. “So any loose money that was hanging around in various agencies, we went in and found it, moved it forward and balanced the budget.”
Morgan County Delegate Darryl Cowles was one of 11 delegates who voted against the bill Wed. in the House. He said the urgency to fix the state’s economy was absent from the budget.
“We’ve cut some good programs and we’ve funded some questionable others. I do realize that budget cuts are difficult,” Cowles said.
Gov. Tomblin will now review the budget bill. He has line-item veto power over the spending plan that lawmakers pass. The new budget goes into effect July 1.
