Virginia House OKs budget; Senate waits for stimulus

Virginia’s House of Delegates, despite uncertainty in the state’s already grim financial outlook, plowed forward with a plan Thursday to close a nearly $3 billion budget shortfall. The Senate opted to wait until the release of the latest state tax data and the details of a massive federal stimulus bill.

The Republican-controlled House voted 88-11 after an hours-long review of contentious spending items to approve its changes to Gov. Tim Kaine’s two-year budget, which he proposed in December with heavy cuts to education, health care, public safety and other core services.