Week 9 Part 2: We Adopt A Budget and Saturday Video Town Hall Announced
Dear Friend,
We just completed the last week of the 2020 session and met our constitutional obligation to adopt a biennium budget. The $135 billion spending plan funds many priorities that Democrats promised to deliver on during the November election season.
Before I go into the specifics of the budget, you should be aware that the overriding uncertainty of the Coronavirus was acknowledged and the need to reshuffle priorities, at the request of the Governor, will be honored. However, the Republican leadership in the Senate wanted to delay passage of the budget in an attempt to limit the Governor’s authority related to emergency funding decisions. I believe that delaying passage of the budget would have interjected even more uncertainty and limited our ability to calm the financial markets, mitigate impacts on Virginia’s tourism and trade, and ensure the seamless operations of local governments and our public school systems. Fortunately, my Democratic colleagues and some Republicans shared this view. The budget passed with 21 Democratic votes and 6 Republican votes.
Highlights of the biennium budget are noted below. I am also hosting a Facebook Live chat on Saturday, March 14 from 10:00am to 11:30am to discuss the session and topics that constituents have been asking about. Should you have any questions that you would like answered or discussed during this chat, you may submit them now by email to district31@senate.virginia.gov.
K-12 Public Education - Virginia has the sixth highest per capita income of any state in the United States but we rank 29th out of 50 on average teacher salaries. In the 2020-2022 budget, there is enough money to fund the state’s portion of a 2% salary increase in each year of the budget. Funding is also provided to lower the counselor to student ratios at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Professionals made the case that students learn better in an environment that supports them and gives them the tools to navigate conflicts and challenges. In an effort to address equity and opportunity in a very real way, the budget provides a healthy increase to at-risk schools.
Transportation Funding Boosted & Decentralized - We passed a far-reaching proposal, at the request of Governor Northam, that raises the gasoline tax statewide by 10 cents over two years. The bill also adds a regional gas tax for local projects in areas that currently do not have such a tax. A regional gas tax is already in place in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and along Interstate 81 for local projects, and this tax will not be increasing.
The legislation specifically funds the following:
Smart Scale, the data-driven model for new capacity transportation projects;
Interstates, secondary, and city streets to meet safety and performance targets;
Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, to help restore funding for regional priorities;
I-81 Debt Authorization to accelerate a $2 billion program of projects;
Matching Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) funds for WMATA; and
Critical or Special bridges and tunnels.
Higher Education & Debt Free Community College - Other areas, such as faculty salaries at our state institutions of higher learning and student financial aid also gained increases. I am particularly gratified that the General Assembly substantially funded the Governor’s program to provide debt free community college for students with incomes at 400% of the Federal poverty level or less and entering high demand workforce tracks. Although I had advocated for a broader debt free college plan last session, the Governor’s program, commonly referred to as the G3 program – Get Skilled, Get a Job and Give Back, is a great start. In fact, Virginia is one of the first in the country to offer wrap around funding to students receiving Pell Grants and attending school full time under the debt free program. These wrap-around grants can be as much as a $1,000 per semester, or up to $500 per summer term, and can be used to pay for food, transportation, or child care services.
Healthcare - Medicaid reimbursement rates will be increased to reach approximately 80% of the cost of a procedure, and rates paid to personal assistants under the Waiver program will be increased. I had worked on a paid sick day bill that would have ensured personal care assistants could earn sick leave and take that leave to care for themselves or family members. The leave was capped at 5 days per year for a full-time employee. Unfortunately, this bill did not pass, but similar proposals are being discussed in Congress.
Dental Coverage for Medicaid Recipients - My budget amendment to provide comprehensive dental care to Medicaid recipients is in the adopted budget! Thank you to NVAN and the Virginia AARP for your awesome advocacy on this topic. Articles on the value of dental care noted that individuals without dental insurance are 67% more likely to suffer from heart disease. This is an interesting statistic and may mean that those without dental insurance also face other barriers to accessing medical care.
Casinos Approved in Five Areas - The adopted budget specifies that Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville, and Bristol could place referendum questions on the ballot asking voters for permission to enter agreements with casinos. Once this threshold is met, the localities could choose a casino operator as a partner, subject to a pre-certification review by a new gaming division at the Virginia Lottery. The selected casino operator would have to pay a $15 million fee for a 10 year license, subject to a year long review by the Lottery. The state and local tax rates on gaming revenues would follow this schedule: an 18% state tax and 6% local tax would be applied to the first $200 million in gross profits, a 23% state tax and 7% local tax to gross profits between $200 million and $400 million, and a 30% state tax and 8% local tax would be applied to gross profits above $400 million. Lawmakers from the jurisdictions that are eligible for the casinos worked vigorously for the passage of this legislation. They believe casinos will bring much needed employment opportunities and economic activity to their localities.
Colonial Downs is Protected - Colonial Downs will be able to install up to 2,000 additional electronic historical horse racing machines at its Rosie’s Gaming Emporium locations, including 1,650 at a pending operation in Dumfries, a small town in Prince William County.
This has certainly been a busy session and much progress has been made on things that really matter to Virginians. I look forward to connecting with you, probably through social media, as we try to navigate the many challenges ahead. Thank you for your on-going support.
Sincerely,
Senator Barbara Favola
31st District - Representing Parts of Arlington, Fairfax & Loudoun