CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice confirmed today that West Virginia’s state budget will end the fiscal year with a surplus.
Justice and his revenue staff said the state finished fiscal year 2018 with net collections of $4.245 billion which is $20.2 million ahead of estimate.
The final report on the budget surplus will be determined at the end of July and should be more than $28 million, Gov. Justice said.
The last time the state finished a budget cycle with a surplus, without mid-year budget cuts, was fiscal 2012, six years ago.
Among the strongest drivers was personal income tax collections, which came in nearly $60 million above estimate and about 6 percent ahead of last year.
Half of any surplus funds left over at the end of the fiscal year will be deposited into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
Remaining surplus amounts will fund several programs that lawmakers identified in the fiscal 2019 budget bill, including $5 million for the Office of Drug Control Policy, $765,000 to purchase stream gauges for flood control, $2.5 million to boost Division of Tourism marketing, and $2 million to provide Volunteer Fire Departments’ workers’ compensation payments.
Read Brad McElhinney’s full story here.