Tomblin ‘very disappointed’ with House rejection of tobacco bill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Governor Earl Ray Tomblin says very little progress has been made to fix the state’s massive budget problem since he called lawmakers in for a special session over one week ago.

Moments after the House of Delegates rejected a tobacco tax bill Tuesday, Tomblin shook his head and told reporters at the state Capitol that he was “very disappointed” with vote. The decision resulted in a 44-55 vote after a three hour long debate.

“What I want them to do is come in and concentrate on getting us a budget passed for next year and so far that’s not happened,” Tomblin said. “The clock is ticking.”

The House bill would have provided more than $70 million dollars for the state budget for next fiscal year. The legislation included a 45 cent increase per pack of cigarettes proposed by the governor. An amendment to the House version would have exempted e-cigarettes and vapes from the tax hike.

The Senate approved a tobacco tax increase on Monday.

The House budget also included $65 million in spending cuts, $61 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund and millions of dollars from one-time monies — something Tomblin said he was not a fan of.

“I’m flexible, but I’m not going to sit here and balance the entire budget out of the Rainy Day Fund. That’s not what it was created for. It was for casual shortfalls in revenues, not for ongoing expenses,” he said.

Tomblin said a balanced budget should not be built on one-time monies.

“Those are all one time funds. When they’re gone, they’re gone,” he said.

Lawmakers will return for an eighth day of the Special Session Wednesday.





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