Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is asking legislators to consider three tax increase options to close a $270 million gap in the 2016-17 West Virginia budget, and is seeking authority to furlough government employees "in the event of certain fiscal emergencies," according to the special-session call he issued Thursday afternoon.
"We don't think necessarily that all three revenue measures will be needed, but it gives us flexibility to have those discussions," Tomblin spokesman Chris Stadelman said Thursday evening.
However, House and Senate leaders issued statements Thursday evening objecting to the tax increase proposals.
Tomblin is calling the Legislature into special session beginning Monday to complete work on the 2016-17 state budget bill.
With no agreement on how to close spending shortfalls in the current and upcoming budgets, legislators adjourned the 2016 regular session on March 15 without passing the spending plan for 2016-17.
Stadelman said there was still no agreement on the 2016-17 budget as of Thursday, the 61st day of the budget impasse.
"We acknowledge we have not been able to come to an agreement, but the governor feels we need to do everything we can to address the uncertainty on the budget," he said.
The new budget year begins July 1 - a deadline Tomblin is acknowledging in the call with a bill that would give the governor authority for furloughs.
"We think we will come to an agreement on the budget before then," Stadelman said. "In the unlikely event we do not, this would provide an additional avenue."
Under current law, there is no authority to furlough government employees. Legislation to permit furloughs has been discussed from time to time, most recently in 2013, during the federal government shutdown.
That shutdown threatened to eliminate funding for salaries for about 4,600 state employees whose salaries are paid through federal revenue. With no furlough provision, those employees would have had to be terminated and rehired, had the federal shutdown gone on longer.
According to the special-session call, Tomblin will propose three tax increases to close the budget deficit, including two that failed during the regular session: An increase in the tobacco tax and eliminating the existing sales tax exemption on telecommunications services.
West Virginia is one of nine states that do not collect sales taxes on telecommunications services, primarily for charges for cellphones and landlines. State Revenue officials have said eliminating the exemption would raise about $60 million a year in new taxes.
During the regular session, Tomblin proposed raising the existing 55-cent a pack cigarette tax to $1 a pack, which would provide about $78 million a year in new revenue.
The Senate amended the bill to provide for a $1 a pack increase, and passed the tobacco tax bill on a 26-6 floor vote. However, the bill was rejected by the House Finance Committee by an overwhelming 21-3 margin.
Additionally, Tomblin is proposing an increase in the consumer sales tax of up to 1 percent.
There has been discussion of temporary sales tax increases to deal with the budget crisis, and Stadelman said the administration is open to discussion about whether any increase should be temporary or permanent.
"We certainly want to have discussions with the Legislature about whether that should be temporary or not," he said.
However, House and Senate leaders objected Thursday to the governor's call for tax increases.
"After weeks of discussions on a balanced approach to closing our state's budget gap, it's disappointing that, with this call, the governor has decided to place the entire burden of this nearly $300 million deficit on the backs of the taxpayers," said House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, had a similar opinion, stating: "Make no mistake about it: Gov. Tomblin is dropping a massive, nearly $300 million tax hike right into the laps of the citizens of West Virginia. At a time when our hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet, this administration is choosing to present a plan that raids the pocketbooks of the people, rather than pursue efficiencies in state government and make the tough choices that come with right-sizing."
Tomblin's budget plan includes spending cuts of 4.5 percent over the 2015-16 budget for most agencies, and would mark the third consecutive year of budget reductions.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.