Virginia's latest financial forecast shows a growing budget surplus. That's changing the ongoing discussion about the budget impasse.
Republicans want tax cuts. Democrats want services. Both sides missed the deadline to have budget amendments when the new fiscal year started at the beginning of this month. But now, Governor Glenn Youngkin says the budget surplus is even bigger than anticipated, and he says there's enough money to give everybody what they want.
"That will enable us, I hope, to take off the table concerns that this is an ‘or’ moment. This is an ‘and’ moment," Youngkin says. "We can reduce the cost of living for Virginians with tax relief, and we can have an incremental, record investment in education, in law enforcement, in behavioral health; we can accomplish both."
Democrats worry about the out years. What will happen when all that stimulus money fades and Virginia has permanent tax cuts five years from now, or 10 years from now? Senator Creigh Deeds says making yet another permanent tax cut is irresponsible.
"I think this governor is determined to raise his national stature by proposing permanent tax cuts every single year," Deeds says. "And we just can't do all the things we want to do if we are going to pretend that surpluses exist every single year."
Deeds predicts Republicans and Democrats will strike some kind of deal in the next month or so. But the clock is ticking: the fall election season will make it difficult for the kind of budget negotiations that generally happen before summertime.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
