Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
FIRST EXTRAORDINARY SESSSION
                    Enrolled Senate Bill 1015
     By Senators Blair (Mr. President) and Woelfel [By Request of the Executive]
    [Passed May 20, 2024; in effect from passage]
     Enr SB 1015
  AN ACT to amend and reenact §11B-2-20 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
         relating to the amount of surplus deposited into the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund; and
         providing for an effective date.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     ARTICLE                  2.               STATE                 BUDGET                   OFFICE.
     §11B-2-20. Reduction of appropriations; powers of Governor; Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund and permissible expenditures therefrom.
         (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the Governor may reduce appropriations
  according to any of the methods set forth in §11B-2-21 and §11B-2-22 of this code. The Governor
  may, in lieu of imposing a reduction in appropriations, request an appropriation by the Legislature
  from the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund established in this section.
         (b) The Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund is continued within the State Treasury. The
  Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund shall be funded continuously and on a revolving basis in
  accordance with this subsection from surplus revenues, if any, in the State Fund, General
  Revenue, as the surplus revenues may accrue from time to time.
         Except as provided otherwise in this subsection, effective July 1, 2024, within 60 days of
 the end of each fiscal year, the secretary shall cause to be deposited into the Revenue Shortfall
 Reserve Fund such amount of the first 50 percent of all surplus revenues, if any, determined to
 have accrued during the fiscal year just ended, as may be necessary to bring the combined
 balance of the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund and the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B
 to an amount equal to 20 percent of a rolling average of the preceding three fiscal years’ general
 revenue appropriations in Title II, Section 1, providing for appropriations from general revenue, of
 the enrolled and enacted version of the state’s fiscal year budget: Provided, That no general
 revenue supplemental appropriations appropriated from the state’s general revenue
 unappropriated balance or general revenue unappropriated surplus balance will be included in the
 calculation of the state’s general revenue appropriations.
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     Enr SB 1015
        (c) Not earlier than November 1 of each calendar year, if the state’s fiscal circumstances
 are such as to otherwise trigger the authority of the Governor to reduce appropriations under this
 section or §11B-2-21 or §11B-2-22 of this code, then in that event the Governor may notify the
 presiding officers of both houses of the Legislature in writing of his or her intention to convene the
 Legislature pursuant to section 19, article VI of the Constitution of West Virginia for the purpose of
 requesting the introduction of a supplementary appropriation bill or to request a supplementary
 appropriation bill at the next preceding regular session of the Legislature to draw money from the
 surplus Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund to meet any anticipated revenue shortfall. If the
 Legislature fails to enact a supplementary appropriation from the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund
 during any special legislative session called for the purposes set forth in this section or during the
 next preceding regular session of the Legislature, then the Governor may proceed with a reduction
 of appropriations pursuant to §11B-2-21 and §11B-2-22 of this code. Should any amount drawn
 from the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund pursuant to an appropriation made by the Legislature
 prove insufficient to address any anticipated shortfall, then the Governor may also proceed with a
 reduction of appropriations pursuant to §11B-2-21 and §11B-2-22 of this code.
        (d) Upon the creation of the fund, the Legislature is authorized and may make an
 appropriation from the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund for revenue shortfalls, for emergency
 revenue needs caused by acts of God or natural disasters, or for other fiscal needs as determined
 solely by the Legislature.
        (e) Prior to October 31 in any fiscal year in which revenues are inadequate to make timely
 payments of the state’s obligations, the Governor may, by executive order, after first notifying the
 presiding officers of both houses of the Legislature in writing, borrow funds from the Revenue
 Shortfall Reserve Fund. The amount of funds borrowed under this subsection may not exceed one
 and one-half percent of the general revenue estimate for the fiscal year in which the funds are to
 be borrowed, or the amount the Governor determines is necessary to make timely payment of the
 state’s obligations, whichever is less. Any funds borrowed pursuant to this subsection shall be
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     Enr SB 1015
 repaid, without interest, and redeposited to the credit of the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund
 within 90 days of their withdrawal.
        (f) The Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B is continued within the State Treasury.
 The Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B shall consist of moneys transferred from the West
 Virginia Tobacco Settlement Medical Trust Fund pursuant to §4-11A-2 of this code, repayments
 made of the loan from the West Virginia Tobacco Settlement Medical Trust Fund to the Physician’s
 Mutual Insurance Company pursuant to §33-20F-1 et seq. of this code and all interest and other
 return earned on the moneys in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B. Moneys in the
 Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B may be expended solely for the purposes set forth in
 subsection (d) of this section, subject to the following conditions:
        (1) No moneys in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B nor any interest or other
 return earned thereon may be expended for any purpose unless all moneys in the Revenue
 Shortfall Reserve Fund described in subsection (b) of this section have first been expended,
 except that the interest or other return earned on moneys in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund –
 Part B may be expended as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection;
        (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, the Legislature may
 appropriate any interest and other return earned thereon that may accrue on the moneys in the
 Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B after June 30, 2025, for expenditure for the purposes set
 forth in §4-11A-3 of this code; and
        (3) Any appropriation made from Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B shall be made
 only in instances of revenue shortfalls or fiscal emergencies of an extraordinary nature.
        (g) Subject to the conditions upon expenditures from the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund
 – Part B prescribed in subsection (f) of this section, in appropriating moneys pursuant to the
 provisions of this section, the Legislature may in any fiscal year appropriate from the Revenue
 Shortfall Reserve Fund and the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B a total amount up to, but
 not exceeding, 10 percent of the total appropriations from the State Fund, General Revenue, for
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 the fiscal year just ended.
        (h) (1) Of the moneys in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund, $100 million, or such greater
 amount as may be certified as necessary by the Director of the Budget Office for the purposes of
 subsection (e) of this section, shall be made available to the West Virginia Board of Treasury
 Investments for management and investment of the moneys in accordance with the provisions of
 §12-6C-1 et seq. of this code. All other moneys in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund shall be
 made available to the West Virginia Investment Management Board for management and
 investment of the moneys in accordance with the provisions of §12-6-1 et seq. of this code. Any
 balance of the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund, including accrued interest and other return
 earned thereon at the end of any fiscal year, does not revert to the General Fund but shall remain
 in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund for the purposes set forth in this section.
        (2) All of the moneys in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B shall be made
 available to the West Virginia Investment Management Board for management and investment of
 the moneys in accordance with the provisions of §12-6-1 et seq. of this code. Any balance of the
 Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B, including accrued interest and other return earned
 thereon at the end of any fiscal year, shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain in the
 Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B for the purposes set forth in this section.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced Version: 11B-2-20
Enrolled Version: 11B-2-20