Statement on the Passage of the 2012-2014 Biennial Budget

Richmond - Today the State Senate adopted the two year budget 2012-2014 (HB2013). The Senate has not adopted the budget bill that determines spending for the remainder of this fiscal year (HB1300).

“We said on several occasions that this budget would come in due course,” said Democratic Leader David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville). “With a budget in place, our schools and local governments will be able to adopt their own budgets well in advance of the close of the fiscal year. This budget took longer than we would have hoped, but in the end, we have a far superior budget to the document presented by the Governor in December.”

“The Governor proposed taking $100 million from public education and public safety to finance transportation, slashed the health care safety net, and cut millions from the cost of competing funding for hard to staff positions in public school,” said Caucus Chairman Mark Sickles (D-Franconia). “While this is not the budget that we would have crafted, it is a vast improvement over the original proposal.

We remain hopeful that we can find a solution to the funding dilemma on the Dulles Toll Road and provide toll relief to the families who will face high skyrocketing tolls without additional assistance from the Commonwealth.”

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