The Virginia General Assembly’s budget-writing committees on Sunday proposed more taxpayer money for transportation, state employee pay raises, health care programs and education Sunday.
The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee each released their proposed amendments to the two-year budget that Virginia lawmakers approved last year. The amendments outline how approximately $800 million in surplus revenue will be spent. Senior legislators will negotiate a compromise between the two plans in the next three weeks.
The House’s transportation budget does not include any of the revenue that would be raised if the accord leading Republicans reached on transportation becomes law. Instead, the House included $569 million in surplus funds for transportation, of which $339 million will go for high-priority projects such as the high-occupancy toll lanes on the Beltway.
The Senate allocated $500 million in surplus funds for transportation, with $339 million going to high-priority projects. Like the House, the Senate did not include money from its transportation-funding bill, which many House Republicans oppose. The Senate plan does not earmark funds specifically for the toll lanes on the Beltway, but Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said the Beltway toll lanes would be funded.
“After four years, we are still looking for a transportation solution,” said Sen. John Chichester, R-Fredericksburg, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
For health care, the House proposed spending an additional $25 million for aid to needy families, $14.9 million to increase payments to doctors treating Medicaid patients and $7 million to expand medical programs for low-income Virginians. The Senate also included funding for low-income medical programs and higher payments to doctors.
Public school teachers would get an additional 3 percent in their paychecks in the House proposal, and state employees would see a 4-percent hike.
The Senate also included funding for the 3 percent raise but did not earmark money for general pay raises, instead opting for targeted raises for high-demand professions.
The House’s plan allocates $12 million to increase state financial aid to college students and a program that offers financial incentives to colleges and universities to limit tuition increases.
In a key difference between the plans, the Senate agreed with Gov. Tim Kaine’s request to spend about $4 million on pilot programs to expand preschool in Virginia, but the House rejected the idea.
