Late Saturday night, the Governor held a press conference indicating that he and Senate President Mitch Carmichael were very close to a deal on the budget, but with only a few hours remaining in the session, language from their agreement did not pass. The House was not included in the negations of a deal. 

There does appear to be a few problems with the budget bill (HB 2018) that passed. It's about $31 million out of balance because some areas lawmakers thought they would gain some revenue, greyhounds and racetrack modernization fund, didn't happen. There's also an apparent issue about the effective date. There weren't enough votes to make the measure "effective from passage" so now the bill won't take effect until 90 days from passage which is July 8, which is a week after the new fiscal year begins.

At this time, we are uncertain whether or not the Governor will veto, sign or allow the budget to become law without signing.

His proposed budget included tax increases estimated to raise $450 million in revenue:

• New Commercial Activities Tax, which would charge two-tenths of a percent on gross business revenues.  The proposed tax would raise an estimated $214 million in new revenue.   
• Raising the Consumer Sales Tax by one-half of a percent, taking it up to 6.5 percent.   This increase would raise an estimated $92.7 million. 
• Eliminating the current tax exemptions for professional services (i.e. legal, accounting, advertising, etc.).  The elimination of this exemption would generate approximately $87 million in new revenue. 
• Raising the state's gasoline tax by ten (10) cents per gallon, raising an estimated $150 million in new revenue. 
• Increasing DMV fees for motor vehicle titles and licenses from $30 up to $50.   This increase is estimated to generate $33 million in new revenue. 
• Increasing WV Turnpike tolls from $2 to $3 per toll booth. 
• Raising the beer barrel tax from $5.50 up to $8, and raise the wholesale liquor markup from 28 percent to 32 percent.  These increases will generate an estimated $5.6 million in new revenue. 
• Ending subsidies from the General Revenue Fund to the State Road Fund, which is an estimated $11.7 million per year. 
• Repealing the WV Film Tax Credit, saving roughly $3 million per year
• Withholding a scheduled payment to the state's Workers' Compensation Fund, saving approximately $38 million in the General Revenue Fund

The Governor made numerous changes to his proposal over the course of the 60-day session.

A special session could be in our future depending on what the Governor does with the budget.

Industry Specific Legislation Passed:

SB 5 - Disqualifying CDL for DUI conviction in certain - Disqualifying CDL for DUI conviction in certain cases - The purpose of this bill is to provide that an offense and conviction of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance committed before January 1, 1990, or before the initial issuance of a commercial instructional permit by any state may not be considered an offense for lifetime disqualification of a commercial driver's license.
 
SB 164 - Relating to traffic regulations and special load limits - The purpose of this bill is to change the load limitation of a digger or derrick line truck from forty feet to forty-five feet in length; increase from six to nine feet the distance a load may extend beyond the foremost part of the truck; and increase from nine to eleven feet the distance a load may extend beyond the rear of the body of the truck. 
 
SB 174 - Exempting transportation of household goods from PSC jurisdiction - The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the jurisdiction of the PSC over the transportation of household goods.  It only removes the PSC from transportation of household goods certificate of need requirement.  Transport of household goods will still be under the jurisdiction of the PSC for safety, insurance, etc.
 
HB 2811 - Relating to the definition of above ground storage tanks was signed by the Governor on April 4th.  It will become law on June 23, 2017. The purpose of this bill is to clarify, for purposes of this article, that tanks having a capacity of 210 barrels or less that contain oil or brine water are not regulated under this article.  As a result of this amendment to the AST Act, devices having a capacity of 210 barrels or less, containing brine water or other fluids produced in connection with hydrocarbon production activities, along with devices having a capacity of 10,000 gallons or less, containing sodium chloride water for roadway snow and ice pretreatment, are no longer ASTs for purposes of the AST Act - meaning that they are exe