Joint Committee on Government and Finance reviews December revenue report; approves reimbursements and interim meeting dates

The Joint Committee on Government and Finance met Jan. 7, 2025, in Charleston and heard a December revenue update from Mark Mucow before adopting a series of routine motions by voice vote, including reimbursements for certain legislative travel and approval of interim meeting dates.

Mark Mucow told the committee that general revenue fund collections for December totaled $575.2 million, about $36.7 million above the estimate and roughly 4% ahead of December last year. He reported year-to-date general revenue collections of about $2.676 billion, which he said was $41.7 million above estimate.

Mucow said December personal income tax withholding was strong, and that personal income tax collections for the month totaled about $227 million. He said year-to-date personal income tax collections were about $1.08 billion, roughly $13.7 million below estimate and about 8% below last year, in part because of comparatively large refunds recorded in the prior year. He noted that business and occupation (B&O) tax collections were up sharply in December—about 79% compared with last year—and that severance tax receipts were up about 12.5% from the prior December but remained below estimate for the year to date; year-to-date severance receipts were reported at about $127.6 million, $31.9 million below estimate.

On the transportation side, Mucow said the state road fund collected $95.5 million in state funds for the month and $186.2 million overall including federal funds; he described most of the year-over-year shortfall in highway-related totals as tied to timing and federal reimbursement variability. He also reported that motor fuel tax receipts were about $9.5 million above estimate year to date and roughly 1% ahead of last year, and that motor vehicle sales tax and registration fees were up—motor vehicle sales tax was about $165 million year to date, $9.5 million above estimate and 5.4% ahead of last year.

During questions, Delegate Howe asked about potential changes to federal tax policy under the incoming presidential administration and how that could affect state law. A committee member (role listed in the record as Mister President) noted that the legislature typically updates state law to conform to federal code changes and that choices about which changes to adopt would be part of a larger legislative package.

The committee also received reports from the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation (land reviews and right of first refusal) and the Central Appalachian Highways Economic Development Authority (annual report), which the chair directed be received into the record.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes from the Dec. 10, 2024, committee meeting: motion made and adopted by voice vote (ayes and nays not recorded in the transcript).

- Reimbursement for newly elected legislators for the Dec. 8, 2024, organizational caucuses and for Jan. 7, 2025, preparatory meetings (for members not sworn in until the first day of the regular session): motion by Speaker Hanshaw; adopted by voice vote (ayes and nays not recorded).

- Compensation and travel expenses for current members who traveled to Charleston for January interim meetings that were canceled due to inclement weather: motion by Speaker Hanshaw; adopted by voice vote (ayes and nays not recorded).

- Authorization of interim meeting dates for 2025 (dates and locations as distributed to members): motion by Speaker Hanshaw; adopted by voice vote (ayes and nays not recorded).

- Motion to adjourn: adopted by voice vote.

The committee chair also thanked Mark Mucow for regularly updating figures and noted that accurate fiscal information is essential to legislative decision-making. A committee member who identified the day as their last in the legislature offered thanks to colleagues and staff before adjournment.

Ending

The committee concluded with routine business and adjourned after adopting the listed motions; no formal votes with roll-call tallies were recorded in the publicly available transcript for this meeting.