Virginia Senate House budgets head to floor with key differences

Henrico County schools would get up to $307 million in state funding this year and $318 million in 2022 under House and Senate budget plans now under consideration.

Both budgets direct about the same amount of money to Henrico, but legislators will have to reconcile other key differences in the biennial budget after each chamber’s appropriations committee passed the latest budget amendments Wednesday. Both chambers voted Thursday to discuss the respective budgets further Friday.

Both House and Senate budgets focus largely on funding toward COVID-19 response, including money for equitable and effective vaccination efforts, contact tracing and testing, and personal protective equipment. These reports were delayed this week caused in part by Sunday’s snow and the recent start of the special session called by Gov. Ralph Northam.

The following differences will need to be addressed before Northam can approve a new two-year plan.

Education

The budgets differ greatly for elementary and secondary education. While the House version of the budget recommends a 5 percent raise for teachers, the Senate budget calls for a 3 percent raise and not until fiscal year 2022. Both include about $27 million for more school counselors and the Senate’s proposal also specifies $49 million for specialized student support positions. But this is a significant drop from the budget amendment proposed by Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Henrico, who wanted more than $460 million for greater staffing of counselors as well as other administrative positions and teacher mentors.

Funding for learning loss caused by the pandemic differs by $20 million, with the House’s proposal offering about $50 million, versus $30 million from the Senate.

Both budgets include $36 million toward the creation of the G3 program, which would offer free tuition for eligible low to middle income students seeking certain two-year degrees at Virginia community colleges.

The Senate budget also includes a provision to “authorize prudent debt restructuring, given the current interest rate environment, to provide relief in FY 2021, FY 2022, and in FY 2023, potentially totaling up to $232 million in savings,” according to the Higher Education Subcommittee report. This would be possible if SB 1134 passes the House after it unanimously passed the Senate in the 2021 regular session.

The House provides more money for Old Dominion and George Mason University with $24 million, while the Senate provides $13.5 million in total and not until fiscal year 2022.

Transportation

The Senate provides more funding than the House budget for train systems, using more than $137 million for the expansion of daily passenger rail service from Washington D.C. to the New River Valley. The House version provides $50 million for this rail project.

“Public transit is vital to Commonwealth’s future, because it reduces congestion on our roads and helps mitigate the impact that motor vehicle emissions have on our environment,” said Del. Paul Krizek, D-Alexandria, Chair of the Transportation and Public Safety Subcommittee.

The Senate’s budget also prioritizes more funding for multi-use outdoor trails, because of greater demand during the pandemic, including a one-time payment of $55 million, while the House only includes $5 million for such trails.

Capital Outlay

The proposed budgets also have significant differences regarding capital outlay projects. The House budget includes $220 million in Virginia College Authority Bonds with $58.3 million going to projects at George Mason University and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The House budget also includes $120 million for the Enhanced Nutrient Removal Certainty Program in Chesapeake Bay outlined in HB 2129, which passed the House and was continued to the Senate for this special session.

The Senate’s capital outlay report does not include funding for George Mason or VIMS, instead pointing to outstanding debts that must be accounted for.

“We studied our Debt Capacity status and outlook, and considered the potential pipeline of projects that will be before us in future years,” the report states. “We are still grappling with a few projects that were approved for planning back in the 2016 Session that have not yet been authorized for construction… Once again our recommended amendments reduce the overall amount as compared to the introduced budget.”

The Senate did support a replacement Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Building and endorsed a “primary focus this year on infrastructure/life safety projects.”

Health and Human Resources

Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, chair of the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee, called his section of the budget, “one of the most complicated and emotionally charged areas of the budget, because it deals with the provision of services to our most vulnerable citizens.”

Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, chair of the Senate’s Health and Human Resources Subcommittee, said their part of the budget was a net saver. The report recommends less money — $108 million — than Northam’s previously proposed amendment for the vaccination program in Virginia at just $108 million. Conversely, the House budget recommends $114 million more than Northam’s budget by using new federal money.

One major item that the House includes to increase spending is $83.2 million to continue per diem payments to nursing facilities. The House also includes nearly $7 million for paid sick leave as outlined by HB 2137, which passed the House last session and continued to the Senate for this special session.

Reserves

The House budget includes a $130 million deposit in the Revenue Reserve Fund, in addition to the $650 million already agreed upon for fiscal year 2022. The Senate only includes the $650 million, which would still bring the reserve fund to $1.9 billion and more than 8 percent of the general fund revenues.

Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Del. Luke Torian, D-Dale City, said the House budget’s major goals included money toward COVID-19 monitoring and vaccination efforts, investing in the revenue reserve because federal funding might run dry next year, and offering raises to state employees.

“Virginia is in a strong fiscal standing thanks to prudent decisions made by the administration and this committee throughout the last year,” Torian said.