Compared to a year ago, nine of eleven major industries experienced employment increases while only two saw employment decreases, according to the Commonwealth of Virginia. RICHMOND, May 13, 2022 Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced he has chosen additional key administration appointments. But Youngkin left unchanged key elements in the $150 billion budget, such as $4 billion in tax relief, a 10% pay increase for state employees and teachers, a partial repeal of the states grocery tax, and record investments in public education as well as school construction and modernization projects. Combined, the bonuses for state employees would cost roughly $200 million. Youngkin said his latest tax-cutting proposal can be funded by the $3.6 billion in excess revenue the state is forecasting for the current fiscal year. It directs about $1 billion in tax relief toward one-time rebates of $250 for individuals and $500 for families, which would be distributed later this year. In addition, the Governor has proposed both one-time and performance-based bonuses for state employees. And, with teacher shortages continuing to loom, the governor is floating $10 million in incentive payments for teachers hired to fill instructional positions in hard-to-fill positions or hard-to-staff schools between July and September 2023., Oh, and by the way, theres this: $500,000 for the Secretary of Finance to evaluate potential economic incentives related to the potential relocation of the Washington Commanders to the Commonwealth of Virginia., GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX, by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury December 15, 2022. Pointing to steep learning losses among students during the COVID-19 pandemic, Youngkin is also proposing $7.2 million for K-8 math specialists in low-performing schools and $16.9 million to provide a reading specialist for every 550 students in grades four and five beginning in the 2023-24 school year. Set up by the General Assembly during the 2022 session, the revolving loan fund was envisioned as a more flexible tool for channeling money to Virginians facing flooding than the Community Flood Preparedness Fund, which issues grants for community resilience projects but not to individual private landowners. This biennial budget is a win/win for Virginians across the Commonwealth., House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said the budget , accomplishes a great deal of what House Republicans told Virginians wed work toward when we asked for their votes in November.. Glenn Youngkin (R) invited several hundred supporters to a suburban Richmond grocery store Tuesday to watch him ceremonially sign the states two-year budget, touting its rare combination of $4 billion in tax cuts and increased spending for education and law enforcement. Despite the current economic uncertainty, the commonwealth of Virginia is really in an extraordinary position, said Finance Secretary Stephen Cummings, adding Virginia can do the both/and of lowering taxes and increasing spending on key priorities. Glenn Youngkin, who can sign it or seek changes. RICHMOND, Va. More than 18,000 Virginians gained employment in May, a promising increase according to the governors office. I know what the governor would like. by Markus Schmidt June 15, 2022 Gov. She has worked for multiple Virginia and regional publications, including Chesapeake Bay Journal, The Progress-Index and The Caroline Progress. RICHMOND One day before the mandated deadline, Gov. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Its still possible, she said. Virginia General Assembly gives Youngkin mixed results on budget. The General Assembly is set to reconvene Friday at noon to weigh Youngkins proposals. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin and his administration want to raise the bar for students to pass the state's standardized tests "from the lowest in the nation to the highest in the nation" by next spring. But it is called House Bill 29 and House Bill 30, and I am the patron. Alli Graham came aboard the digital team as an evening digital content producer in June 2022. Because of the state's record revenues and growth, Virginia is well positioned to address some long sought investments in core government services, Knight said. All rights reserved). The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. RICHMOND, VA - Today, Governor Glenn Youngkin ceremonially signed the Virginia State Budget, which delivers on his promise to provide tax relief for Virginian . Applications Open (Friday, May 6, 2022): The Standard Teleworking Agreement will be available and open for application on the DHRM website on Friday, May 6. Youngkin proposes 35 amendments to state budget Changes include an expansion of lab school initiative and a renewed push for a gas tax holiday. Other officials, like Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick, have the same thoughts. They created side-by-side versions of the House and Senate plans to see where the differences lie. House Republicans and Senate Democrats remain at odds over how much sway each should have in the picks and any subsequent vacancy that might be created in a lower court if a judge were promoted. Nonprofit. Each year the Governor prepares the proposed budget bill for introduction by the General Assembly. 538 on the 2022 Fortune 1000 list. But Democrats in the Senate killed a companion amendment that would have transferred more money to the program from public school spending. . Any amount in this paragraph that remains unspent at the end of the fiscal year shall be reappropriated in the next fiscal year to fund future employee bonus payments. Lawmakers elected two judicial candidates for general district court positions Wednesday. Were 27th in the nation. