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Senate committee advances bill to split oil-and-gas royalties between parks endowment and operations
Summary
The committee reported House bill 41 26, which would deposit 50% of royalties from leasing state-owned mineral rights beneath the Ohio River into a State Parks Endowment Fund and 50% into a State Parks Operational Fund; an amendment was adopted and the director explained the fund balance and operational shortfall.
The Senate Finance Committee on a voice vote reported the committee substitute for House bill 41 26, as amended, to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass.
Committee counsel explained the bill would direct 50% of royalties from leasing state-owned gas, oil and other mineral rights beneath the Ohio River and its tributaries into the West Virginia State Parks and Recreational Endowment Fund and the remaining 50% into a State Parks Operational Fund. Counsel said that effective July 1, 2026, the split would begin and that when the endowment fund balance equals or exceeds $100,000,000, 100% of the royalty would be available for operations, maintenance and improvement as described in the bill. Counsel also noted a proposed technical amendment to insert a notwithstanding clause to avoid an internal code conflict.
Senior senator from the thirteenth asked Director Brett McMillian to confirm the fund balance and usage. McMillian said the endowment balance is about $77,000,000 and that recent annual royalty inflows have averaged around $7,000,000. He said interest has been used for repairs and alterations and that routing half of new receipts to operations could help address an estimated annual shortfall of roughly $6–7 million between revenue and appropriations: "what we're looking at is about 41,000,000 in revenue, 23 in appropriations, and there's about a 6 to $7,000,000 shortfall annually between those 2 numbers and expenses," McMillian said.
Counsel explained the amendment inserting a notwithstanding clause; the committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. The senior senator from the eighth then moved the committee substitute, as amended, be reported to the full Senate; that motion also carried by voice vote.
Committee discussion included whether the $100,000,000 threshold could be set lower; McMillian said lowering it to $80,000,000 would free up funds earlier but that $100,000,000 was chosen as an operationally manageable target. The bill will move to the full Senate for further consideration.
