Gov. Mark R. Warner unveiled modest changes to Virginia's 2003-2004 budget yesterday, tacking on $30.6 million in proposals to the $50 billion budget the General Assembly approved last month.
Adding provisions in education, technology and research, and public safety, Warner submitted 83 amendments that were mostly well received by the Republican-dominated legislature, said Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr., R-McLean.
Warner also reiterated his support for a capital bond package that would authorize bond issues to pay for the construction of buildings and other capital projects at colleges and universities throughout the state.
"It's something that's long overdue in Virginia," said Callahan, a co-sponsor of the bill. "And I hope it gets passed in November."
Before revealing his changes, Warner congratulated the General Assembly for closing the projected $3.8 billion deficit.
"I am proud that we have made the tough choices that impose real fiscal discipline on the Commonwealth in an extraordinarily difficult budget cycle," Warner said in a press release.
But some political analysts were surprised by Warner's amendments, calling the changes minor.
"This is a $50 billion budget we're talking about and a mere $30 million in amendments," Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato said. "These are minor adjustments mainly made for political reasons to satisfy the various constituents that Warner owes."
By tiptoeing through the amendment process, Sabato said Warner seemed "unusually interested in mollifying a Republican legislature" on whom he will later rely to pass his hoped-for Northern Virginia sales tax referendum that would generate transportation funding for the region.
"If people just read the bottom line, they won't be very impressed," Sabato said.
Among his education amendments, Warner added $645,000 to pay for bonuses to teachers who meet the standards of the National Board of Teaching Professionals.
Accounting for the financial strain that rising tuition around the state may place on college students, Warner called for a $2 million increase in financial aid programs.
Warner also supported existing research programs by adding $2.3 million to the budget to cover costs of maintaining research faculty and staff positions in the state's public colleges and universities.
Addressing the concerns of state employees, which includes University workers, Warner added an amendment to allow workers to receive their 2003 bonuses three months earlier on August 30, rather than Dec. 1, 2002. To maintain performance standards, Warner added the condition that bonuses be awarded only to employees performing at a "satisfactory level or better," according to a Warner press release.
Criminal justice amendments include $892,000 to go toward Virginia Exile, a program designed to crack down on illegal gun offenses, and $2.1 million for 12 local Drug Court programs, designed to set probation and provide treatment for drug offenders.
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