This Week From Del. Matt Fariss

Setting Virginia’s budget for the next two years is the primary responsibility of the General Assembly, and I’m disappointed to say that we did not get that work accomplished in our constitutionally allotted 60-day window.

House Republicans came to Richmond to get this work done and it should have been easy. Virginia’s finances are flush with cash, and there’s broad agreement on things that need to be in our budget — raises for teachers, more money for schools and law enforcement. But Democrats in the Senate decided to drag the process out and end the session with no budget rather than send significant money back to Virginians in the form of tax relief.

The House version of the budget — which the Senate has rejected — contained $5 billion in tax relief that Virginians need and deserve, including tax rebates of up to $300 for every tax filer and up to $600 for couples. We ended the grocery tax and doubled the standard income tax deduction to put more money back in your paycheck. We also exempted the first $40,000 in veteran retirement benefits from income taxes.

Governor Youngkin’s Administration projects that Virginia’s surplus during the next budget cycle will reach $13.4 billion.

Governor Youngkin has called the General Assembly back to Richmond for a Special Session on April 4 to complete our work on the Commonwealth’s biennial budget and the remaining legislation in conference from the regular session. How long the session will last depends largely on the willingness of Senate Democrats to compromise.

Since we adjourned, the Governor has proposed a gas tax holiday that would lower the price of gas by 26 cents per gallon immediately, saving working families more than $100 each.

We advanced, and I supported, a number of bills during this General Assembly session that give Virginians much-needed tax relief, but the Democratic-controlled Senate refused to budge.

There’s more to this in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Support local journalism by purchasing the issue at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition or view the full article in the e-edition version.