Students returning to the University next fall will find the Virginia state government running under its next two-year budget. What that budget will be and whether it will be agreed upon before the end of this semester remains uncertain.
The House of Delegates and the Senate still have not agreed on how much revenue Virginia should raise over the next two years, which taxes should be increased to provide for that revenue and which services should be funded. The impasse has led to an unprecedented special session extending long apast the scheduled end of the legislature's business in March.
Both houses continue to seek some form of compromise, however, and that compromise could take shape as soon as today, when both houses are scheduled to meet.
Since the House narrowly passed a compromise tax bill April 13, the Senate Finance Committee has been studying the bill, and Del. Rob Bell, R-Charlottesville, said there was a chance the committee would have a counterproposal for today.
"Obviously we're all hoping that some kind of deal can be reached in the next few days," Bell said.
According to Del. Mitch Van Yahres, D-Charlottesville, however, the committee continues to debate whether the bill provides for enough revenues to meet state spending needs.
"They have not come to any conclusions," Van Yahres said. "They're having some problems."
Even if an agreement is reached soon, it will come after day 100 of this year's legislative session, which occurred yesterday. The regular session was scheduled to last 60 days.
University Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato said the 100-day milestone was embarrassing for Virginia.
"Look at what Franklin Delano Roosevelt achieved in his first 100 days, and then look at what this General Assembly has done in 100 days," Sabato said. "It's pitiful."
Van Yahres said May 14 was an important date because local governments were set to receive funds from the state government. School boards are in the same bind, he said.
"They don't know what kind of money they're getting from the state," Van Yahres said.
The Senate has pared down its $4 billion revenue increase proposal to $2.5 billion, while the House tax bill would raise about $750 million in revenue, more than the House's initial proposal of $520 million. Gov. Mark R. Warner's proposed budget would raise approximately $1 billion.
The houses also clash over how the money should be raised -- senators want an increase in sales, cigarette and income taxes, while delegates have expressed a desire to raise revenue by eliminating tax exemptions for businesses. The compromise tax bill passed by the House increased the sales and cigarette taxes but not the income tax.
While little has occurred publicly since passage of the compromise tax bill, Sabato said legislators negotiating outside of the spotlight could help get a budget passed.
"Look, the last thing this process needs is more quasi-negotiating with TV cameras," Sabato said. "If they negotiated in public, they would start posturing, and the whole thing would fall apart."
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