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 2 of the 2022 Session
The first full week of the 2022 Session of the Virginia General Assembly is now under our belt. We have a little better idea of what we are working with this year. Governor Northam left us with a budget that attempted to address some critical areas of need but also outlined a plan for tax relief. He pre-supposed that the new administration would have success with some of its goals and embedded tax relief in his outgoing budget.
The rubber has now hit the road. Governor Youngkin gave a rousing speech at his inauguration. On a beautiful crisp, sunny day he was inaugurated as the 74th Governor of the Commonwealth Virginia. Every Virginian should feel pride in the peaceful turnover of power that continues to be our tradition. We should all wish for our governor, the governor of all Virginians, to have success. That does not mean we have to agree with every policy he advances. [Read more…]
2022 Session Convenes
The 2022 Session of the General Assembly convened on January 12th at noon. This is a year of great change as we inaugurate a new governor tomorrow, and there is a new majority in the House of Delegates. After the Democrats held the governor’s office for the past eight years, Republican Glenn Youngkin will succeed Ralph Northam. The Democrats held the majority in the House of Delegates for two years, and now the Republicans hold a slender 52-48 majority. The test of the session will be how well the slender Democratic majority in the Senate gets along with the slender Republican majority in the House, and how a governor, who has no previous experience in state government, folds into that mix. [Read more…]
Sine Die
In this most unusual year, the General Assembly adjourned sine die in the most unusual way. We adopted a procedural resolution to extend the 30-day session to the usual 46 days by having a special session the last couple of weeks. We finished our work late on Saturday, February 27, but we did not adjourn sine die until March 1. [Read more…]