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State legislators pass a two-year budget Date published: 3/15/2010
BY CHELYEN DAVIS RICHMOND --State lawmakers passed a two-year, $70 billion budget yesterday that mitigates cuts to education and law enforcement, making up a $4 billion revenue shortfall by raising fees but without general tax increases.They then adjourned the 2010 legislative session, which had gone one day into overtime to finish budget work. House and Senate negotiators had worked until about 1 a.m. yesterday to finalize the budget deal. Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, one of the budget negotiators, said he's satisfied with the final product. "It's all damage control, trying to control the damage this horrible economy is causing to state services," Houck said. "We really have minimized the loss of jobs." With little debate, the Senate approved the budget by a vote of 34-6; the House followed soon after with a vote of 73-23. The pared-down spending blueprint for state operations reverts the budget through 2012 to its 2006 levels. And it leaves city and county governments to make up for state cuts by either curbing local services, boosting local taxes or a combination of both. The budget contains deeper cuts than those proposed originally by outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine, who used tax increases to cover about $2 billion of the deficit. The final budget increases various fees by about $100 million, and relies on more than $600 million in "savings" by not paying the full state share into the state employee retirement system for the next two years. It includes a requirement, insisted upon by the Senate, to repay that money within 10 years. Cuts to public education ended up less dire in the final budget than had been proposed by the House of Delegates. The budget cuts $250 million from public education on top of the cuts proposed by Kaine. The budget also suspends requirements for schools to provide staff for classes in English as a second language, elementary resource teachers, gifted-student teachers, librarians and guidance counselors. It increases the reimbursement for school breakfasts from 20 cents to 22 cents; reduces textbook funding; and provides money in the first year to make up a loss to some school divisions from a regular recalibrating of the composite index. Even in the poor economy, lawmakers added 250 new waivers for services for disabled people, a priority of the House budget negotiators.
Date published: 3/15/2010
The rest stops are open again!
About $1B ($253M + Kaine's cuts) of the $4B comes on the backs of VA's 1.3M school children. These 1.3M citizens don't vote or line campaign coffers in Richmond. According to the Census 44% of the kids in the US are in a racial or ethnic minority but now there is now no requirement for ESL assistance. By 2023 they will be the new majority. Some of Stafford's textbooks are 8-9 years old. Old buses cost $1 more per mile to operate and maintain. Stimulus funds expire - FY12 is a much bigger disaster.
mistake by not funding the alloted judgeships in the State. There are now going to be jurisdictions that have not full time sitting judge and must rely on the availability of retired judges. This is an outrage to our judicial system.
Bulk up the "rainy day" fund to $50 million?
The final budget increases various fees by about $100 million, and relies on more than $600 million in "savings" by not paying the full state share into the state employee retirement system for the next two years.
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