West Virginia State Budget FY2027 Analysis

West Virginia spent $21.0 billion across all funds in FY2027, or $11,891 per resident. All-funds spending counts the general fund, federal grants, and dedicated state funds together — the fairest basis for comparing states, since they differ widely in how much they route outside the general fund.

The general fund — the discretionary portion the legislature actually debates — was $5.5 billion, or 26.1% of total spending. The remainder is largely federal grants (Medicaid above all) and dedicated revenues such as fuel taxes earmarked for highways.

West Virginia's FY2027 general revenue budget of $5.485 billion — signed March 12, 2026, with 12 line-item vetoes trimming about $3.15 million — marks a departure from the state's tradition of flat budgeting: it sits well above FY2026's $5.318 billion enacted level (NASBO scores growth at 5.2% against the adjusted base), while total appropriations across all funds exceed $21 billion. Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who inherited a claimed $400 million structural gap in 2025, paired the spending plan with a 5% personal income tax rate cut retroactive to January 1, 2026 — worth about $125 million annually when fully implemented, half the 10% the Senate and governor initially sought. The fastest-growing commitment is the Hope Scholarship school-choice program: $276 million in full funding, structured as a $297 million five-quarter package that leans on $100 million in supplemental appropriations and $60 million in surplus collections. A key Medicaid line rises $28 million to $284 million, state employees, teachers and police get 3% raises, and PEIA premium increases are capped at 3% after years of double-digit growth. Firsts include full funding of the higher education formula and $5 million seeding a Flood Resiliency Trust Fund; roads receive an additional $125 million. The Personal Income Tax Reduction Fund holds $522 million against future rate cuts. FY2025 closed with a $338.5 million surplus, but the governor's office flags PEIA (+$35 million) and Hope growth (up to $200 million) as the defining out-year pressures.