Virginia’s top elected officials appeared unified around the promise of a real compromise budget during Wednesday’s veto session.
“We’ve got work to do. That doesn’t mean we’ve agreed on one, we’ve just got work to do,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said.
He appeared, for the first time, in collaboration with Senator Louise Lucas after months of tension. The two, along with leadership from the rest of the legislature, agreed to call a special session after a fight over Democrat’s more progressive changes to Youngkin’s original budget.
“We may have different ways we thought we’d get there, but now we’re going to work towards something that will keep the temperature down a bit,” Lucas said.
The Portsmouth Senator, who often took to social media to chide Youngkin, said the goal in the next few weeks was to find compromises to get the process done.
“Nothing has helped this process more than everybody getting around the table and talking about what we can all do to help Virginia," she said.
Over in the House of Delegates, Finance Committee Chair Luke Torian said Youngkin’s administration had already begun working with Democrats to craft a more agreeable financial plan for the Commonwealth.
“Everything will be up for discussion and deliberation,” Torian told Radio IQ. “No decisions have been made at this point.”
And House Speaker Don Scott was also optimistic about a special session budget. He said only in the last few days had Youngkin begun to reach out and communicate more, showing the Speaker a new commitment to collaboration between the executive and legislative branches.
“I think this is the best result so we can take care of the people’s business and take care of it in a serious and deliberative way,” said Scott.
Youngkin said the special session would start May 13th and run through the 15th.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
