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On Sunday, the 2010 session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die. It has been a productive session with achievements in a variety of areas including job creation, economic development, public safety, and government reform. However, as I reported in my last update, the issue that consumed us all in the final days of the session was the budget.
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This year was the thirteenth year that I have been appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to serve as a conferee and negotiate the final budget. While I have been through some challenging budget conferences before, none has compared to the difficulty and intensity of this year's conference.
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I have reported in previous updates about Virginia's current budget dilemma with fewer dollars available for us to use in funding core government services. The budgets advanced by the House and the Senate demonstrated vastly different approaches to closing a shortfall that exceeded $4 billion. There were significant gaps in funding for education - the House proposed cuts of $685 million, the Senate $143 million. There were gaps in new fees to recover costs of services provided - the House proposed no new fees, the Senate over $230 million in new fees.
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Entering the conference with such significant differences made negotiations difficult and unpredictable. There were times when we seemed to make progress and times when we seemed stalled. There were times when we thought session would adjourn on time and times when we thought it would be significantly extended. There were times when negotiations were positive and times when they grew testy.
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The outcome of these negotiations was a strong budget that encompasses the best of the proposals offered by the House and the Senate. There is plenty not to like in this budget - the cuts are significant and painful to many. But given the economic realities that we face, this budget offers a means to address them while streamlining government, maintaining our AAA bond rating, and minimizing the negative effects on the people of Virginia. It is a budget that meets the criteria I established during the conference and hence, I supported the conference report.
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A few of the highlights of the budget conference report are:
- Limits reductions in the area of K-12 education to $253 million (compared to the House of Delegates position of $685 million);
- Restores $167.8 million for local constitutional officers that were either significantly reduced or eliminated in the budget introduced by Governor Kaine;
- Eliminates the state employee share of retirement contribution proposed by Governor Kaine to be paid by our current state employees;
- Adds no furlough days for state employees beyond the one already scheduled this May;
- Provides $46.3 million for the Governor McDonnell's economic development and jobs creation plan, including a deposit of $12 million in the Governor's Opportunity Fund. This money will be used to attract new business investments and jobs to the Commonwealth;
- Includes language to direct anticipated federal funds for medical assistance programs to restore reductions in Medicaid reimbursement rates;
- Provides greater oversight of current information technology outsourcing agreement in response to the recent controversy over VITA;
- Increases some user fees and cost recovery fees, but provides no broad-based tax or fee increases; continues to provide car tax relief at same level as recent years and eliminates proposed increase in E-911 telephone charges
I would encourage you to review the summary of the Budget Conference Report prepared by the Senate Finance Committee staff to learn more about the particulars of what is included in the final budget. |
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Although this has been a trying session, I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish both with legislation and with closing a difficult budget shortfall. I will send more information on legislative accomplishments in the coming days. In the meantime, thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Senate of Virginia. |
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Walter Stosch
12th Senatorial District
Commonwealth of Virginia
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Please use my Senate website as a useful resource and to contact me
during the General Assembly and throughout the year.
Authorized and paid for by Friends of WALTER STOSCH |
