CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOAY) – West Virginia Governor, Patrick Morrisey, took the podium for his first State of the State address. Morrisey outlined his administration’s priorities and vision for the future. While he emphasized economic growth, infrastructure improvements, and government accountability, concerns linger over the state’s long-term financial stability, public services, and environmental policies.
West Virginia faces a $400 million budget deficit, projected to grow to $600 million in the coming years. According to Morrisey, his proposed budget directly responds to that concern.
“We released our Mountain State Comeback budget, and I think people should be really focused on the fact that we’re getting our fiscal house in order. Our chief goal is to be fiscally responsible while we’re investing in education and economic development.” Governor Morrisey said.
One highlight in the Mountain State Budget is that Morrisey’s administration will be working hard to cut down on government spending.
“This year we start out by identifying the waste, the fraud, the overspending that’s occurred. When I came in, I issued an executive order saying, we want to look under the hood. We’re looking in all the dark reaches of government to save money. I think that this budget’s going to do that.” Morrisey said.
One way the state will save money is by merging certain offices and divisions, which Morrisey explained in the State of the State.
“We are merging the Department of Homeland Security with the Adjutant General’s Office. Tourism will merge with Arts and Culture. And we’re reuniting Commerce and the Economic Development Office.” Morrisey said.
Another key focus is on West Virginia’s struggling K-12 system, which takes up 46% of the current budget. Morrisey said the cuts won’t interfere with West Virginian’s ability to learn.
“There aren’t the cuts in the K-12 education or Medicaid. I think what we’re looking at. There will be policy changes that I think are going to make a big difference for our people. But the focus is on overspending. It’s on waste and abuse and I think we’re going to be making some good decisions to prioritize, to make sure our kids are getting the best education policy.” Morrisey said.
Morrisey’s plan also leans heavily on West Virginia’s energy sector. In the State of the State address, Morrisey referenced West Virginia as America’s “energy state” multiple times. He described the push for permitting reform and attracting high-tech industries.
“First, we are America’s energy state, and with President Trump’s help, we will maximize our amazing resources to help the United States compete in the world economy. No one can match our incredible mix of coal, gas, and water resources,” Morrisey said in the State of the State. “We must increase efficiency in the permitting processes so that our transportation, manufacturing, and energy construction projects are not bogged down in a sea of red tape.”
While looming concerns are lingering over how the call for industry will affect the environment, Morrisey said his administration would not let anything happen to West Virgina’s rivers and mountains.
“We want to engage in all these tasks to make it easier to get the gas, to get the coal out of the ground. But we want to do it in an environmentally safe way” Morrisey said in the interview.
Morrisey also addressed the topic in his speech Wednesday evening, saying the state needs to make access to its greatest assets, “less cumbersome and costly for investors while maintaining environmental protections.”
Because some large industries have historically taken advantage of West Virginia’s natural resources and its economy, many residents are nervous about inviting a new wave of industry to do business. The Governor said his administration will create sustainable jobs and ensure financial stability for generations to come.
“There’s unlimited opportunities for West Virginia. You’re going to have some of the PIE, advanced manufacturing jobs for data engineers and folks who have expertise in robotics. But at the same time, you’re going to need the people that are the electricians and the plumbers and the sheet metal workers, the folks on the construction side.” Morrisey said.
With healthcare costs climbing, Morrisey outlined his plan for investment in PEIA and reform for government healthcare regulations.
“Yesterday we announced that we were investing $45 million in PEIA to make sure that we’re addressing the employer side of the problem. And then separately, we’re of course, going to work with the legislature to come up with what I think will be some short-term and long-term solutions.” Morrisey said.
With Morrisey’s administration in full swing, the Mountain State is in the midst of a crucial transition after former governor Jim Justice left office and became West Virginia’s newest senator.
Morrisey acknowledges that there is a lot of work to be done. In his State of the State address, he said his administration had inherited problems that needed to be solved.
“Recent results from the Nation’s Report Card indicate that West Virginia students are still struggling. In 2024, our students ranked 49th in Grade 8 math; 48th in Grade 8 reading; 46th in Grade 4 math; and 48th in Grade 4 reading,” he said. “We rank 49th in educational attainment, 50th in public health, and last in workforce participation. No one should be satisfied with that.”
