W.V. Lawmakers Back Away From Shutdown

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BRADENTON, Fla. – In a bid to avoid a government shutdown July 1, West Virginia lawmakers approved a revised budget for fiscal 2017 that includes new revenue.

On Tuesday, the GOP-led Legislature agreed on a new $4 billion general fund budget that closes a $270 million gap partly with new taxes on tobacco and e-cigarette products that they rejected in their first spending plan.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has indicated that he will sign the measure.

"I appreciate the work of all those involved in passing a budget that addresses the state's finances in a responsible manner during difficult times, particularly the bipartisan support that led to the passage of my proposed 65-cent cigarette tax," said Tomblin, a Democrat.

The new budget on Tomblin's desk is vastly different from the one he vetoed on June 8.

The latest version closes the deficit with $100 million anticipated from the tax increase on smoking products, $70 million from reserves, and smaller budget cuts compared to an earlier version.

Tomblin vetoed the first budget lawmakers sent to him saying that it maintained structural imbalance using fund sweeps, spending cuts, one-time sources of revenue, and $182 million from reserves needed for emergencies.

The veto brought West Virginia dangerously close to a shutdown at the end of the month because the state does not have a process for enacting a continuing resolution.

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