Democrats and Republicans across Virginia are divided about affordability.
How much will the Democrats’ affordability agenda cost? That's a question members of the House and Senate will be asking themselves during the legislative session this year as they balance the books for the fiscal year. Republicans are adding up the numbers, and Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle says it'll cost Virginians more than $4,000 a year.
"Virginians not only have to prepare for the storm but they have to know that the money they will be paying to heat their houses and keep their families safe are going to be more because of the policies of this governor and our Democratic colleagues," McDougle says.
Democrats say Republicans are using fuzzy math.
"What they're really saying is don't tax the billionaires," says Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
"It's kind of like saying, ‘You know what? That things are more expensive because we have to have health insurance.’ Which is better? Being sick in the hospital or dead or having health insurance, right? It's a very slippery slope to anarchy in a lot of ways; these kinds of things that they advocate."
This is the second year of a two-year budget, so the money committees will be putting together what they call a "caboose budget," heading out of the train station at the conclusion of the legislative session in mid-March.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
