One of the first tasks for the new
Republican leaders in the state Senate and state House of Delegates in the New
Year will be to identify ways to reduce next year’s state budget by $200
million.
Incoming Senate President Bill Cole
(R-Mercer, 06) said he is opposed to pulling half of the needed amount to fill
that budget hole from the Rainy Day Fund. He said the true size of the state’s
government, at a time when the population continues to decline and technology
allows for streamlined services, must be addressed.
“The price of government goes up
every single year, so we need to figure out what we can do to cut,” Cole said.
“I’m not talking about across-the-board, 7.5 percent cuts. It’s truly, what are
we duplicating? What can we do without? And we need to take a hard look at our cost
of government.”
Incoming House Speaker Tim Armstead
(R-Kanawha, 40) agreed.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be
easy. There are going to be some tough decisions made but, truthfully, we
believe there are ways to streamline our government, to make it run more
efficiently, and we’re looking at those issues every day,” Armstead said.
Armstead recently finalized the
House leadership positions now that Republicans how a 64-36 advantage in the
House.
Del. Marty Gearheart (R-Mercer, 27)
has been appointed to serve as chairman of the House Roads and Transportation
Committee. Armstead said he does expect Gearheart to look for ways to
permanently remove the tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike in that role.
“Frankly, I agree with him that I
think that should be our goal is to be able to eliminate those tolls,” Armstead
said. “So we’re going to work toward that goal. How quickly we can do that, we
still need to discuss, but that’s certainly something that I’d like to see us
do.”
In the short term, Cole said any
Republican proposals would have to be revenue neutral because of the state of
the budget. Any major tax reforms, he said, may have to wait.
The 2015 Regular Legislative Session begins on Jan. 14. Governor
Earl Ray Tomblin will deliver his State of the State Address that night in the
state House of Delegates chamber.
