Virginia’s House and Senate passed budget plans on Thursday that diverged deeply on how to fund essential services such as health care, education and transportation as well as how to close a $1.4 billion revenue shortfall, setting the stage for a partisan clash as lawmakers seek to forge a single spending plan.
Senators, whose new Democratic majority passed their two-year budget on a narrow 21-19 party-line vote, quarreled over the loss of consensus and geniality that for years characterized the chamber. The budget passed the Senate Finance Committee Sunday on an equally split vote.
“I feel like I’ve been sucker-punched,” said Sen. R. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, on the newfound rancor.
Senate Democrats fought off parliamentary wrangling from Republican Lt. Gov. William Bolling, who ruled that the diversion of more than $20 million in unexpected lottery revenue from education would require the chamber to pass its budget by an 80 percent vote. Democrats, who argued the money still would go to education, overruled Bolling.
The largest quarrel emerged over how much to dip into the state’s rainy-day reserve fund to help close the shortfall. The Senate’s plan tracks closely with Gov. Tim Kaine’s, drawing out $423 million. Sen. Walter Stosch, R-Glen Allen, warned such an extensive tapping of the rainy-day fund would leave nothing for coming years.
The Republican-controlled House wants to withdraw about half of that.
Lawmakers also approved largely different proposals on health care, teacher salaries, transportation and other services in the budget, which totals about $77 billion.
Teachers would see a 2.5 percent raise next year under the Senate budget, or a 2 percent raise this school year under the House’s.
The Senate is seeking a 5-cent gas tax to paydown the state’s expanding road maintenance deficit, which the House is unlikely to approve.
The House budget, in turn, contains a provision that would force Kaine to re-bid the faltering Dulles Rail project in an effort to save federal funding, which may see opposition in a Senate more in line with the governor.
The Senate would fund much of Kaine’s proposed expansion of pre-kindergarten to more poor children, while the House cuts the program far more substantially.
Education advocates have warned that the House’s plan alters a funding methodology that sets teacher salaries, which would force local governments to shoulder a larger fiscal burden and likely raise property taxes.