With that said, Morrisey believes the future is bright. In an interview afterward, Morrisey acknowledged the challenges but said he believes his administration can make a difference.
“West Virginians can have such an amazing future,” he said.
Full interview transcript with Governor Morrisey is available here:
Q: If you could start by giving us an overview on the State of the State and maybe how you feel it might have went for you?
A: Look, I was really excited to get in front of the legislature and talk to the public to lay out our priorities. I think we have there’s a lot of excitement in the air because I think people know that West Virginia is poised for its comeback. We released our Mountain State comeback budget, and I think people should be really focused on the fact that we’re getting our fiscal house in order. Our chief goal is to be fiscally responsible while we’re investing in education and economic development. We have to improve our standard of living and make sure that there are good jobs available for citizens. I think our budget is doing that, and it represents a down payment on a multiple-year attempt to fix the structural problems that we’ve been left.
Q: You said in the state of the state yesterday evening that the state inherited a budget with quite a significant deficit that has been covered by one-time money. Can we dive into how your proposed budget will maybe address these issues?
A: Absolutely. So as many people know, we inherited a budget deficit for the next year beginning in July of $400 million. That’s significant. And in fact, if we did nothing about it, the 400 million dollars was going to go up to 500, then 550 and 600. The reason for that is these guys were relying on all of the one-time money. There was a lot of federal money that came in, and they papered over some of the structural problems with the one-time money. The good news now is we’re beginning a process where if you have an ongoing program that is paid for through ongoing revenue and don’t have the money, that’s not a program that that should exist. We identified 144 million dollars of spending reductions. And then beyond that, we made other changes in assumptions to make sure that they meet reality. We’re not playing these games with the numbers anymore. We’re going to make sure that we’re addressing these issues. And this year we started out by identifying the waste, the fraud, the overspending that’s occurred. When I came in, I issued an executive order saying that we want to look under the hood. We’re looking in all the dark reaches of government to save money. I think that this budget is going to do that. And the next year we have to come back and make some even more difficult choices. But the good news there is a chance to work with the legislature in terms of fixing some of the broader challenges that our state faces with our school aid formula and dealing with Medicaid, and PEIA obviously is a big issue that’s going to come up this year. So we have to make sure we’re working with the legislature on that to make the tough decisions, that quite frankly, got pushed off for a long time.
Q: You emphasized the fiscal responsibility of this proposed budget and these significant budget cuts. Can you talk a little bit and elaborate on the specific areas where we might be able to anticipate the most significant reductions and how these reductions will impact the public?
A: Well, as I mentioned, the real focus is trying to make sure that we’re bringing efficiencies and accountability to bear. And so that means that when you’re looking at a budget, you’re identifying a lot of people who have a wish list. Second, you have to understand that the biggest piece would be education. That represents 46% of the state’s budget. So that’s going to take some time to do. There aren’t cuts in the K-12 education or Medicaid. I think what we’re looking at are policy changes that I think are going to make a big difference for our people. But the focus is on overspending. It’s on waste and abuse and I think we’re going to be making some good decisions to prioritize, to make sure our kids are getting the best education policy and making sure that we’re focusing on economic growth, investing, and new opportunities to be more competitive with all the states that we touch. So it’s a balancing act, and we’re really excited that the policies, I think we’re advancing are going to make a big difference to ultimately help grow our way out of some of these problems.
Q: What specific actions does your administration plan to take to improve literacy and math scores in K-12 education? And how does the administration plan to address the higher education challenges that we might face in the state?
