Senator Creigh Deeds

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Budget

February 21, 2020 by Creigh Deeds

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.

Annual Visit with the Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Annual Visit with the Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Every legislator works to set forth priorities in the budget. This year I’m happy to say that many of my long sought goals are reflected in the Senate version of the budget. Notable among them are increased funding for community services boards and permanent supportive housing. We know the best way to provide people stability and a real opportunity for recovery is to provide supportive housing. We have dramatically increased funding for that service over the years, and this year’s budget reflects that continued commitment.

A long-standing problem with our Medicaid program is our lack of coverage for dental services for adults. We all know that oral health is critical to overall health. Infections in the mouth can lead to deterioration of overall health and even death. The increased cost to our healthcare system and the loss of productivity is significant. The Senate budget adopted this week finally provides this essential coverage for adults on Medicaid. This action will put us in line with the majority of states in the country.

Virginia has the best state park system in the country, and I have always explored ways to improve our state parks and expand opportunities for Virginians and visitors to explore our beautiful natural resources. The Senate budget includes $376,000 a year to increase staffing at Natural Bridge State Park. Notably the Senate also includes language to begin the process of converting the Hayfield Farm in Highland County into a state park. This is a long-term project, as there are a number of potential park sites in the pipeline already. But we are closer to establishing the state park, which I believe will be transformational in terms of economic activity in Highland County.

We were also able to obtain a language amendment to preserve funding for Jackson River Enterprises in Covington. We also protected the funding that the Governor put in the budget to incorporate Green Pastures in Alleghany County into Douthat State Park. Preserving Green Pastures is critical to preserving our heritage. My effort to obtain state funding for Biscuit Run Park was not successful.

I sponsored a few other budget amendments to address some issues in the 25th District. The Senate budget adopted an amendment to provide money in the second year should Alleghany and Covington decide to consolidate the school systems. Finally, while the Senate did not provide funding for the Nelson County Library, we did provide an additional $1 million for libraries statewide.

You can review all budget amendment requests and those adopted by the committee here. For a comparison of some key issues in the Governor’s introduced budget and the House and Senate proposals by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, a nonprofit in Richmond, see here.

Senator Creigh Deeds meeting with Albemarle High School Government Students

Meeting with Albemarle High School Government Students

In the closing weeks, I look forward to hearing your views on legislation. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my office at (804) 698-7525 or [email protected].

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2020 Tagged With: state parks, Virginia budget

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2021 Virginia General Assembly

2021 Session Preview

December 30, 2020 By Creigh Deeds

As 2020 is draws to a close, I cannot help but reflect on the unusual nature of this year as we prepare for the 2021 Session. From a legislative perspective, the regular session lasted 65 days, and we convened again in August for a 84-day special session. Of course, the General Assembly did not meet […]

Important Upcoming Dates

December 30, 2020 By Creigh Deeds

  • Budget hearings on January 6
  • January 13 is the first day of the 2021 Session
  • January 15 is the Senate budget amendment deadline
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2020 Virginia General Assembly

The Special Session Continues

September 14, 2020

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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More Newsletters from the 2020 Session of the Virginia General Assembly

Virginia General Assembly 2019

Major Accomplishments in Richmond This Week!

The General Assembly returned to Richmond on April 3 for our 2019 reconvened session to consider gubernatorial vetoes and amendments. The governor has 30 days from the adjournment of the regular session to sign, veto, or offer amendments to legislation. The authority of Virginia’s governor to amend legislation is atypical compared to the president and many other governors. This power provides an opportunity to impact policy in a significant way. [Read More…]

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