CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice will announce his decision on the new state budget passed by lawmakers Thursday afternoon at the capitol.
The announcement is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the lower rotunda.
Justice has until Friday to decide what to do. He could sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.
The $4.1 billion budget doesn’t include any of Justice’s revenue enhancements. It has $110 million in spending cuts and takes $90 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
Justice did sign 21 bills into law Tuesday including a measure that would allow some video lottery retailers to increase the number of machines at their locations from five to seven machines (HB 3106). State lawmakers were told the change could bring in an additional $12 million in gambling revenue to the state.
Justice also signed a bill (HB 2506) connected to water discharges supported by manufacturers.
The new law adopts the “harmonic mean” criteria for calculating the rate of stream flow in determining permit limits for pollution discharges. Harmonic mean represents average stream flow rather than the current measurement based on the lowest seven-day waterway flow over a ten-year period.
It also allows for overlapping “mixing zones,” the points where discharges mix with water and become diluted. Those permits would only be allowed with the approval of the state Department of Environmental Protection with EPA review.