This Week in Session
Both the House and Senate unveiled their versions of the biennial budget (ranging from 2022-2024) this week, beginning the long but necessary process of having a balanced budget for our Commonwealth which is required by our Constitution. The process started back in December; a draft is given to the General Assembly following a joint meeting between the Governor and the House & Senate Finance Committees, after which all legislators are able to submit amendments. Throughout the first half of session, both the House and Senate Finance Committees vet the proposed amendments, and come up with a finalized budget proposal. Negotiations begin after the House and Senate pass their respective proposals, and differences between the two budgets must be reconciled before the end of session on March 12. This lengthy process still has a few more steps, though: Governor Youngkin then gets a chance to review the finalized budget and recommend his own amendments, after which the General Assembly will reconvene on April 27th to debate and vote on the Governor's amendments; then we will finally have our budget. Having a balanced budget is not easy work, but is a necessary step to ensure the economic prosperity of individuals and businesses alike in our Commonwealth!
Although it may not seem like it, the budget has the capability to change more than just our Commonwealth's spending. While reading the budget, I caught something that the Democrats attempted to slip in which would have been devastating to our First Amendment rights. A budget amendment that was proposed would have changed the definition of a 'group' to include individuals, and would have required, for example, people looking to simply hold a sign near the Capitol as legislators walk to session to need a permit in order to do so. This is blatantly unacceptable and was a clear violation of our First Amendment rights. It is hard to believe that the vote on this particular amendment came down to a 20 to 20 tie which had to be broken.
Since crossover last week, House committees have been considering bills that passed the Senate and visa-versa. I had 12 bills make it through the crossover process, and have had some major wins so far. SB 528, which would drastically reduce taxes on military retiree pay, had its second reading this Friday on the House floor! It passed unanimously through the Senate, and worked its way through the House Finance Committee without any roadblocks. Another bill of mine, SB 530, which cracks down on illegal gambling in our commonwealth, was reported out of both the House Committee on General Laws and the House Committee on Appropriations with little opposition, and now awaits its time on the House floor.
This week was an exciting one, I must say. Presidents Day brought many visitors to Richmond as folks enjoyed their day off. We do not take holidays in the General Assembly, I'm there every day fighting for you. On Thursday several Commissioners of the Revenue stopped by to present me with the Legislator of the Year award from the Commissioners of the Revenue association. One of the Commissioners who stopped by was Scott Mayausky, from Stafford County. As the owner of two businesses in Stafford, I've had to work with him a lot. Commissioner of the Revenue Lois Jacobs, of Fredericksburg, and Terry Yowell, of Culpeper, also joined us and Terry Yowell presented me with the award. I'm proud to work with all our elected officials to get things done for our community.
With only two weeks left until session adjourns, things are picking up to a blistering pace here in the Virginia Senate. I will continue to do my duty looking out for the best interests of my constituents as well as all citizens of our Commonwealth. As per usual, I will be back next week with more news from Richmond!
Posts
