photo by: W.Va. Legislative Photography

A copy of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s executive budget report sits on the desk of a member of the House Finance Committee during a March 31 meeting.

CHARLESTON — It is official: West Virginia has a balanced general revenue budget for fiscal year 2026 beginning in July, though the budget approved by Gov. Patrick Morrisey included several vetoes of individual line items to create more of an unappropriated balance to address future issues.

In a press release late Thursday night, Morrisey announced that he signed House Bill 2026, the vehicle for next fiscal year’s general revenue budget.

Morrisey presented his version of the budget bill to lawmakers on the first day of the 60-day annual legislative session on Feb. 12, nearly one month after he and Department of Revenue officials estimated that a $397 million hole existed in the fiscal year 2026 budget.

But by April 11, the House of Delegates and state Senate came to a compromise on the budget. The compromise set the fiscal year 2026 general revenue budget at $5.318 billion, slightly lower than the adjusted $5.322 billion general revenue estimate for fiscal year 2026 presented on behalf of Morrisey and the $5.321 billion approved by the Senate Wednesday.

“When I took office, I inherited a $400 million structural budget gap in the upcoming fiscal year, which would grow to nearly $600 million in the years ahead if it was not immediately addressed,” Morrisey said in a statement. “The fiscally conservative budget I signed tonight makes progress tackling structural gaps and begins to place us on a pathway toward financial stability in the future.

“Much work remains in the next fiscal year to address budget shortfalls, but I applaud the Legislature for sending me a budget that closely resembles my original proposal and begins to address long term issues while funding West Virginia priorities,” Morrisey continued.

However, Morrisey did use his line item veto authority to adjust several line items in the fiscal year 2026 budget, reducing spending by approximately $37.7 million, bringing the total general revenue budget down to $5.280 billion.

“Many tough fiscal decisions have been made in finalizing the FY 2026 budget, which seeks to right-size our ongoing base expenditures in General Revenue and Lottery funds,” Morrisey wrote in his veto letter submitted Thursday to the Secretary of State’s Office. “This includes maintaining a strong level of budgetary reserves, limiting the growth rate of the base, and committing to address long-term liabilities.”

While Morrisey only reduced some line items, others were completely vetoed, including $300,000 for Mountwood Park in Wood County, $100,000 for the Willow Bend Agricultural Innovation Center in Monroe County, $50,000 for the Math Counts program, $300,000 for the Green Acres Regional Center in Cabell County, $250,000 to the West Virginia University College of Law, and $250,000 to the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.

One of the biggest line-item veto reductions by percentage was the reduction of the line-item expenditure for the Court Appointed Special Advocates program from $1.1 million to $300,000 – a 72.7% reduction. CASA programs provide advocacy for children who are victims of abuse and neglect.

“This program has primarily been funded by state and federal grants,” Morrisey wrote in his veto message. “In light of the ability to obtain grants and the ongoing budget challenges we are facing, a cautious and prudent approach must be taken to avoid building the State’s base budget.”

“A huge thank you to the West Virginia Legislature for creating a dedicated line item for CASA in this year’s proposed budget. We are incredibly grateful to our state lawmakers for prioritizing supports for children in foster care,” the West Virginia CASA Association posted on social media Friday. “Albeit reduced, the Governor’s final allocation establishes a crucial foundation of state support and recognition of CASA’s essential role for child welfare in West Virginia.”

With Morrisey’s line-item vetoes, that leaves approximately $42 million of unappropriated monies in the fiscal year 2026 general revenue budget.

Morrisey also used his line-item veto on sections of the surplus section in the back of the budget. HB 2026 included a section for one-time items to be paid out in order based on available surplus tax collections left over at the end of the current fiscal year.

The four items totaled more than $210 million, including $125 million to the Division of Highways, $75 million to the Division of Economic Development project fund, $10 million to the Water Development Authority and $250,000 to the Cabell County Commission for Lily’s Place. Morrisey reduced the $125 million for the Division of Highways to $100 million and vetoed the other three surplus section line items.

In his veto letter, Morrisey alluded to additional challenges that could face the state budget in fiscal year 2026, including possible changes to the federal Medicaid program, increased health care costs for the state Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), and other changes in state funding from federal reforms.

“A cautious and prudent approach must be taken to avoid spending the State’s surplus balances due to anticipated out-year budget gaps and to address likely fiscal challenges involving Medicaid, PEIA, and potential changes to the federal tax code,” Morrisey wrote.

Morrisey presented lawmakers several supplemental appropriation requests during the 60-day legislative session, making use of available surplus monies the state is expected to end the current fiscal year with, making it unlikely that there will be enough excess tax collection at the end of the fiscal year on June 30 to fund the full $100 million Division of Highways appropriation in the back of the budget.

In a press release Friday afternoon, the West Virginia Democratic Party criticized Morrisey for issuing the veto message just 10 minutes prior to the beginning of Good Friday, the start of Easter weekend. The Governor’s Office received HB 2026 last Saturday. When the Legislature is in session, the governor has five days to sign or veto an appropriations bill regardless of whether the Legislature is in session or not, otherwise the bill becomes law without the governor’s signature.

“On a day meant to reflect compassion and kindness, Governor Morrisey instead chose to cut support from those who need it most: children in foster care, families facing serious illnesses, veterans who have honorably served our country, and students who deserve safe and modern learning environments,” said Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia. “This is not only unkind–it shows deeply misplaced priorities.”