The full House of Delegates will consider a $4.6 billion budget that differs from what Gov. Jim Justice proposed and a version the state Senate has on deck for passage.
All versions of the budget include the average 5 percent pay raise for state employees that leaders promised before the legislative session began.
The biggest difference in the version delegates are considering is a $96 million personal income tax reduction that reflects a bill already passed by the House. The House budget accounts for that money by shifting anticipated surplus.
So far, counterparts in the state Senate have not shown signs of interest in passing that income tax cut this year.
One senator, Robert Karnes, has been making a daily floor speech for weeks about the need to consider the House’s income tax cut bill. “The best thing we can possibly do is put House Bill 4007 on the agenda in Finance,” Karnes, R-Randolph, said at the end of an evening floor session today.
Delegates talked about what the Senate might do in the House Finance Committee today, as they examined the latest budget proposal.
“Has the Senate taken up, do they plan to take up 4007?” Delegate Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, asked in reference to the bill number for the income tax cut proposal.
Delegate Jason Barrett, who was serving as vice chairman this afternoon, responded. “I have no idea the motive of the West Virginia state Senate,” said Barrett, R-Berkeley. “There are bills they may have of ours that they may or may not act on. The only thing we can do now is the budget in front of us based on the bills that have passed this House.”
The Finance Committee went ahead and passed the budget on to the full floor this afternoon, with some members questioning specifics but agreeing they want to move it ahead to the floor for full consideration.
“I’ll vote to get this budget out of committee, but I’ve got to do some thinking,” said Delegate John Williams, D-Monongalia, expressing concern about some specifics of higher education funding. “I’ll vote yes today.”
Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, generally agreed. “There’s going to be some of those things back and forth in the Senate, but those I think we can work out. So I will be supporting the budget,” Rowe said.
And Boggs also commented, “I’m going to support the budget with some reservations but we’ll see how things go on the floor.”
House Finance Chairman Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, has been out ill the past couple of days. Delegate Vernon Criss, R-Wood, presided over today’s committee discussion.
Boggs addressed Householder in his comments, in case the chairman happened to be listening.
“I appreciate all the hard work that the chairman — Mr. Chairman, if you’re listening, all the hard work that you put into this. Something tells me he is. Feel free to call in and comment if you’d like to,” Boggs said.
A couple minutes later, Boggs said Householder had texted him. “And our chairman is listening,” Boggs said, laughing. “Message received.”
The state Senate has its version of the budget on deck for potential passage on Friday. That version differs just slightly from what Governor Justice proposed.
Justice proposed a generally flat, $4.6 billion general revenue budget — with the significant exception of an average 5 percent pay raise for state workers.
“For the fourth year in a row, I am proposing an essentially flat budget, which includes a third historic pay raise and Inflatocine for our state employees,” Justice said in his State of the State address, referring to his term for an employee bonus that he meant to serve as a sort of vaccine for the effects of inflation.
Lawmakers have not taken up legislation reflecting that Inflatocine incentive.