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McAuliffe orders agency heads to cut budgets

Skelley says budget cuts to not impact Virginia elections

Due to a major budget shortfall, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has ordered state agency heads to cut their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.

McAuliffe spokesperson Brian Coy said, due largely to the economy but also a host of other factors, the state will experience an $880 million budget shortfall this year.

“In order to achieve our federal budget, we have to find $346 million in budget reduction or revenue in 2015 and $536 million in 2016,” Coy said.

Center for Politics spokesperson Geoff Skelley said he does not think the budget cuts will have a big impact on the coming Virginia elections, though.

“But obviously budget cuts, in terms of state agencies and government services … the less money there is, the less services there will be,” Skelley said. “The cuts are not ideal for Virginians by any means.”

The governor asked every agency to create a plan of what it would cut, Coy said. Overall, the governor plans to cut 5 percent from agencies this fiscal year.

“There will be a mix of across the board cuts and targeted budget cuts, in which the governor cuts money from certain agencies,” Coy said.

A spokesperson for the Virginia Republicans did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

Though agencies have not determined what cuts to make, Coy said they will try to avoid major cuts for higher education.

“At the end of the day, there will be some services that are going to be impacted, what those are remains to be seen,” Skelley said.

The agency’s budget plans are due by Sept. 17.

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