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Tomblin eyes savings to balance budget, but GOP looks for another way

During the state legislative session there are always highly-publicized fights on any number of policy issues, from abortion to wild animal possession and all matters in between.  However, the battle over the state budget is annually one of the most important because, after all, that’s where the money is.

It will be no different this year when lawmakers gather Wednesday for the 2015 regular session.  Government will have about $4.3 billion in general revenue funds to spend in fiscal year 2016 starting in July of this year. That’s a lot of money, but it gets divided up in a lot of areas, so it goes fast.

So fast, in fact, that Governor Tomblin will propose borrowing from the state’s Rainy Day emergency fund for the second year in a row to balance the budget.  (The West Virginia Constitution requires a balanced budget.)

This time the Governor’s asking for $85 million.  Last year, the Governor and Lawmakers agreed to take $100 million out of the fund to pay all the bills.  Still, the fund is in good shape with a balance of $860 million, or the equivalent of over 20 percent of the state’s general revenue funds.

Wall Street likes those numbers.  Fitch Ratings gives the state’s bond rating a AA+, it’s second highest score. And it says the state’s overall financial condition is stable.

Still, borrowing from the state’s emergency savings account is a sensitive issue.  Tomblin and Democrat legislative leaders went back and forth last year before agreeing on the amount. This year, Republicans control both chambers and their leadership is more interested in cuts and savings than raiding Rainy Day again.

“You have to be open to it, but it’s certainly not something we want to do,” Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer) said on Metronews Talkline Wednesday.  Cole believes there’s money that can be trimmed from the state budget if you look hard enough.

“You have to ask the questions,” said Cole. “You have to dig a little bit deeper than just accepting what you see on the surface.”  Republican lawmakers are doing just that by asking state agencies to turn over detailed information about their spending so they can try to find waste and duplication.

Republicans have complained for years about what they believe is waste, fraud and abuse in the state budget, but as the minority party they could never get anywhere.  Now they’re the majority and they plan to make good on their pledge.

“The size of state government continues to grow every single year, so I don’t think there’s any question that there’s waste or ways to do things better,” Cole told me.

Governor Tomblin has made clear how he plans to balance the budget.  Next it will be up to the new Republican leadership to see if they can find a better way.





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