Nearly $37 million in general revenue surplus money will be given to West Virginia’s Medicaid program as well as the state’s Rainy Day emergency reserve fund.
Gov. Jim Justice made the announcement in a press release this week. The nearly $37 million will be divided in half – about $18 million for Medicaid and the other $18 million will go to the Rainy Day Fund.
Justice said this past year West Virginia has brought in “hundreds of millions of dollars more than we ever dreamed of,” and he said he’s proud to be using it to support and secure a “better future” for West Virginians.
The official surplus for Fiscal Year 2019 totaled $511 million above original budget estimates.
West Virginia Department of Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy said the accomplishment marks 2019 as the single greatest year of revenue growth in West Virginia’s history.