The Virginia House and Senate have each passed their respective budgets – setting the stage for wrangling in the coming weeks over funding on items like K-12 education, health care, and transportation.
The House budget cuts about $50 million in direct aid to public education, while the Senate increases spending on K-12 by about $100 million. The Senate budget also restores about $105 million for Medicaid providers and servicers.
Meanwhile, the House budget caps personal care hours for elderly and disabled Medicaid waiver programs at 40 per week for a savings of about $21 million, which is expected to let more people on waiting lists receive care.
A major sticking point among Democrats was the House’s using $150 million in general fund money for transportation. The Senate, meanwhile, diverted that money to other services like education and health care funding.
The vote tally was 69-28 in the House and 37-3 in the Senate.
