The 2022 Special Session that convened on Monday is not so special.
At the end of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly, we had not reached an agreement on a budget. For that reason, we knew a special session was coming. There is nothing magic about the start date.

The budget is currently in the hands of the conference committee, which is made up of senior legislators from the Senate and House, Democrats and Republicans. The main sticking point on the budget is on the revenue side. There is about a $2.8 billion difference between the money that the House and Senate spend on core services. The Senate budget uses the surplus in revenue to provide tax relief and give raises to teachers, state troopers and sheriff deputies, and invest in services like mental health and education. The House uses one-time money to make baseline investments and provides more tax relief. [Read more…]