Appropriations Committee Moves Budget Forward

The Appropriations Committee completed its action on the state budget last week, sending the proposal to the floor of the House of Delegates.

Photo - MBTPI

The committee recommended reducing the Governor’s proposed budget by $160 million (not including payments to reserve funds), or 4/10 of 1 percent.

The largest reductions were in the Medical Assistance program ($41 million). The recommended cuts mostly reflect revised estimates of caseloads and costs.

Other significant reductions include $18 million in debt service (reflecting a different estimate of the amount of “bond premium payments” the state is likely to receive from bidders on state debt issuances), and $10 million in funding for colleges and universities.

The recommended budget totals $36.8 billion, a 3.0 percent increase from 2013 (again, not including payments to reserve funds).

The proposed budget will leave a total exceeding $1.1 billion in the state’s general fund and “Rainy Day Fund” balances – even after accounting for the $115 million reduction in estimated revenues announced last week.

This week, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will make its own decisions on individual agency budgets, while the full House of Delegates deliberates on the Appropriations Committee recommendations. The legislature is sticking to the original schedule in its budget work, so there’s a good chance of wrapping up the budget by April 1, the constitutional target date.