Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are finally talking to each other — instead of about each other — as they work to build a new state budget. That’s good news.
While there is plenty of mistrust for the two sides to overcome given the months of partisan grandstanding which preceded it, a thaw in this frigid relationship bodes well for Virginia. It gives rise to optimism, however cautious, that they can deliver an agreement that serves the many needs of the commonwealth.
When lawmakers returned to Richmond earlier this month for the one-day “veto” session, they were faced with an unprecedented challenge.
The legislature had in March approved a budget agreement and sent it to the governor’s desk, only to have Youngkin return it with 242 amendments to consider. This wasn’t business as usual in Virginia, and more than one Democrat accused Youngkin of trying to circumvent the General Assembly to rewrite the budget himself.
The governor had, in December, proposed a spending plan radically different from what the legislature approved. He wanted to make sweeping changes to the tax structure, shifting income brackets and expanding the sales tax to cover digital purchases and services, and expand spending in areas that align with his administration’s priorities.
But that budget blueprint never stood a chance in a legislature where Democrats hold slim majorities in both chambers. The governor is of course free to propose whatever budget he wants, but this was a no-go from the start — particularly considering Youngkin’s rocky relationship with key lawmakers, such as Senate Finance Committee Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, needed to win passage.
In that same vein, the spending plan the General Assembly approved would have retained the governor’s sales tax expansion without offsets to what would be a substantial increase in the overall tax burden for Virginians. Democrats planned to use the additional revenue for their policy priorities, many of which Youngkin opposes.
Thus, the impasse. While the governor thankfully eschewed the nuclear option of a budget veto, which would have been the first in memory, his abundant amendments reflected his displeasure with the legislature’s work, as did a series of rallies he conducted across the commonwealth decrying the Democratic budget as “backwards.”
Entering into the veto session on April 17, it was unclear if Democrats would double down by ruling Youngkin’s amendments out of order and, in essence, challenge him to accept or reject the budget as approved.
Thankfully, a remarkable thing happened: The two sides began to talk to one another, in person, about how to proceed. They pledged, in a rare joint news conference, to work together on a new budget plan that will be considered at a special legislative session beginning May 13.
“Nothing helps this process more than everybody getting together and sitting around the table and talking about what we can all do to help Virginia,” Lucas said. “I think we all may have different ways we thought we were going to get there, but I think now we are going to work towards something that will keep the temperature down a little bit.”
There is a practical benefit to that timeline, as well. The state income tax filing deadline is May 1, meaning officials will have a sharper picture of revenue collections as they craft a new spending plan.
None of that ensures the process’ success. Both sides could still hold so tightly to their priorities that an agreement proves impossible. And this truce is tenuous, meaning a few ill-tempered words could break a fragile peace.
Still, this is an indication that Virginia’s leaders have remembered that their responsibility is to the public they serve and the betterment of the commonwealth as a whole. Virginians might have preferred they reached this realization long before, but that they did at all lends some hope that a genuine common-ground budget will be the end result.