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX, by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury June 1, 2022. A bipartisan group of senators have said they would rather take a year and study the tax code before making such a major change, which would affect revenue for years to come. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin and his administration want to raise the bar for students to pass the state's standardized tests "from the lowest in the nation to the highest in the nation" by next spring. The governor didnt seek any changes to a provision allocating $750,000 to study the feasibility of transforming Catawba Hospital into a state-of-the-art campus offering substance abuse treatment and addiction recovery, and a nearly $16 million grant to the city of Roanoke for the renovation of an existing facility to create an advanced laboratory, business incubation and an accelerator space for the development of new biotechnology companies across southwestern Virginia. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. To hedge against the possibility of a recession, the Youngkin administration noted its plan includes safeguards to stop roughly $1 billion of budget items, including the proposed cut to the individual income tax rate, if the fiscal forecast worsens and it starts to look like the state cant afford it. One, Senate Bill 423 , was passed Saturday by senators. Copyright 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Simon also inveighed against legislating via the budget on issues like marijuana policy, sports betting and transportation projects that could not be resolved through the normal legislative process. Youngkin forcing all state employees to work in the office at least 4 days per week. Before joining the Mercury in 2019, he spent six years at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, most of that time covering the governor's office, the General Assembly and state politics. And Youngkin appears to be content with the 10% pay increase for state employees and teachers and a record $1.25 billion investment to leverage more than $3 billion for school construction and modernization projects that the budget includes. Changes include an expansion of lab school initiative and a renewed push for a gas tax holiday. Fair and tough reporting on the policy and politics that affect all of us is more important than ever. The policy says some remote work may be an option for certain positions, but senior administration officials will have to sign off on those plans. He said in a statement earlier this week that the compromise offered a good framework and that he would be reviewing it closely in the days to come. RICHMOND, Va. - More than 18,000 Virginians gained employment in May, a promising increase according to the governor's office. 37 percent raises for direct care staff at Virginias struggling mental health facilities. Much of the existing budget language, such as the 5% raise for state employees effective June 10 of next year, remains in place. Understand your VRS retirement plan provisions and benefits. It would allocate $100 million for a Youngkin-backed initiative to partner colleges with K-12 systems to create lab schools, and would direct hundreds of millions toward school construction and modernization. In December, Gov. Virginia is heading in the right direction. The Senate vote was 32-4. Youngkin is under fire for ending the mask mandate in . His action comes just 10 days before the June 30 deadline to get a budget in place for the next fiscal year a relatively close call caused by protracted negotiations for a compromise between the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democratic-controlled state Senate. No paywalls. Nonpartisan. Governor Youngkin Releases Proposed Budget Amendments. Glenn Youngkin. While there are more than 160,000 of us working in a vast array of professions and jobs, we unite in a desire to be recognized for our dedication to making Virginia a great state. We strive to be relevant, from the 21-year-old new employee to the 100-year-old retiree. Share your thoughts, comments, and ideas with the VGEA team at vgea.org/contact, at info@vgea.org, or on our new members-only Facebook group: VGEA Member Cohort. Virginia operates under a two-year (biennial) budget cycle. Youngkin left untouched one of the key issues that the General Assembly had compromised on a partial repeal of the states 2.5% grocery tax. Wed basically be encouraging our future selves to continue this sort of practice and keep us here in June over and over again, Suetterlein said. Virginia Gov. Leaders in both chambers hailed the two-year budget compromise, the product of several months worth of private negotiations, as delivering on core priorities. Budget negotiators crafted the measure at a time when Virginias tax collections have been soaring far beyond projections. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The sun rises over the Virginia Capitol. An underwater researcher has submerged to begin a 100-day mission in the Florida Keys, attempting to set a record for underwater human habitation at ambient pressure, as well as educating students and conducting medical and marine science research, Authorities say a central Florida man has been arrested after fatally shooting his teenage daughter and three other people, California households that employ cleaners or nannies could soon be required to comply with safety standards similar to other workplaces under a bill proposed in the state Legislature. His goal is to close the "honesty gap" between the 79 percent of Virginia students who pass the state's tests and the 39 percent who pass a rigorous national test. All House and Senate seats are scheduled to be on the ballot in 2023, although a pending lawsuit seeks to force House elections again this year. