Having met on Sunday, May 31st at 4 pm and 6 pm respectively, the House of Delegates and the Senate took up the FY 2010 budget conferee report and ultimately approved the state budget, concluding the 2009 Regular Session.
Initially presented in February, the governor’s budget contained a total General Revenue appropriation of $3.9 billion. During mid-session of the 60-Day Session, the budget was revised with a reduction of $197,493,639 leaving the total General Revenue to be $3,788,000,000.
Reductions were across the board and ranged from 2 percent to 10 percent.
Some expenditure reductions included the elimination of the OPEB (Other Post Employee Benefits), freeing up $51 million; reduction of the Medicaid appropriation, freeing up $47 million (this amount will be backfilled with enhanced federal funding resulting in no reduction); and, the Governor’s Civil Contingency Fund appropriation, the Legislature’s Traffic account and the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) were eliminated, freeing up $38 million in savings for the coming fiscal year.
Eighty-one million from the Federal stabilization dollars will replace immediately the reduction of $23 million for public education, $11 million for higher education and $47 million for the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) restoring the Medicaid appropriation.
Some highlights of House Bill 2010 include:
$175,000 added to the Secretary of State’s office for technology and equipment upgrades
$25,000 restored back to the I-79 Development Council
$15,000 restored to the Coal Mine Safety and Technical Review Committee Coal Forum
$145,000 added for the Coal Mine Safety Technology Task Force
$15,000 restored to the WV Commission for Holocaust Education
$93,350 restored to the State Department of Education’s Personal Services
$1,500,000 restored to the Mountaineer Challenge Academy’s own line
The House and Senate adjourned Sine Die.
