The Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate and House of Delegates on Thursday passed their respective state budgets for the next two years. The document will allow lawmakers to begin work on a compromise spending plan to send to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Both chambers signed amendments to the 2024-2026 budget that Yonkin first proposed in December, overhauling the governor’s vision and eliminating all but a few of his proposed tax changes. Deleted.
Both the House and Senate chose to uphold Mr. Youngkin’s insistence on closing the “Big Tech” loophole and expanding sales taxes to cover digital services, including streaming subscriptions, but not reducing income tax rates and He ignored his argument for raising the state’s sales tax. . Instead, it proposes higher levels of general fund spending, including pay increases for teachers and other public employees and more allocations for K-12 education than Youngkin envisioned.
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Democratic leaders in both chambers said their proposals are structurally balanced and citizen-focused.
Both bills passed on a bipartisan basis, but only after Republicans voiced opposition to dozens of individual provisions, including Democrats’ signature proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. .
Each chamber will now pick up and reject the other’s proposal and send the bill to a conference committee, a small group of lawmakers who meet behind closed doors to work out compromises.
In recent years, that process has dragged on well past the adjournment of the part-time parliament, and lawmakers have struggled to reach an agreement. This year’s session is scheduled to end in about two weeks.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (bottom center) arrives on the floor of the Virginia House of Representatives to deliver the State of the Union address at the State Capitol on January 10, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. On February 22, the Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate and House of Delegates passed their own proposals for the state’s budget for the next two years, with lawmakers using this to send a compromise spending plan to Yonkin. will be created. (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)
Republican Barry Knight of Virginia Beach, who was recently removed from the committee that oversees the budget process without explanation, criticized the House plan in a speech, calling it overspending and too focused on Democratic priorities. he warned.
“In negotiations, everyone needs a little something. If we want to avoid an impasse and avoid fighting this issue here in June, we need to divide this pie into three parts: one in the Senate; one in the Senate; “One for the House of Representatives and one for the executive branch because they’re all equal partners,” he said.
Democrats say his criticisms are unfounded, and Rep. Luke Torian, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was optimistic that lawmakers could complete this year’s budget on time.
As lawmakers plan to begin the work of finding a compromise, here are points of agreement, differences, and points of interest between the bills in both chambers.
tax
Mr. Youngkin campaigned on a promise to cut taxes, and in his first two years in office he succeeded in passing nearly $5 billion in tax cuts, some in the form of one-time rebates.
In December, he announced he was pushing to lower income tax rates to bring more people and jobs to the state, while offsetting revenue losses with higher sales tax rates and additional taxes on digital services. Stated. .
Democratic lawmakers and liberal advocacy groups criticized Yonkin’s proposed tax plan, calling it a regressive handout to the wealthy. Republicans were not entirely in favor, either.
Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, who chairs the chamber’s appropriations committee, said at a hearing Sunday that the governor’s proposal is “not sustainable,” especially in light of recent findings by the state legislative watchdog. No,” he said. Current funding formula for public schools.
House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert said Democrats had “hijacked” Youngkin’s plan, abandoning some of the cuts but keeping some of the increases, which would hurt households struggling with the fallout from soaring inflation. He said he would give it. He unsuccessfully sought to have that provision removed Thursday.
“What you’re trying to do with this new tax is make it so people don’t have to watch Netflix, pay taxes again, and then settle down,” he said.
Northern Virginia Sports Arena
The future of the Youngkin-backed proposal to move the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards from the nation’s capital to Alexandria is uncertain, and competing budget proposals did nothing to clarify that.
The House included language that would allow for this proposal in a bill to update the current fiscal year’s budget (a separate bill passed Thursday), but the Senate did not.
Lucas also did not allow her committee to consider a single bill, but she has repeatedly said she has concerns about the funding structure of what she calls “Glendome.”
Torian, who is introducing the House-only version of the bill, told reporters that the conference committee would give members an opportunity to “discuss together” possible paths forward.
Monica Dixon, CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the team’s parent company, said the bipartisan vote to pass the budget, which includes enabling language, is an encouraging step forward. .
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Fighting pollution reduction programs
The House spending plan includes language not included in the Senate spending plan that directs the state to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the carbon cap-and-trade program that Youngkin pulled Virginia out of, is being challenged in court.
The language in the House bill essentially makes the budget conditional on Virginia’s participation in the program, which Democrats and other advocates say will help combat climate change.
House Republicans, along with Youngkin, argued that the program is functionally an ineffective tax on ratepayers and questioned whether the approach is constitutional Thursday.
