State Budget
Both the House of Delegates and the Senate have passed separate versions of the state budget. Both versions have items that have resulted in passionate debate and heated discussion. If you have been following the budget measures (as many of you have been, as I can see from the voluminous number of e-mails and letters I have received) there are numerous items that cause consternation as well as those that reflect important priorities.
With a General Assembly of 140 people representing the diverse views of almost 8 million Virginians, there are surely going to be as many takes on what we should spend our tax dollars on as there are residents of the Commonwealth.
On Wednesday, the House rejected some Senate amendments to the House budget. The most glaring proposal from the Senate was that we spend nearly $300 million for a new state office building just off Capitol Square. It would likely be used for new offices for members of the General Assembly. While a new state office building might be nice, I voted against the proposal, as did the entire House. With the limited funds for transportation, education, law enforcement and health care becoming even more scarce, we cannot be spending $300 million of our tax dollars on a frivolous, unnecessary state building.
As the House Appropriations Committee continues to try to figure out the budget, it was reported yesterday that it will take $80 to $90 million to address the most critical, immediate issues identified in a recent U.S. Justice Department report on mentally disabled residents in state facilities. It will cost more than $2 billion over 10 years to eliminate the backlog of Virginians on waiting lists for Medicaid waivers allowing them to receive care in their communities. These new figures are staggering.
As I opposed some proposals suggested by the Senate, I also have many concerns about the House version of the budget, HB1500. This bill would inflict permanent damage to the Standards of Quality, the school funding formula in Virginia, especially for Norfolk. Despite the fact that Virginia now ranks 38th in the nation in state funding per pupil, the House budget makes cuts to some middle school resource teachers, eliminates funding for school bus replacement costs, and reduces funding for textbooks, among others.
The Senate budget bill does not contain as many cuts to education as does the current House budget. Spending on education, including higher education, is the largest part of the state budget, accounting for more than 50 percent of the total expenditure.
Adoption of the budget will be another step in a lengthy process. The divergent budgets will go to a committee of senior budget conferees to iron out the differences before our scheduled adjournment of the General Assembly on Feb. 26. I remain hopeful the result will be one that I will support.
