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CHARLESTON -- Two pending Senate amendments to Gov. Jim Justice's budget bill would restore funding to the intellectual and development disability waiver program and provide funding to prepare for the coronavirus.
On Friday, the West Virginia Senate moved Senate Bill 150 -- the budget bill for fiscal year 2021 -- to third reading with right to amend. The bill also was up for passage on Friday.
An amendment to SB 150 from Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, would restore funding to the I/DD waiver program as recommended by the governor from $98,541,736 to $108,541,736.
Justice, in his Jan. 8 State of the State address, proposed increasing funding to end the I/DD waiver waitlist by $19.8 million. More than 1,000 families, some waiting for four years, are on the waitlist. The program allows individuals with intellectual or development disabilities to remain with family members instead of being placed in institutions and provides funding to assist with their care.
On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee amended SB 150 decreasing the governor's general revenue budget proposal from $4.585 billion to $4.558 billion – a $27 million decrease. The Senate Finance Committee budget included $11 million in new spending for passed Senate bills and $49 million in cuts to various proposals by Justice. The committee had cut the $19.8 million increase to the I/DD waiver program by $10 million.
Justice, in a statement Thursday, said he would not sign a budget passed by the Legislature that did not include the $19.8 million funding increase to the I/DD waiver program. The version of the governor's budget adopted by the House Finance Committee Thursday afternoon included the full funding for the waiver program.
Blair said the reason the Senate Finance Committee version of the budget included the $10 million cut to the governor's I/DD waiver recommendation was due to how tight the budget was and the amount of improvements included.
"The governor's submitted budget to us didn't have a penny to spare," Blair said. "Any improvements that this body passed out I had to find reductions somewhere else to be able to cover that. By taking $10 million out of the I/DD waiver allowed for some of the improvements we did to make it so our budget worked."
Blair increased the I/DD waiver program back to $19.8 million by taking $10 million from $14 million in unappropriated spending in the fiscal year 2021 budget.
Another concern for Blair was misuse of the I/DD waiver program. Blair said that fully funding the I/DD waiver program could encourage families caring for intellectual and developmentally disabled persons in neighboring states with similar wait lists to move to West Virginia and take advantage of the state's I/DD waiver program.
"Our intent is to be able to protect the most vulnerable in our state," Blair said. "Right now you can move into this state and get in line for the I/DD waiver and there could someone who has lived here for 15 years that is behind them."
Blair called on the governor and the Legislature to monitor the I/DD waiver program for waste, fraud, and abuse.
Blair's amendment would also partially restored funding to the Governor's Communities in Schools program. Justice's budget included $4.9 million for the program that helps low-income students with educational achievement. The Senate budget reduced that to $400,000, but Blair's amendment increased that line item to $3.4 million.
Tweeting Friday, Justice said he and First Lady Cathy Justice were committed to the Communities in Schools program, which is now in 15 counties and 79 schools. The program works with more than 27,000 students.
"Cathy and I both understand the incredible impact Communities In Schools makes in the lives of our West Virginia students and we are committed to building upon this program's success in West Virginia," Justice said.
Another amendment by Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, would take $2 million from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals line item for current expenses and put that money in the governor's contingency fund for the Public Health Emergency Response Fund for coronavirus preparations. Stollings, a Democratic candidate for governor, said the state needs to be prepared should the coronavirus appears in the state.
"This virus is going to make its way here at some point. We need to be ready for it," said Stollings, a physician. "I think this $2 million will help us with the planning, statewide down to the public health departments in our counties and regions, to get a response to this."
Delegate Isaac Sponaugle, D-Pendleton, issued a press release Thursday criticizing the governor's office and Republican legislative leadership for not asking for additional funding for coronavirus preparation in the budget.
"We are lacking the urgent leadership to prepare West Virginia for this potential looming crisis of the coronavirus," Sponaugle said. "Now is not the time to waste money on luxuries such as intermediate courts and tax credits for out-of-state corporations. Now is the time to put that money to work for emergency planning on the coronavirus and its effect on West Virginians."