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West Virginia Lawmakers Draft Budget with More Cuts

By: Associated Press
Posted on: Thursday, March 9, 2017

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Some West Virginia lawmakers have drafted a state budget for the coming year they say would close the government’s deficit through spending cuts.

Republican Delegates Pat McGeehan and Michael Folk, who head the Liberty Caucus, say their plan would halt government growth, cut $84 million from this year’s spending level and won’t raise taxes.

The Justice administration has projected a nearly $500 million deficit next year, proposing fractional sales and corporate tax increases, almost $27 million in cuts and a highway reconstruction program.

The administration says it has identified $120 million in unspent state funds to close this year’s deficit.

McGeehan and Folk, whose caucus includes a dozen legislators, say their overall plan targets Charleston bureaucracies, unspent funds from past years and cutting “corporate welfare.”