Virginia's Republican leaders have sparked debate in the General Assembly by arguing that Gov. Tim Kaine's proposal to take money from the Commonwealth's "rainy day fund" to cover the state budget shortfall is premature in light of the reported $170 million in unspent state agency funds.
The governor recently approved over $300 million in immediate savings to cover the $641 million budget shortfall for 2008. According to House Speaker William J. Howell, R- Stafford?, the Appropriations Committee found an additional $170 million of unspent funds appropriated to agencies upon receiving the agency reports about a week ago.
Republicans contend that if they are able to come up with $170 million in "just a week," as Howell said, there is the possibility of coming up with other sources to cover the shortfall, sparing the use of the $1.2 billion fund.
Democrats, on the other hand, believe that the fund option should not be overlooked while the governor's plan continues to be debated. The $170 million, they claim, will not completely cover the budget shortfall, and Democrats doubt more funds will be identified.
"The option should not be taken off the table," Democratic Caucus Communications Director Mark Burgman said. "What else are they going to cut?"
Burgman added that the Republicans' argument was simply politically motivated.
"What is the Speaker's plan? There is no plan ... they have presented no options, no solutions -- until they do, its just political posturing," Burgman said of the Republicans' claim that there is more funding to be found. "We've hit all the triggers to use the revenue stabilization from the rainy day fund."
Howell, however, said this case is exceptional.
"One half of this shortfall comes from the [governor's] administration's inaccurate forecasts," Howell said. "Were it not for that forecasting error, they wouldn't even qualify for using the rainy day fund."
Furthermore, Republicans contend that such a small cut is not too unreasonable considering the size of the overall budget.
"In any budget you can find the money if you look for it," Del. Riley Ingram, R- Hopewell, said.
Howell echoed Ingram's sentiment.
"We have a multi-billion dollar budget ... [and] if we can't find less than a one-percent savings, then shame on us," Howell said. "We think it is premature to talk about tapping into the rainy day fund -- it should just be used in times of recession."
Ingram said the governor's office planned for a six-percent increase in funds, while only a 3.7- to 3.9-percent increase was recognized.
"We could have been more conservative in the projections," Ingram said, adding, however, that the Commonwealth is not in recession.
Howell said the fund was last used in 2004 by former Gov. Mark Warner (D) when the government recorded less revenue than in the previous year due to economic recession.
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