The House of Delegates Finance Committee today advanced its version of the 2026 state budget to the floor.
The House and Senate Finance committees have met throughout the 2025 session, with agencies hearing budget proposals. Historically, the two chambers have alternated in presenting budgets, and this year it is the House’s turn to produce one. Once passed by the House, it will be sent to the Senate for further amendments. Both sides will eventually reach a budget compromise.
The finance committee budget presentation states that the House budget is “very dissimilar” to the governor’s proposed budget. Before the session began, Gov. Patrick Morrisey reported that the state was approximately $400 million in the red, but legislators quickly refuted that claim.
The House version includes a total general revenue budget of more than $5.1 billion. That is nearly $200 million less than the governor’s proposed budget.
One source of savings is the merger of the Commerce and Economic Development departments, as well as the Tourism and Arts, Culture, and History departments. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is part of Arts, Culture, and History.
The state’s total budget, which includes special revenue, the state road fund, and federal funding for expenses such as Medicaid, is $19,236,401,737.
The House Finance Committee also introduced legislation that removes more than $155 million from the governor’s civil contingency fund and transfers it to the budget surplus. That bill is also headed to the House floor.
