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Virginia Republicans and Democrats promised a more transparent budget process and greater cooperation in solving a deep fiscal crisis before the Wednesday start of a legislative session already marred by lawsuits and political bickering. Legislative leaders from both sides vowed to wrap up the commonwealth’s financial blueprint by the scheduled March 10 deadline. The goal is to outline any discrepancies early and hammer them out in the open before a joint committee meets in private to reconcile differences between the House of Delegates and the Senate.
Republicans, led by Dels. Lacey Putney and Kirk Cox and Sens. Tommy Norment and Walter Stosch, joined Democratic Sen. Chuck Colgan and House Minority Leader Del. David Toscano to push for the changes and vowed to work together more cordially this session.
The group also said General Assembly members will have 24 hours to review the final budget compromise from the conference committee.
Lawmakers are poised for a testy showdown over the budget in a state Senate now split between 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, has the power to break tie votes in the Senate, but that authority doesn’t extend to the budget. That means Democrats will have some leverage to force negotiations on budget issues.
Democrats are already planning to use their numbers to block Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to shift a portion of the state sales tax to fund road repairs. McDonnell presented his budget last month, an $85 billion, two-year spending blueprint that cuts $900 million largely from Medicaid providers, schools and social services.
Virginia Democrats earlier filed a lawsuit asking the courts to decide whether Republicans have the authority to run the Senate as though they have a majority, which would give them control over committee assignments. A judge refused to issue an injunction to stop the Senate from meeting, but Sen. Don McEachin, D-Henrico, the Democratic caucus chairman, indicated last week that the issue would be raised again.
