It’s not over until it’s over, but only judicial
appointments and the veto session keep the 2014 Special Session I of the
General Assembly from being over.
Tumult preceded yesterday’s session, which ended well past
midnight. A botched revenue forecast put
the state $1.55 billion behind projections.
Senator Philip Puckett resigned, returning the Senate to Republican control,
and Representative Eric Cantor was upset by Tea Party upstart David Brat.
These three events created a perfect storm which led to a
very disappointing budget outcome last night.
Hastened by the anticipated revenue shortfall in the next
biennium and the need to pass a budget by June 30 to access the “Rainy Day Fund”
to partially offset this shortfall, the General Assembly worked frantically to
pass the 2014-2016 biennial budget. This
budget includes a $847.5 million revenue reserve fund and anticipates a $707.5
million withdrawal from the “Rainy Day Fund” to achieve balance.
The good news is that rebenchmarking and VRS funding were
not cut. The bad news is that we lost
the teacher and support staff salary increases and the language allowing school
division participation in the state health insurance program.
Had Medicaid Expansion been included in the budget, the
resulting $225 million in savings could have offset some of the shortfall and
consequently have reduced the cuts.
The new Republican Senate majority, empowered by Puckett’s
resignation and fearful of Brat-inspired Tea Party primaries, inserted Senator
Stanley’s amendment thwarting any effort by the Governor to expand Medicaid
without the approval of the General Assembly.
Will the Governor sign the budget, line-item veto this
section of the budget, or will he veto the entire budget and send the General
Assembly back to work?
