Lawmakers are expected to return to the Capitol in Richmond next month for a special session on the budget.
Budget standoffs are nothing new in Virginia politics, and recent years have seen a number of disagreements that extend all the way to, and sometimes even past, the deadline of the new fiscal year – beginning on July 1st.
Former Governor Jim Gilmore says the current governor has the upper hand in his continuing standoff with members of the General Assembly.
"Basically, the legislature I think ran up the white flag and said, ‘We’re not going to accommodate this governor unless we start over,’" Gilmore says. "And I think that's a victory for him."
But will members of the General Assembly end up victorious in the end? Bill Leighty is a former chief of staff to two former governors, and he says lawmakers usually have the upper hand in these kinds of negotiations.
"They're the ones that have the power to put the budget in place, so the governor is really following the lead of the legislature when it comes to the budget," says Leighty.
If members of the General Assembly are unable to come to an agreement with the governor, Virginia might end up facing a government shutdown unless they can strike a deal before the 1st of July.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
