Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he won’t support recently passed budget that includes tax hike

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The budget bill passed by the Democratic-led Virginia General Assembly last week is a “broken” plan that would impose $2.6 billion in tax increases over two years, Gov. Glenn Youngkin told lawmakers Thursday. He announced that he had requested it. This is to work with him on the revision process.

Yonkin, who said he wanted to avoid a veto of the entire budget, urged Democrats to “get around the table” with the administration to revise a plan to repeal a new sales tax on digital products and make matching spending cuts. He called on the leaders. Due to decreased income. Mr. Yonkin suggested that he may submit a compromise version of the budget for a vote in the General Assembly next time lawmakers reconvene in April.

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“We’ll be working over the next three weeks to create a budget that doesn’t include tax increases and make sure we get funding to our important priorities,” Youngkin said.

He also supported another priority that lawmakers have so far rejected: some public funding aimed at bringing the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals to Alexandria. announced that it will continue to push forward with a $2 billion development that will include a new arena.

Yonkin’s remarks, made during a campaign-style appearance at a Richmond-area restaurant packed with supporters, came as lawmakers adjourned their regular session after passing spending plans and legislation for the next two years on Saturday. It was the most extended budget proposal he has made since 2013. Adjust your existing budget.

Democrats have defended the budget, passed with some Republican support, as focusing on the needs of working families and Virginia’s public education system.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said Saturday that the plan is “on time, balanced, structured and consistent with Virginia’s traditions, and will further invest in K-12 education.” , advanced the priorities of Virginians that we are committed to.”

But Youngkin called the plan “broken,” after bills signed over the past two years enacted $5 billion in tax cuts, including some one-time rebates. He argued that it would “set Virginia back”.

“They’re going to put their hands in your pockets and take the money you’re supposed to keep and use it to go to their own projects,” he said, originally introducing the idea of ​​expanding the sales tax in December. However, said Youngkin, who introduced it in conjunction with the tax cut. He made changes to income tax rates, which resulted in a budget proposal that would result in lower taxes overall, he said.

Lawmakers also included language in the budget bill directing Virginia to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate carbon cap-and-trade program aimed at reducing carbon emissions from power plants. The regulatory commission, under Yonkin’s direction, removed the state from the program, a move that is being challenged in court.

The governor argues that the program acts as a tax on Virginians because utilities can recover at least some of their compliance costs from ratepayers.

Youngkin said the cost of rejoining the initiative, combined with new taxes on digital goods that lawmakers expanded to include business-to-business transactions, would amount to $2.6 billion over two years. expressed hope. Both components were removed from the bill.

“We will not increase taxes,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Luke Torian, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the chamber’s top budget negotiator, said in an interview Thursday night that Yonkin has requested a meeting with lawmakers and is working to find a date. was said to be underway.

Torian said he would otherwise hold off on further comment on the governor’s address or his position on negotiations until he had a chance to discuss the issue with Yonkin.

Mr. Torian’s senator, Democratic state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, who has been a vocal critic of the governor, did not immediately refute Mr. Yonkin’s remarks, but did not immediately refute Mr. Yonkin’s remarks, but did not immediately refute Mr. Yonkin’s remarks, but did not respond to Mr. Torian’s comments on social media or in emails imitated by reporters. harshly criticized the Arena Agreement proposal. She was Youngkin’s chief opponent in Congress of the proposal, which he announced in December, effectively vetoing the standalone bill on which it was based and blocking its inclusion in the budget bill.

“Glendome is complete,” she wrote in one email, using her nickname for the project.

Yonkin said he may reinsert arena language into the budget bill and told reporters he hoped the Senate would scrutinize the proposal more thoroughly.

“The Senate has to be involved,” he said.

Separately on Thursday, Youngkin announced that he had vetoed 20 bills, in addition to eight others he rejected last week.

His office said in a statement that the measure would “place a significant burden on small businesses, limit decision-making across the state, and increase tuition and expenses for hardworking Virginia families.”

Surovell said on social media that the vetoed bills included one that would make Virginia the 49th state in the nation to authorize class action lawsuits.

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Another bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jennifer Boisko, would prohibit employers from looking into a prospective employee’s wage or salary history or relying on that information to determine wages or salaries. It was the content. Boisko argued that these bills would help narrow the pay gap for women and minorities.

Lawmakers sent more than 1,000 bills to Yonkin during the 60-day legislative session. Lawmakers are scheduled to meet on April 17 to consider his proposed amendments to the budget and other bills. They could also try to override his veto, which would require Republicans to join with a narrow Democratic majority to reach the two-thirds vote threshold.