The Chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee says the Rainy Day Fund should only be used as a "last resort" when it comes to making up for shortfalls in the state budget.

"The Rainy Day Fund, so far as I'm concerned, is off the table," Senator Walt Helmick said on Tuesday's MetroNews Talkline.

His appearance came one day after new state revenue numbers indicated revenue collections this fiscal year will miss estimates by $100 million, the first time that'll happen since Governor Joe Manchin was elected.

Senator Helmick, though, says that $100 million number may be too low.

"When we look at the total situation we're in now, with the drastic turn down in revenues, and assuming it's $100 million, I like to think that we need to plan for something even more than that.  If that's the case, obviously, we're in trouble," he says.

That's why Senator Helmick says state lawmakers will have to look at ways to reduce state spending.  He says possible furloughs and layoffs will have to be considered.  At the same time, the Senator says they'll have to look closely at how money comes into the state and how that money is spent.

"Now is the time to make the difficult decisions.  Hopefully, things will be better but we can't build this simply on hope.  We've got to have some faith, but we can do some things that are different that'll improve our situation," Senator Helmick said.

There is $500 million in the Rainy Day Fund right now.

But Senator Helmick says it's not time to tap into it.  "That Fund is for something that would happen, a catastrophic situation that would happen that we can't plan for.  We can plan for some of these things."

By law, the state cannot end the budget year with a deficit.