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. Well refer to that as the Governors budget., The Governors budget is then used as the starting point which the House of Delegates and Senate, independently, will tweak further to reflect their own unique priorities and interests. Teachers and state employees are slated to get 5 percent raises for . With five-dollar gas prices and plenty of money in the system, Im continuing the effort to lower gas prices for hardworking Virginians and my hope is, this time, that Democrats will join us to give Virginians a break this summer, Youngkin said in a statement. Gov. Capitalized with an additional $200 million half of which is contingent on the state meeting revenue forecasts the revolving loan fund could provide an alternative source of flood preparedness dollars, albeit one reliant on loans rather than grants and with greater uncertainty about long-term cash flow. The revolving fund was seeded with $25 million this year, drawn from money Virginia took in from its participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 12-state carbon market. An Essay for the Learning Curve. Del. FY 2022 Authorizations and Compensation Activities. There could be middle ground, Howell said, though she declined to elaborate. Fair and tough reporting on the policy and politics that affect all of us is more important than ever. And so were going to communicate, he said. But the new policy won't apply to those who work for the General Assembly, court system, or independent commissions and authorities that set their own policies, according to the newspaper. "Together, we are building a team of qualified individuals who will work to make Virginia the best state to live, work, and raise a family, said Governor Glenn Youngkin. The proposal, which now heads to the desk of Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Virginia expects an estimated $3.6 billion in excess revenue during the current fiscal year. The First Lady presented a proclamation by Governor Glenn Youngkin in recognition of the approximately 200 state agency volunteers who implement the . Lawmakers in Virginia's divided legislature approved a new two-year budget in Richmond on Wednesday after months of negotiations. Youngkin has repeatedly referred to CodeRVA, a computer-science focused regional high school in Richmond, as a potential blueprint. Afterward, in a brief interview with The Washington Post, Youngkin said he intends to spend the rest of the year mounting similar rallies and listening sessions around the state in a kind of perpetual campaign mode unusual for a Virginia governor. The new budget eliminates a 1.5 percent statewide tax on groceries but leaves intact a 1 percent local levy that Youngkin had wanted to cut. My view is its going to break very quickly or its not going to break, and at this point we dont know.. Current law allows only public colleges and universities with teacher training programs to participate in such programs; legislation to let private institutions participate failed to make it out of committee in this years regular General Assembly session. With Youngkin moving to withdraw Virginia from the market, however, local governments facing increasing pressures from flooding linked to climate change have worried about the loss of the revenue stream. Since 2016, Virginia was eliminated on projects that represented more than 55,000 direct jobs and $124 billion in capital investment for one reason: sites.. The second-year allocation of $250 million would be contingent on state revenues meeting expectations, a mechanism intended to provide Virginia some flexibility in the event of a recession. Youngkins proposal sets the stage for budget negotiations that will unfold when lawmakers return to Richmond on Jan. 11 for the start of the next session. Courtesy of Appalachian School of Law. After months of wrangling, Virginia has a budget deal. We are focused on getting Virginians back to work and expanding opportunity across the Commonwealth.. Besides teacher bonuses, new education spending will include an additional $50 million for laboratory schools, the K-12 academies developed in partnership with colleges and universities that are the closest Youngkin has gotten to fulfilling his pledge to foster school choice in Virginia. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, Stay always informed and up to date with our breaking news alerts, - Associated Press - Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Knight said budget conferees initially separated into small groups and looked at each of nine separate budget policy areas, such as K-12 education and health and human resources. Im encouraged, after one of the worst job recoveries from the pandemic in the nation, nearly 80,000 more Virginians are working today than when I took office, said Youngkin. The Mercury brings you coverage of the commonwealth's biggest issues from a team of veteran Virginia journalists. Whether its increasing salaries, improving work conditions or any of the many other employee issues, VGEA is here to help address them all. Knight said he believes negotiations could wrap up as soon as Saturday, meaning lawmakers could return as soon as early as next week to wrap things up. One day before the mandated deadline, Gov be republished online or in print under Creative license. Program from public school spending days per week versions of the House and Senate plans see! 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