Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

House Finance Advances Its Version of Budget Bill

The House Finance Committee met this afternoon, passing the House Budget Bill and House Bill Originating.

The originating House Bill expires $155,288,050 from the Governor’s Civil Contingency Fund and appropriates the same amount to the Higher Education Policy Commission for deferred maintenance.

House Bill 2026 is the budget bill. The Governor’s introduced budget was $5,323,157,000 in General Revenue without a surplus; everything was allocated in the front of the budget.

In the House Version of the Budget, the General Revenue total is $5,127,827,072 with a general revenue surplus of $128,750,000. The total expected budget is $19,236,401 including the following funding streams:

  • State Road Fund: $1,998,605,014
  • Special Revenue: $2,302,850,253
  • Lottery Revenue: $157,392,000
  • Excess Lottery: $338,554,000
  • Federal Revenue: $8,224,744,008
  • Federal B. Grants: $730,395,275
  • Lottery Surplus: $16,750,000
  • Excess Lottery Surplus: $17,800,000

Increases in HB 2026 include

  • PEIA employer share increase: $40 million
  • WV Birth to Three: $7 million
  • Human Service Funding Restored: $90 million
  • Adjutant General SEARCH Director: $70,000
  • Correctional Units: $30 million
  • Juvenile Services: $9 million
  • Victims of Crime Act: $3 million
  • LPN to BNS Program at WVSU: $250,000
  • WVU College of Law $250,000
  • Tuition Contract Program – Veterinarian Schools: $308,000
  • Military College Council Study: $294,000
  • Supreme Court: $1 million
  • Hope Scholarship: $7 million
  • Supreme Court pay increase: $1.2 million
  • Senate $500,000
  • House $500,000
  • Joint Committee $1 million

Decreases in HB 2026

  • 2 percent from select agencies with long-term vacancies: $8 million
  • State aid formula update: $11 million
  • WVU: $15 million
  • Mergers of State Departments: $300,000
  • Reduction in Judicial Retirement System Contribution: $1.247 million

General Revenue Surplus Plans

  • State Road direct transfer: $100 million
  • Victims of Crime Act: $10 million
  • Water Development Authority: $10 million
  • Cabell County Commission: $250,000
  • WVU Washington Center: $1.5 million
  • Department of Tourism Surplus: $7 million

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