Members of the General Assembly are expected to end their legislative session this weekend. But, they might end up leaving town without passing a budget.
The stakes for this year's budget aren't quite as high this year because lawmakers are only making amendments to the budget that was approved last year. So, even if they never take any action, the existing budget would hold. For now, though, Republican Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight says the House of Delegates has staked out its position.
"We want tax relief, and they want to try to put extra money in education on top of the 25% raise we gave them the last two years. So, we've made tremendous gains in education," Knight says. "In a perfect world, we're just trying to find a happy compromise, and that's what I'm willing to do."
Instead of tax cuts, Democrats who run the Senate want to use that money for services. Here's Senator Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat from Richmond.
"With the surplus that we have, we have a real opportunity to finally more fully fund K-12 schools to make a huge dent in our mental health system when we have a crisis, especially facing our kids," McClellan says.
The General Assembly session is scheduled to end this weekend, and many lawmakers say they're expected to leave town without the money committees cutting a deal. That means they'll probably end up coming back to finish a budget before the new fiscal year begins in July.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
