Richmond Roundup: Session Adjourned Sine Die
We will reconvene April 17th to consider vetoed and amended bills.
RICHMOND – Virginia’s 2024-2026 biennial budget is on its way to Governor Youngkin after passing the House and Senate on Saturday.
Public K-12 schools will see billions more in funding, teachers will see significant raises of 6 percent over 2 years, and state employees will get a raise as well. Local school divisions will also be able to draw from a $250 million loan fund to help finance new school construction.
Our local schools will see significant new funding from the budget, and overall, K-12 education will see an increase of $2.5 billion over 2024, including $969 million for Standards of Quality benchmarking, $243 million to hold schools harmless for the end of the state grocery tax.
Behavioral health also gets additional funding, in the form of $10 million the first year for additional mobile crisis units, in addition to other programs designed to meet immediate mental health needs.
“As I said when the House voted on its version of the budget, these things are always a work in progress until the Governor signs them,” said House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “I look forward to working with Governor Youngkin to improve this budget and ensure that it reflects our shared conservative values.”
There are still significant problems with the budget bill that passed the House, including raising taxes where they were supposed to be cut. I am optimistic that our Governor will align the priorities set forth in the final budget with those that reflect the needs of Virginians.
Governor Youngkin now has 30 days to suggest amendments or make line-item vetoes of individual spending items. Both the House and Senate will consider those proposed changes during the one-day Reconvened Session in April.
It’s not a perfect budget – no budget is ever perfect – but it does contain a good balance of the priorities Virginians told us they support. I look forward to working with Governor Younkgin to improve it between now and the Reconvened Session in April.
