The 2022 Session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourned on Saturday, March 12. This has been an exhausting eight and a half weeks. The days have been long, and the news has not always been pleasant. We saw several recurrent themes this year. [Read more…]
2022 Virginia General Assembly Session
Week 8 of the 2022 Session
The session is rapidly winding down as we move towards our final week. The budget is the primary issue still in dispute, with a $2.8 billion difference between the House and the Senate versions. Closing this gap seems insurmountable, but a couple of scenarios seem possible. [Read more…]
Week 7 of the 2022 Session
Throughout the last few months people have been sure to tell me how they thought the so-called surplus Virginia enjoys ought to be spent – more money for education, more money for our beautiful state parks, more money for transportation projects, more money for human services like mental health, more money for healthcare, and the list goes on. I’ve consistently advised people that we will have to find a path forward that resolves the demand of the Governor for tax cuts with the need for funding other priorities. [Read more…]
Week 6 of the 2022 Session
On Tuesday, we reached crossover. With the exception of the budget, the House of Delegates can only consider bills originating in the Senate and the Senate can only consider House bills. There were some momentous votes this past week. [Read more…]
Week 5 of the 2022 Session
The past week produced dramatic news on a couple of fronts.
First, the economy continues to expand. Record growth in tax revenues continued through January, and it looks like we will have about $2 billion more than we anticipated in this year’s budget. The growth combined with our unemployment rates continuing to fall are both good signs. However, inflation remains high. [Read more…]