Senator Creigh Deeds

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Special Session: Six Weeks In

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The special session began almost six weeks ago. We are finally getting down to the heart of the matter as budget discussions ramp up.

We are operating without a joint operating agreement, a procedural resolution, between the House and the Senate. The agreements stipulate the rules and parameters to govern conduct. The Senate is meeting a few days a week in person, and the House is meeting remotely for committee meetings and floor sessions. So the session goes on.

There is good news on the budget. [Read more…]

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The Special Session Continues

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We knew back in April that we would need to return to Richmond for a special session to address budgetary issues. The pandemic dramatically reduced the amount of revenue flowing into Virginia’s tax coffers. We experienced a $2.7 billion budget shortfall and have seen nearly every aspect of state government impacted by the pandemic. Budgetary matters, for the most part have yet to be considered. The first few weeks of this special session has been consumed by other issues, such as the eviction crisis and utility bills, and by criminal justice reform. [Read more…]

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Sine Die

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On March 12, 2020, the regular session of the General Assembly adjourned after adopting a budget for the next two years. It is a budget that will take us forward and that we can be proud of, but there are caveats.

The biennial budget is built on projected growth over the next two years of three percent. The February forecast showed Virginia experiencing about six percent growth to date, so three percent seemed to be a conservative estimate. However, the stock market has fallen more than 25 percent over the last few weeks. We need to be concerned about the economy at this point for several reasons. Major forecasts are predicting a recession this year, so there are a few things we need to take into consideration. [Read more…]

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Priorities

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One week is all that remains between now and adjournment sine die of the 2020 Session. We are scheduled to adjourn on Saturday, March 7 by midnight. We have accomplished a lot this session, and I guess history will judge the effectiveness of our work. [Read more…]

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