Blog Posts > FY 2014 Budget Update
April 29, 2013

FY 2014 Budget Update

On April 17, 2013, the West Virginia legislature passed the Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Only minor changes were made to Governor Tomblin’s $11.3 billion proposal, which was introduced at the start of the legislative session, with the final budget only $2.0 million smaller than the governor’s proposal, a reduction of 0.02 percent. The FY 2014 budget represents a total decrease of $203.1 million below the FY 2013 budget.

The state’s budget includes both state and federal appropriated funds. State appropriations, which include General Revenue, Lottery funds, Special Revenue, and the State Road Fund, totaled $7.2 billion, while appropriations from federal sources totaled $4.1 billion. Figure 1 breaks down these funding sources for the FY 2014 budget.

School Aid Formula Adjustment Drives Base Budget Changes

The state’s base budget, its primary source of discretionary spending, is made up of the General Revenue, Lottery, and Excess Lottery funds. The FY 2014 base budget totals $4.45 billion, which is $4.75 million less than the governor’s proposal, a decrease of only 0.1 percent (Table 1).

Table 1

FY 2014 Base Budget Changes from Governor’s Proposal

FY 14 Proposed

FY 14 Enrolled

Difference

% Change

General Revenue

$4,140,751,000

$4,136,001,000

-$4,750,000

-0.1%

Lottery

$151,573,583

$151,573,583

$0

0.0%

Excess Lottery

$163,922,000

$163,922,000

$0

0.0%

Total

$4,456,246,583

$4,451,496,583

-$4,750,000

-0.1%

Source: WVCBP analysis of WV State Budget Office Data

As Table 1 shows, the changes made by the legislature to the governor’s proposal were small and concentrated in the General Revenue Fund. While some minor changes were made to the Lottery Fund, the overall total remained the same, while the General Revenue Fund was reduced by $4.75 million. One of the biggest changes to the General Revenue Fund was a $4 million reduction to the Supreme Court’s appropriation, which was requested by Governor Tomblin after the Supreme Court revised its initial request.  The West Virginia Development Office also saw its appropriation reduced by $2.6 million, a 12.8 percent decrease.

Other changes to the base budget were the result of changes to the school aid formula. The school aid formula determines the amount of money the state sends to the local school districts each year. Estimates for education costs increased by $6.3 million since the governor’s proposal, but the estimate for the local district’s share (which is determined by local property tax revenue) also increased by $15.6 million. As a result, the state’s appropriation declined by $9.2 million, freeing up money for other areas of the budget. This resulted in small increases for Medicaid, public safety, education, and higher education from the governor’s proposal.

Supplemental Appropriations

During the legislative session the Legislature can pass supplemental appropriations, which are bills that increase spending authority above the levels contained in that year’s budget. While a supplemental appropriation raises the “spending ceiling” of an item in the budget, it does not mean that the amount of the supplemental appropriation will be spent in this fiscal year, only that the amount authorized to be spent has been raised. Supplemental appropriations are typically made when an item requires immediate funding and is too urgent to postpone until the enactment of the next year’s budget.

Table 2 lists the supplemental appropriations passed during the 2013 Regular and 1st Special Sessions.

Table 2

FY 2013 Supplemental Appropriations

Bill

Subject Department Fund Total
SB197 Public Defender Services Administration General Rev

$11,500,000

SB197 Human Services DHHR General Rev

$17,468,806

SB208 Division of Labor Commerce General Rev

$200,000

SB208 Human Services DHHR General Rev

$1,800,000

SB523 Minority Affairs Fund Executive General Rev

$676,000

SB523 State Board of Rehab Education & the Arts Special

$2,905,360

SB523 Division of Health DHHR Special

$7,505,076

SB523 WV State Police MAPS Special

$534,000

SB523 Municipal Board Commission Revenue Special

$247,500

SB523 Public Port Authority Transportation Special

$8,000,000

SB523 WV Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses Misc Boards & Commissions Special

