CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Gov. Earl Tomblin expressed concern earlier this week about the pace of the legislature on several of his budget remedy bills. The Senate Finance Committee did move forward with one of those bills Friday.
The bill (SB419) would take severance tax payments from coal, natural gas and timber that currently help pay down the old workers’ compensation debt and put that money for the next few months in the state budget to help fill an anticipated $354 million revenue shortfall in the current budget year.
The bill speeds up paying off the remaining debt in the old fund and then will produce $92 million to fill the current state budget hole, payments from Feb. to June. The switch would also produce $5 million for next fiscal year’s budget. A 2.78 percent tax on timber would stay in place even after the old workers’ compensation fund debt is paid off.
Sen. Bob Plymale (D-Wayne) expressed concern Friday about keeping the special tax on timber and not on coal and natural gas in the new fiscal year.
“Things have changed in the forestry community, the timber side, just as drastically (as coal) if not more so,” Plymale said.
The Division of Forestry will receive $2.4 million next budget year by keeping the special severance tax on timber, state Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss said. Without it, there would be a hole in the agency’s budget, according to Kiss.
The bill passed Friday without any changes and will now go to the full Senate for consideration.