In ‘war room,’ Democrats worry that GOP budget blanks won’t be filled in

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Democratic lawmakers who huddled with Gov. Jim Justice today in his budget ‘war room’ said they’re worried the legislative budget plan will include cuts to education and healthcare without spelling out crucial details.

Roman Prezioso

“What scares me is the fact that they may just call for across the board cuts,” said Senate Minority Leader Roman Prezioso, D-Marion. “We want to see the details.”

Prezioso, who made similar comments on the Senate floor today, was among several Democrats who responded to the governor’s invitation to meet this morning in a conference room adjacent to his office. Justice issued the invitation Tuesday after declaring the state budget gap to be an emergency.

Republicans did not attend, saying they are willing to meet with the governor but adding that they believed this particular event was a matter of showmanship. GOP legislative leaders said they were hard at work in committees today.

The Democrats who attended included Prezioso, Sen. Ron Stollings, House Minority Leader Tim Miley and delegates Brent Boggs, Mike Caputo and Mick Bates. Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy and state Budget Director Mike McKown also attended the roundtable that lasted about half an hour.

Those who attended discussed the budget and the politics surrounding it, but they did not get out budget books or spreadsheets. Justice commented Tuesday and again today that he felt recent breakfast meetings with GOP leaders to discuss the budget yielded no progress.

The Democrats who attended today’s gathering said they also have not observed the kind of specifics they would like to see on the budget. As of today, there are 17 days left in the regular legislative session.

Last Monday, the majority Republicans presented a budget framework meant to stop spending at the $4.055 billion revenue estimate for the coming fiscal year. They left an estimated $150 million in spending reductions undefined, saying that money would likely come from education, higher education or the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Brent Boggs

“All we’ve seen so far is the framework, not what their priorities actually are,” Boggs, D-Braxton commented today. “We need to see it as soon as possible.”

Justice replied, “I’ve been hollering for it since Day 1.”

The governor said he is also concerned that the legislative budget could present cuts to education, higher education or DHHR without defining what they are.

“It’s so cowardly ad so lame to say let’s just cut across the board,” he said to the Democrats. “Let’s just say ‘We don’t know what to do so we’ll let you guys.’ You cut the people. That’s just weak.”

Justice added, “They’re not going to do it. They’re teatotally gutless. They’re not going to come out and say cut this.”

Tim Miley

Miley, the House minority leader from Harrison County, said he thinks it’s important to point out that Justice’s tax increases have been cast as temporary, to be repealed if the state’s economic picture improves.

The governor’s most recent budget proposal imposes a 1-cent tax per ounce on “sugary drinks,” raising an estimated $85 million; establishes a gross receipts tax on businesses of 0.075 percent to raise $80.4 million; imposes a sales tax on professional services, raising an estimated $78.9 million; raises the cigarette tax by another 50 cents a pack, for an estimated $47.8 million more; and increases the the consumer sales tax from 6 percent to 6.25 percent, raising an estimated $46.5 million.

“Your revenue proposals are designed to sunset, and I think people are missing that fact,” Miley said

“The fear and the pushback is once the taxes are on the books no one ever eliminates them. When we were in the majority, we did indeed eliminate taxes. Any fear that those taxes won’t come off the books if we get the state turned around is unfounded.

Miley concluded, “This is just a temporary measure.”

Following the session in the governor’s office, Delegate Bates said the government shutdown talk that has flared up the past couple of days is a realistic worry. He said that compared to this year, the problems reaching consensus on the budget last year were tame.

“This year we have a $450 million problem, a Senate that’s headed to Kansas, no agreement on a revenue measure and very little short term money,” said Bates, D-Raleigh. “So what makes anyone think we’re going to get this done quicker than June 14? That’s where we stand.”

Tim Armstead

Republicans, commenting later, described the event in the governor’s office as one that wasn’t particularly meant to resolve the estimated half-billion dollar budget gap for the coming fiscal year.

House Finance Chairman Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, commented after today’s floor session that he would have liked to have seen Boggs, the minority vice chairman for Finance, and Bates in today’s 9:30 a.m. committee meeting, where legislation was being considered.

“The war room is up here,” House Speaker Tim Armstead said during an appearance on “Talkline” with Hoppy Kercheval.

“He’s out trying to trivialize things. That’s not how this works. It was a photo op and everyone knows it.”

Armstead later added, “We’re up here working on it. Whether we go to his press conferences and photo ops is irrelevant.”

Armstead took issue with the governor’s description, stated each of the past two days, that previous discussions with legislative leaders had gone nowhere. “He characterized it as a waste of time to drive up from White Sulphur Springs.”

The Speaker said legislative leaders who are involved with budget talks intend to be careful with any cuts, although he acknowledged that sacrifices would be necessary.

“We have said all along that these cuts are not going to be easy,” Armstead said. “Is it going to cause the harm the governor is talking about? No.”

Ryan Ferns

Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns also suggested no actual progress on the budget would take place in the governor’s designated “war room.” He said Senate President Mitch Carmichael went to the governor’s office this morning to ask for information on revenue estimates and found the governor had left for an appointment.

“We are willing to work with the governor,” said Ferns, R-Ohio. “We are talking about his proposals. We are still optimistic he will come to his senses.

Justice, during the discussion in his office, said he thinks Republicans are the ones who aren’t willing to listen.

“They feel like they’re royalty. They feel like no one should say anything,” Justice said. “Should we refer to them as Sir Mitch and Sir Tim?”

Armstead, appearing on “Talkline,” responded: “He’s not the king. He is the elected governor, and we are the elected Legislature.”

 





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