A: Well, let’s start with K-12. I mean, one of the big things is we actually have to look at the school aid formula. I mentioned that in the speech last night, and that’s a way to address the needs of teachers and a lot of people within the school system. But it’s also an opportunity to help our families and then look and protect taxpayers. So it’s a balancing act. I think we have to make sure that we’re getting the best bang for our buck and that we’re focusing on eliminating distractions in the schools. One of the most popular things that we talked about yesterday was eliminating cell phones in the classrooms. People are very enthusiastic about it because we’re going to have an environment that focuses on learning and that’s going to be important. But we’re also going to be looking a lot at how to get the nation’s report card scores up, because we talked last night about how West Virginia’s historically struggled in some of the key metrics with math and science, and so we’re looking at different ways through phonics and a really intense focus on STEM and digital literacy. I think that could make a big difference to get our folks prepared for the next generation. The other really big announcement, and I think it bears a lot of attention in the upcoming weeks, is we’re looking to invest more on VOtech education in this new economy. We have a great need for electricians, for plumbers, for contractors, for sheet metal workers, and we want to make sure people know you don’t need a four-year degree to succeed. West Virginia is going to be getting out in front, leading in that area. And I think that means that every West Virginian is to have incredible job opportunity.
Q: In the State of the State yesterday you mentioned, West Virginia is known and has been known for its energy production resources. How do you balance the need for energy production with state regulations while still maximizing our state’s ability for economic growth?
A: Well, look, I think everyone shares the same goal. We want to engage in all these tasks to make it easier to get the gas, to get the coal out of the ground. But we want to do it in an environmentally safe way. So I think some of the initiatives you heard me talk about last night get to things such as permitting reform to get to different ways that we can ease the process so things can move faster and faster. When you’re thinking about economics and competing with the other states that we touch, I want to move faster, I want to be stronger than all the states that we touch. That’s one reason we talked about permitting reform, having a fast-track system. If you want to get a permit, you want to move fast, we can do that for you. We’re working on that right now and we want to have a superior policy to all the states that we touch. We also want to make sure that we’re removing with the Trump administration all the different impediments that make it harder for you to build out energy jobs. The other critical point we talked about last night is we want to take advantage of this new trend where these data centers and technology, they’re trying to get close to the energy source. What states in America can make that happen better than West Virginia? We are going to take advantage of that and that’s going to lead to a lot of big jobs for our people.
Q: How will your plans and your administration help to create sustainable jobs for West Virginian communities to ensure financial stability for generations to come?
A: Well, there’s a couple of things. Building on what we talked about last night with this power tech idea at the intersection of energy and technology, there’s unlimited opportunities for West Virginia. You’re going to have some of the highly advanced manufacturing jobs for data engineers and folks who have expertise in robotics. But at the same time, you’re going to need the people that are the electricians and the plumbers and the sheet metal workers, the folks on the construction side, because we should end up building massive numbers of these data centers and build them near the energy source. By doing that, you’re giving every West Virginia an opportunity for a terrific job. That’s what’s exciting about this. West Virginians should be out in front leading and we need to lead because of what China is doing right now. China is right now building so many new coal-fired power plants. When I look at the potential for the merger of energy and technology, I think about using coal. I think about using natural gas or water resources. These small modular reactors, nuclear, if we do all of the above. West Virginians can have such an amazing future. And then that is what people are going to be talking about, West Virginia. That’s how we’re going to win this backyard brawl that I’ve been mentioning over the last couple of years.
Q: My last question before we wrap it up is how does your administration plan to address the concerns citizens have about PEIA premiums?
A: Yesterday we announced that we were investing 45 million into PEIA to make sure that we’re addressing the employer side of the problem. And this is a problem we want to work with, but we’ve now started the process through that investment. And then separately, we’re of course going to work with the legislature to come up with a longer-term solution as well, because the cost of health care keeps spiraling and we’re paying a price for what happened with Obamacare. For a number of years it didn’t have the right systems in place. Anytime you have government-run health care, there’s going to be a problem with command and control systems and we have to make changes there. One of the reasons I’ve called for repealing Certificate of Need is we don’t want the government dictating who could build in your area or not. Think about that. How absurd that is that you have to get a permission slip to open up a business. Meanwhile, people are struggling without access to some important healthcare services. Repealing the Certificate of Need is going to be a nice thing for us to make sure that all the people in the rural counties, if you’re talking about folks that are in Fayette County, Nicholas County, Raleigh County, they’re all across West Virginia. Now, if that goes through our policy to repeal Certificate of Need, that’s going to lead to literally massive new opportunities of people opening up new clinics, opening up things that are in need in your area.
