By Phil Kabler Legislators closed out the 2016 regular session with a comparatively slow-paced 60th day - but facing an impasse on the 2016-17 state budget. "I'm obviously going to have to call the Legislature back into special session," Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Saturday evening, acknowledging that House-Senate budget conferees will not be able to reach agreement on the $4.3 billion state budget by next week. With the session front-loaded to pass major legislation early in the session to allow time to override gubernatorial vetoes, Saturday did not resemble 60th days of the past, which were marked by frenzied activity up to the final gavel at midnight. However, the relative calmness of the final day was in contrast to the growing certainty of an impasse on the state budget plan - an issue exacerbated Saturday when the Senate allowed to die the House bill that would sweep some $72 million out of various state agency accounts to balance the House's version of the budget (HB 4771). Without that revenue, the House's 2016-17 budget plan becomes unbalanced, a problem already facing the Senate's budget proposal, which relies on $139 million of tax increases, including $115 million of tobacco tax hikes - tax increases that were soundly rejected in the House of Delegates. Senate Finance Chairman Mike Hall, R-Putnam, said Saturday he personally favors coming back in special session in May to complete the budget bill, saying that would give legislators a more precise handle on how much the current year's budget deficit will grow. "We could go back home, we are in an election cycle obviously, and come back and be focused on this issue and this issue alone," Hall said. However, Tomblin said he does not favor that long a delay. "We cannot wait to May.

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Topics:  West Virginia   Kanawha County   Charleston   
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