10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Senate budget proposal considers cuts to agencies, WVU, Marshall

The Senate is considering a proposed budget that includes across-the-board 1.5 percent cuts to state agencies, as well as a $12 million cut to West Virginia University and a $6 million cut to Marshall.

Gov. Jim Justice

The cuts to the universities drew criticism from Gov. Jim Justice.

“We’re hitting the higher ed people. We’re hammering WVU and Marshall. I just don’t know that that’s the way to go either,” Justice said in a Wednesday afternoon telephone interview.

The Senate Finance Committee passed its proposed $4.567 billion budget on Wednesday afternoon.

The budget proposal does not officially reflect the Senate’s income tax reduction bill, but it makes room for it.

The budget bill cuts $83 million from what Governor Justice’s administration first proposed weeks ago. The Senate budget leaves a $73 million unappropriated balance.

Stephen Baldwin

“That’s being set aside for potential PIT?” asked Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier.

A separate budget being considered in the House also anticipates cuts to WVU and Marshall, but proposes to make up the money through surplus funds at the end of the fiscal year. The Senate proposal does not.

Mike Maroney

Senators from both parties expressed concern about the higher education cuts.

“I expressed my concern about the higher education. It bothers me,” said Senator Mike Maroney, R-Marshall.

Senator Ron Stollings

Senator Ron Stollings, D-Boone, agreed.

“Over the past several years we have cut higher education, and we keep cutting higher education. This is a pretty stiff cut,” said Senator Ron Stollings, D-Boone.

“This ends up being on the backs of West Virginia potential students. It’s just tragic that where we’re taking money from is the exact area we should be putting money into.”

The Senate proposal does move some expenditures to a list of items to be funded by end-of-the-year surplus. Officials in both houses have agreed that unless the state’s financial situation changes dramatically in the next few months the money would be available.

The Senate’s list of surplus expenditures includes $14 million for a Milton flood wall project and $7 million for the Department of Tourism.

Maroney asked about the proposed cut to tourism when it was just moved to a cabinet-level position.

“We elevated the office, we gave them more responsibility. What about the $7 million cut?” he asked. “Generally speaking, we’d expect that to be backfilled?”

The Educational Broadcasting Authority, the agency that oversees West Virginia Public Broadcasting was listed with no funding at all.

“We’re going from $3.8 million down to zero. Are we just not going to give any state support to that?” asked Stollings.

John Unger

The budget proposal takes $2.8 million from the MARC train service that benefits commuters in the Eastern Panhandle. That is not expected to receive money later.

“Is that just a right out cut of that service?” asked Senator John Unger, D-Berkeley. “So we are zeroing out the MARC train, is that what I hear you say?”

The Jobs & Hope program that works for addiction recovery and workforce development was subject to cuts of more than $3 million, with some discussion that the work could carry on through money already on hand.

Still, Unger asked, “What’s going on with Jobs & Hope. Has the hope gone away?”





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