Gov. Jim Justice and officials from the state Department of Revenue say West Virginia has hit a historic moment in general revenue collections.
In a press conference Wednesday, Justice announced West Virginia’s general revenue collections for fiscal year 2019 has generated more than $450 million so far, with a projection for that to hit $500 million by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Justice compared that with the state’s general revenue growth between 2007 and 2017, which yielded only $314 million during that 10-year period – a less than 1 percent growth rate.
This year, the state has seen an 11.5 percent growth rate, which officials say is the highest level in the state’s history.
Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy explained that puts West Virginia among the top in the country.
“West Virginia’s growth at the end of April was 11.5 percent, which made us the second largest growth this year in the whole United States of America,” he said.
Hardy said Oklahoma beat West Virginia in growth rate this year.