West Virginia House Bill HB3519

West Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/1/25
• Engrossed: 4/4/25
• Enrolled: 4/4/25
• Refer: 4/7/25

Caption

Expiring funds to the unappropriated surplus balance of the State Fund, General Revenue

Summary

HB3519 moves $155,288,050 out of the Governor’s Office-Civil Contingent Fund and returns it to the State Fund’s unappropriated general revenue surplus for fiscal year 2025. The bill then creates a new appropriation line within the Higher Education Policy Commission’s Administrative-Control Account to spend that amount on “Deferred Maintenance of Institutions - Surplus.” In practical terms, the measure redirects money that had been set aside in the contingent fund into a higher education capital/maintenance purpose. The bill is a fiscal appropriations measure rather than a policy overhaul. It amends the current fiscal year budget by decreasing the contingent fund balance and increasing appropriations for deferred maintenance at higher education institutions. The affected statutes and budget accounts are the Governor’s Office-Civil Contingent Fund and the Higher Education Policy Commission under West Virginia Code Chapters 18B and 18C, with the new spending authority tied to state surplus revenue. The general sentiment appears strongly favorable. The House passed the bill by wide margins, first 90-7 and then 91-6 on effective-from-passage, indicating broad support for using surplus funds for higher education maintenance needs. The absence of committee transcript debate suggests no major public controversy surfaced in the available record. Any contention likely centered on budget priorities rather than the concept itself: whether the Governor’s Civil Contingent Fund held more money than necessary and whether deferred maintenance at colleges and universities was the best use of the redirected surplus. The recorded votes show only a small minority opposed, so any objections were limited and did not prevent enactment.

Impact

HB3519 reduces the Governor’s Office-Civil Contingent Fund by expiring $155,288,050 into the state’s general revenue surplus and then appropriates that amount to the Higher Education Policy Commission for deferred maintenance at public higher education institutions. It changes the fiscal year 2025 budget by creating a new line item for maintenance funding, increasing available spending authority for colleges and universities while reducing the contingent fund balance.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have enjoyed broad bipartisan support, as reflected in the large House vote margins of 90-7 and 91-6. The available record shows no committee transcript debate, suggesting the measure was viewed primarily as a straightforward budget reallocation to address deferred maintenance needs in higher education.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is budget prioritization: some members may have questioned whether the Governor’s Civil Contingent Fund should be reduced and whether a large surplus appropriation should instead be reserved for other state needs. Another possible concern is the size of the transfer itself, since more than $155 million is being redirected in a single fiscal action. However, the small number of dissenting votes indicates opposition was limited.