The Virginia Senate used an expected windfall of federal stimulus cash on Wednesday to scale back its proposed cuts to public safety, health care and school funding.
Lawmakers restored $216 million to core services that had been slashed as part of the Senate’s original budget plan, which the Senate Finance Committee first approved last week.
The Democrat-led house, by a vote of 36-4, eased cuts to local law enforcement, mental health facilities, school support staff and textbook purchases. It reined in Gov. Tim Kaine’s proposal to allow 90-day early release to nonviolent prison inmates, cutting by half the number of inmates eligible.
Kaine, who in December announced proposed cuts to the state’s two-year budget to close a $2.9 billion shortfall, this week said Virginia could expect more than $1 billion from the stimulus to balance its budget. Most of that infusion, however, would be eaten up by a new $800 million shortfall that has opened since the governor’s proposal.
That new gap is caused by revenues falling short of Kaine’s already stark projections. Tax collections between July and January showed the worst year-to-date drop on record.
Lawmakers are worried Virginia’s recession will outlast the federal bailout. On the Senate floor, Finance Committee Chairman Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, warned of the temporary nature of the stimulus funding.
“We cannot afford to get hooked on them, because you know, they will disappear in a few years,” Colgan said. “Instead the funds should be used to help Virginia as we transition through a rough period.”
