Jim Shuler’s Legislative Report 2-24-01

Money Matters

The very last legislative measure the General Assembly considers is the final, compromise budget and, traditionally, I use this last column to draw attention to significant items in the budget that will impact the state or our region in the New River Valley. Today, my column will be very short. For the first time in my tenure as a legislator, we will adjourn without a budget—at least a budget specifically amended to meet the needs and realities of 2001-2002. What will be in force is the broad budget enacted a year ago to encompass the biennium period.

The process is not a complicated one. The House of Delegates Appropriations Committee considers all new requests for funding and presents to the full House a budget bill. After lengthy debate and fine-tuning, the budget is passed. The Senate goes through an identical process. There are, of course, differences between the two and budget conferees (4 from the House, 4 from the Senate) are appointed to work out a final, compromise budget. There is always a certain amount of posturing, grandstanding, heel digging, and occasional threats that this time the conferees are too far apart and there is no possibility of finding a compromise position—but, knowing the vital nature of an operating budget, they always do. Until this year.

Throughout the 2001 session, the budget has been the big question mark. The Governor, in order to cover the increasing fiscal demands required by the car tax refund, opted to remove cash from programs and then requested that the state borrow against future assets. The House of Delegates supported the Governor’s requirement of a 70% car tax rebate, along with bond debt and low salary increases for educators and state employees. Astonishingly the Governor’s budget and the House version found new money to expand advertising for liquor sales and Lottery games. The Senate version set the return level at 55% and provided higher raises for teachers, faculty, state employees and additional money for children’s health, environmental concerns, school construction and mental health.

Again, a first in my legislative career, I voted against the House Budget proposal. The car tax refund actually translates to less than $50 annually for the majority of citizens in the New River Valley. I could not in good conscience support full funding for the car tax refund at the jeopardy of teachers, students, young children, schools, rivers and the mentally ill. Further, it is beyond my comprehension how the Governor could take money from existing, critical state programs and services to provide money for the promotion of liquor sales and The Lottery. I think it suggests our priorities are seriously skewed.

The House and the Senate budgets went into the conference process, but this time there was no room for compromise. The Governor/House representatives remained true to insisting on the 70% return shored by debt, the Senate conferees refused to give up their position on not borrowing and funding programs and services.

Without a 2001 budget, the skeleton budget enacted in 2000 stands. That budget contains no teacher, faculty or state employee raises, no funds for arts or cultural programs like the Christiansburg Institute, Solitude or the Andrew Johnston House in Giles County, and scaled down allocations for Virginia Tech. Ironically, there will need to be even further cuts in last year’s budget because projected revenue has come in $450 million lower than initially anticipated, so money is not actually available to pay expenses. The Governor will have to make the additional cuts to programs and agencies in order to cover costs from his car tax.

If we leave Richmond with no budget, the Governor is expected to call a special session of the legislature in late March to focus specifically on budget concerns. We can hope that the reflection time will provide a necessary cooling off period so more reasonable, judicious heads will prevail. It is, however, hard to believe the issues will have changed much over a four-week period, and I do not intend to return simply to support a budget proposal that will not effectively serve the real needs of the New River Valley.

This is my last column from Richmond. I will return the first week of March to my local legislative office in Blacksburg. If you have questions about action stemming from the 2001 session or wish to contact my office for assistance with any state matters, you may reach me through any of the following:

Jim Shuler’s Legislative telephone 540-953-1103
Jim Shuler’s Legislative fax 540-951-4809
E-mail address delegateshuler@aol.com
Local address 1480 S. Main Street, 24060