$10,000

SB523 WV Board of Licensed Dietitians Misc Boards & Commissions Special

$2,882

SB524 Division of Highways Transportation Road

$21,000,000

SB525 Children’s Health Insurance Agency Administration Federal

$15,000,000

SB525 Division of Miners’ Health Safety & Training Commerce Federal

$150,000

SB525 State Dept of Education Education Federal

$600,000

SB525 Division of Culture and History Education & the Arts Federal

$450,000

SB525 Division of Health DHHR Federal

$4,050,000

SB525 Division of Human Services DHHR Federal

$30,228,184

SB525 State Police MAPS Federal

$750,000

SB525 Insurance Commissioner Revenue Federal

$1,264,540

SB525 Coal Heritage Highway Authority Misc Boards & Commissions Federal

$75,000

SB526 Division of Human Services DHHR Federal Block Grants

$10,550,000

HB2541 Division of Human Services DHHR Excess Lottery

$67,432,506

SB1005 Governor’s Office Civil Contingent Fund Executive General Rev

$10,317,860

SB1005 Attorney General Executive General Rev

$1,859,913

SB1005 Development Office Commerce General Rev

$1,000,000

SB1005 Consolidated Medical Service Fund Transportation General Rev

$3,000,000

SB1005 Higher Education Policy Commission Higher Education General Rev

$1,600,000

Source: West Virginia Legislature 2013 Session

Bills Passed With Fiscal Impact

The Legislature passed 216 bills during the 2013 Legislative Session. 69 of those bills came with fiscal notes attached. Fiscal notes are the price tags attached to legislation that inform legislators and the public of the estimated cost to the state in either expenditure increases or revenue losses. Fiscal notes are usually attached to a bill when taxes or fees are assessed or a new program, service, or fund is being created. Of the 69 fiscal notes, 23 identified a measurable fiscal impact to the state, while another eight were unable to provide an estimate. These fiscal notes are listed in Table 3. The remaining fiscal notes found no fiscal impact.

 Table 3

Bills Passed with Fiscal Impact

Bill Summary

Expenditure Impact

Revenue Impact

SB22 Requiring maternity services coverage for all health insurance plan dependents in certain circumstances

-$77,888

$0

SB65 Exempting PERS retirement income of DNR police officers from state income tax

$0

-$160,000

SB103 Creating WV Commuter Rail Access Act

$0

-$770,000

SB359 Relating generally to reforming public education

$3,099,774

$0

SB394 Relating to scholarships for dependent children of state troopers who die in performance of duty

$30,000

$0

SB401 Relating to Board of Registration for Professional Engineers

$500

SB403 Relating to judicial retirement system contribution rates

$324,000

SB440 Relating to disclosure of specified tax information for enforcement of Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement

$0

$500,000

SB445 Allowing Tax Commissioner divert lottery prizes to offset tax liabilities of lottery winners

$0

$250,000

SB448 Increasing number of demonstration dealer plates issued to large commercial vehicle dealers

$46

$550

SB454 Relating to taxation of alternative motor fuels

$31,400

$0

SB463 Increasing special license fee paid by pipeline companies to PSC

$0

$85,000

SB477 Relating to electronic registration of voters

-$11,983

$0

SB481 Relating to juvenile mental health treatment

$8,574,853

$0

SB482 Relating to sale of voter registration lists

$10,000

$12,000

HB2352 Clarifying that the WV DEP does not assume a mine operator’s obligations or liabilities under the Water Pollution Control Act

$50,000

Unknown

HB2357 Relating to sexting by minors

$57,056

$0

HB2470 Relating to sign support specialist or an educational sign language interpreter in the education of exceptional children

$20,489

$0

HB2542 Relating to publication of the State Register

-$21,790

-$11,800

HB2727 Relating to the school aid formula

-$4,463,198

HB2837 Amending various provisions of the Code affecting the Treasurer’s Office

$3,571,546

$0

HB3020 Improving boat dock and marina safety

$41,000

$0

HB3069 Relating to access to justice

$359,333

$0

HB158 Creating Complete Streets Act

Unknown

$0

HB202 Creating WV Spay Neuter Assistance Program and Fund

Unknown

Unknown

HB371 Relating to prison overcrowding

Unknown

Unknown

HB553 Relating to Highway Design-Build Program

Unknown

Unknown

HB638 Terminating certain severance tax exemption for production of natural gas or oil

$0

Unknown

HB2352 Clarifying that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection does not assume a mine operator’s obligations or liabilities under the Water Pollution Control Act

Unknown

Unknown

HB2469 Increasing the cap on earnings during temporary reemployment after retirement

Unknown

$0

HB2851 Establishing a onetime audit cost amnesty program for local governments with delinquent audit costs

$0

Unknown

Source: West Virginia Legislature 2013 Session

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