Senator Creigh Deeds

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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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Budget

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The 2020 Session of the General Assembly is now past crossover. The Senate and House of Delegates both acted on the budget this week beginning with the release of subcommittee reports on Sunday by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. The final two weeks of the session will be spent trying to reconcile the differences between bills that passed, including the budget. [Read more…]

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2019 Post Session Update

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The 2019 Regular Session of the General Assembly is now over. For the books, we adjourned one day late due to the length of discussions over the budget. A budget agreement was not reached until the morning of February 23. We amended the rules several years ago to require posting of the budget 48 hours before the vote. Even with the extra day, we did not comply with the rules. The budget work during the short session consists solely of amending the two year budget we adopted the prior year. However, there is good reason to allow an intentional “waiting period” before a final vote is taken. [Read more…]

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Judges

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Only one week remains of the 2019 Session the General Assembly. Bills are being heard and meeting their fates at an ever quicker pace. Multiple meetings are scheduled at the same time. Legislators, staff, interested citizens, and lobbyists are all running around trying to protect their turf or see that their interests are being met.

This past week, any legislation dealing with revenues had to be considered by both houses and put into conference if the two chambers had any disagreement over the language of the bills. Conference committees generally are made up of three senators and three delegates. The most significant conference committee appointed every year is on the budget. Seven members of each chamber achieve that coveted assignment. Unlike past years, broad agreement exists already on key elements of the budget. Over $900 million of the surplus will be returned to citizens over the biennium through larger tax returns and in a one-time payment later this year.

Even with the rebates, this budget invests considerable new money into a number of priorities. The budget will include a 5% pay increase for teachers and significant expenditures on mental health services. The full funding of the earned income tax credit, as the Governor proposed, is no longer under consideration. That proposal would have helped those who struggle the most financially. [Read more…]

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