West Virginia closes fiscal 2026 with $370 million revenue surplus
West Virginia closed fiscal year 2026 with $5.693 billion in General Revenue Fund collections, $370 million above the state’s initial estimate, according to a July 1 announcement from the Office of the Governor.
The year-end total was 7% above the initial estimate. Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the stronger-than-expected revenue would support $125 million for roads and infrastructure, full funding for the Hope Scholarship, and priorities involving education, foster care and law enforcement.
The administration also said the next budget would include tax relief. The announcement did not say how much relief would be proposed, when it would take effect, or which taxes could be changed.
June collections beat the monthly forecast
General Revenue Fund collections in June totaled $569 million, the governor’s office said. That was $57 million, or 11.1%, above the estimate for the month.
The June result was part of the fiscal-year total reported by the administration. The $370 million figure measures collections against the initial fiscal 2026 estimate; it is not, by itself, a newly detailed spending plan.
The announcement identifies General Revenue Fund collections as the basis for the year-end result. It does not include a breakdown of the particular revenue sources that produced the above-estimate total.
That distinction matters as state leaders consider how the revenue result will be reflected in future budget decisions. The governor’s office identified intended funding priorities, but the release did not lay out a final legislative appropriation schedule for all of the additional revenue.
Road funding is the specified dollar commitment
Roads and infrastructure are the only priority in the announcement paired with a specific dollar figure: $125 million. Morrisey said the state would fund that amount for roads and infrastructure.
The governor also cited full funding for the Hope Scholarship. In addition, the administration named education, foster care and law enforcement as priorities following the fiscal-year revenue report.
The release does not provide separate dollar amounts for the Hope Scholarship, education, foster care or law enforcement. It also does not establish that every cited priority has received final appropriations.
For people and programs connected to those areas, the announcement identifies where the administration says it intends to focus. The confirmed revenue figures, however, should be distinguished from the broader funding priorities outlined by the governor.
Tax relief remains a next-budget proposal
The next stated fiscal-policy step is the administration’s plan to include tax relief in the next budget. That is an announced budget direction, not a description of an enacted tax change.
No amount was attached to the proposed relief, and the announcement did not identify a specific tax or set a date for a proposed change. It likewise did not explain how any tax relief would be structured alongside the listed infrastructure, education, foster-care and law-enforcement priorities.
The fiscal 2026 report therefore provides a year-end benchmark rather than a complete account of future allocations: $5.693 billion in General Revenue Fund collections, $370 million above the initial estimate and 7% higher than projected. June collections of $569 million exceeded that month’s estimate by $57 million, or 11.1%.
Further details on the allocation of revenue in the next budget, including the form and size of proposed tax relief, were not included in the July 1 announcement.
Sources
- West Virginia Concludes FY 2026 with $370 Million Revenue Surplus, Office of the Governor of West Virginia
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