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Gov. Justice Touts State Budget Surplus As Policy Success
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Gov. Jim Justice says the state of West Virginia ended the last fiscal year with a budget surplus of roughly $28.7 million.
The Republican governor said the last time West Virginia ended a year with a surplus without mid-year cuts was in 2012.
Justice said tax revenues in the fiscal year that ended June 30 were up across the board, including income taxes and coal severance taxes. He said corporate income had risen and cited a significant increase in construction jobs. The governor said that was a sign that “people have confidence in us.”
Justice said the surplus was “not happening because we’re just falling off the pickle truck, we’re doing it right.” He vowed to push for “real commitment and real dollars” for higher education and education in general.