Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Wednesday he doesn't plan to call the West Virginia Legislature into special session to pass the 2016-17 state budget until there's agreement on how to close a $270 million budget shortfall - and he said that hasn't happened yet.
"I think there's a spirit to come together and work, but there's not been an agreement reached," Tomblin said on the 32nd day of the state budget impasse. "It's not my plan to call them back in without some kind of an agreement."
A key sticking point is in the House of Delegates, which rejected a number of tax increase proposals during the regular session, including a bill to increase tobacco taxes that had passed the Senate by a 26-6 margin.
That bill was crushed on a 21-3 vote from the House Finance Committee, as a coalition of Republicans opposed to any tax increases and Democrats holding out for a $1-a-pack increase combined to defeat the proposal, which, at the time, called for a 45-cent-a-pack increase.
Tomblin said Wednesday it still appears the Senate has the votes to pass a tobacco tax increase but the House remains doubtful.
"There's an indication from Senate leadership that they will definitely go for a 45-cent cigarette tax [increase]," the governor said, "but I have not had a clear signal from the House leadership."
A 45-cent-a-pack increase for cigarettes, along with corresponding increases for other tobacco products, would raise about $73 million in revenue each year.
Tomblin said it would be "very painful" to attempt to balance the 2016-17 budget entirely though spending cuts.
"In the last three years, we've already cut 20 percent of our general revenue budget," he said.
Tomblin was hesitant to set a deadline for the Legislature to act on the $4 billion general revenue spending plan for 2016-17.
"We all know the one drop-dead date is June 30," he said. "If there's no state budget, we don't operate after that."
Unlike many states, West Virginia has no provision in law to continue government operations through continuing resolutions or executive orders if there is no budget approved when the new fiscal year begins July 1.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison, confirmed that House Democrats scheduled a conference call for Wednesday evening to discuss the budget impasse and gauge the level of support for passage of a cigarette tax "and any other possible tax increases proposals."
Even if all 36 House Democrats were unanimous in their support for tax increase measures, passage of any new revenue proposals would require convincing at least 15 House Republicans to join them.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.