If I had a vote on Virginia's budget on Monday, I would have voted "no." Why?
Way too much spending.
Why isn't anyone talking about how much spending the General Assembly has voted to increase the budget year after year to the tune of a whopping $20 billion over the past 4 years? That's a 20% increase. It's a 234% increase since FY2010. Wow.
While I understand the challenges of inflation, especially under Biden, it's time to ask legislators why they keep voting for budgets with out of control spending.
Just take a look at Virginia's operating expenses alone which for perspective were almost $38 billion in FY2010. They increased to $67 billion in FY2021 and now the budget that was approved on Monday at $87.5 billion in FY2025 and $89 billion in FY2026.
Are you kidding me?
It's time to re-evaluate and re-prioritize all of the spending of our taxpayer dollars and look at ways to trim programs that aren't constitutionally mandated and are a waste of taxpayer dollars.
The Virginia General Assembly passed a $188 billion two year FY2025-2026 budget, which will go into effect July 1, 2024. That's $87 billion in FY2025 and $89 billion in FY2026, almost a $20 billion or 20% increase in 4 years.
The House vote was 94-6 with "no" votes from conservatives Freitas, Garrett, Griffin, Oates, Scott, P.A., and Zehr. The Senate vote was 39-1, with McGuire casting the only true conservative "no" vote in the Senate.
A huge kudos and thank you to the unsung heroes who voted "no" on this bloated budget full of increased spending.
That said, we had to have a budget so our state wouldn't face a shutdown, which would have taken place on July 1, 2024. Yes, I hear you. There are agencies in the state government that I would like to see shut down as well, but there are also core functions of government that we must fund or it will effect public safety.
The reality is that the legislature is controlled by Democrats who like to spend and love governmental subsidized programs and subsidies. So Governor Youngkin and Republicans had to compromise. The governor didn't get the tax cuts he so strongly advocated for but thankfully there were also no new tax increases.
So here's the good news. The proposal to increase the state's sales tax to cover digital purchases like streaming subscriptions, music downloads and software was struck from the budget.
Democrats didn't get priorities like legalizing retail sales of marijuana for recreational use and raising the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026.
The best news is that the budget won't be linked to RGGI. This program requires electricity producers to purchase allowances for the carbon they emit, and some money raised from those purchases is returned to Virginia and used for flood resiliency and energy efficiency efforts. RGGI is a backdoor tax on Virginians because it allows companies to recoup the costs through customers' energy bills.
There's much controversy over the operation of skill games in Virginia. While many small businesses and convenience stores say they desperately need these profits to stay afloat, many like myself are concerned about families and the addiction that entraps so many low income at risk families who are desperate to escape poverty, only to find they lose more money than they gain, further leaving the most vulnerable even more destitute. For reasons that I don't understand, this issue alone is a very heated debate and hot topic that has reached new heights in the General Assembly. Go figure. I don't get it.
The budget scrapped nearly $94 million in skill game revenue anticipated for fiscal year 2025 and ticked off many convienience store owners. The legislature will probably meet again before the year is out to address how to handle skill games in Virginia.
Of all of the issues facing Virginians I can't figure out for the life of me why this single issue seems to have become one of the hottest issues that is before the General Assembly.
The House and Senate both went into recess after acting on the budget, rather than adjourn. So they are not still not finished for the year, despite passing a budget. Why? So they can further debate and discuss how to handle skill games in Virginia. I can personally think of many higher priority issues, but it does appear the General Assembly will return to rehash skill games.
I personally don't believe it's worth bringing legislators back to Richmond for the sole purpose of addressing skill games in Virginia. In my humble opinion, it can wait until the 2025 legislative session in January.
By going into recess instead of adjourning for the year, the legislature can call itself back into session to discuss potentially giving all localities the option of raising the sales tax on themselves to pay for school construction. Another reason, the General Assembly should not meet again until January. More taxes on Virginians could be passed.
It concerns me that even some Republicans are interested in raising taxes locally to cover school construction. If a locality is struggling, then taxing the people in that area will only make matters worse. Instead cut some of these well intended commemorative programs and celebrations and let's find money in the budget to help these struggling schools. | 
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