6:00: Morning News

Justice chief of staff says goal is to avoid government shutdown “at all costs”

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — “It looms,” said the chief of staff to Governor Jim Justice of the possibility of a state government shutdown in West Virginia if there’s no agreement on a state budget before the start of the 2018 fiscal year in July.

“We want to avoid a shutdown at all costs,” Nick Casey told Hoppy Kercheval during an appearance on Thursday’s MetroNews “Talkline.” “We’re going to do all we can to stay away from it.”

Nick Casey

On Thursday morning, a 9 a.m. meeting at the State Capitol that included Casey and Dave Hardy, secretary of the state Department of Revenue, drew about 12 lawmakers.

Governor Justice has said those morning meetings will continue as long as necessary.

Casey said there are only a few ways to address the projected $500 million shortfall in next year’s state budget.

“You have to raise revenue or make really dramatic cuts or a combination of both,” he said.

“So far, what the governor has proposed and we’ve been talking about with a mixed group of legislators, both Rs and Ds, leadership people, is how do we deal with the revenue side.”

He said there’s no way around that.

“Revenue enhancements or taxes are going to be a necessary ingredient to get a balanced budget,” Casey said. “The cuts that we’re looking at, so far, are just not significant enough.”

Republican leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates have continued to push for spending cuts over revenue measures, including tax increases.

“People, in general, are looking for leadership,” said Senate President Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson, 04).

The GOP budget framework calls for $150 million in total reductions within K-12 public education, higher education and the state Department of Health and Human Resources.

The question of compromise will be the dominating one in the remaining days of the 2017 Regular Legislative Session which ends on Apr. 8.

In past years, lawmakers have followed the Regular Session with a Special Session exclusively dedicated to budget work.





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