Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin used his
budget line-item veto power 42 times on the new state budget passed by
lawmakers last week and in doing so cut the spending plan by $67 million.
The governor also reduced the
amount of money lawmakers approved taking out of the state’s Rainy Day Fund by
approximately $21 million. The fund will now be reduced by $100 million instead
of $121 million to make the budget balance.
In his veto message, Tomblin said
he was not in favor of increased spending.
“We must be committed to fiscal
responsibility,” Tomblin said in the message to lawmakers. “And not commit
one-time surplus funds to increase on-going spending.”
The governor told reporters
Thursday afternoon it was important to keep the amount taken from Rainy Day
close to $100 million because of the state’s bond rating.
“We need to keep our bond rating
up,” Tomblin said. “The last thing we want to do is overspend the money and
watch our bond rating decline like it did back in the 80s.”
The veto message said future
budgets would need additional spending cuts or revenue enhancements (tax
increases) to keep from going deeper into the Rainy Day Fund, which currently
has a balance of more than $900 million. State Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Roman Prezioso agreed.
“I’d say you are exactly right.
We’re going to have to either enhance some revenues or we’re going to get
further into the Rainy Day Fund, which would be disastrous for our bond
rating.”
The line item veto was used by
Tomblin on dozens of allocations span including funds passed by the legislature
for education and senior services. The governor cut the in-home waiver program
for seniors by $3.5 million. He said the $16 million he left in the allocation
would provide for an additional 335 seniors to be able to stay in their homes.
The new budget takes effect July 1.
