The Virginia General Assembly reconvened in Richmond as originally planned on April 17, 2024 but adjourned early, after only one day. Originally, this session was to address changes made by the Governor to both the bipartisan budget bill and dozens of legislative bills that were unresolved were passed by the General Assembly in the 2024 session that adjourned on March 9 but were not yet resolved.
Before any discussion on the budget or bills, the House of Delegates used a procedural maneuver to vote down all the amendments Governor Youngkin made to their Budget bill. This action was a compromise with Governor Youngkin that extended the timeline for resolving the budget and offered a reset for the unproductive and often contentious budget process in play over the past few months. The new, not yet developed, compromise version of the state budget will be addressed in Special Session 1 that will begin May 13.
Major sticking points in Virginia’s two-year budget included the Governor’s desire to cut taxes versus the legislature’s desire to more fully fund K-12 education. Governor Youngkin had cut funding in the General Assembly’s Conference budget for a number of K-12 priorities, including reducing funding for at-risk students’ programs and the Commonwealth’s contribution intended to increase the number of teachers for English language learners.
It appears that a willingness to compromise and extend the budget deadline was in response to news that the general fund has grown by 6.2% for the fiscal year to date, so there may not be a need for a tax increase or dramatic cuts to K-12 education. The tax deadline is May 1 and the new deadline for the two-year budget has been extended to May 13.
Also planned for the upcoming special session is finalizing a number of unresolved K-12 education bills. In addition to the bills that the Governor has either signed or vetoed, the Governor made recommendations to other bills that were subsequently rejected by the initiating chamber. The rejected recommendations were communicated to the Governor and he has until May 17 to act on those bills.
To follow the updated status of the K-12 legislative bills, go to this link.