Budget negotiators in Virginia declared Friday that they had come to an agreement on amendments to the state’s biennial budget, bringing to a close a months-long procedure that has postponed numerous state investments.
The negotiators claim they are “completing the final touches” on the accord, but they have already revealed that it will boost the standard deduction to $8,500 per person and $17,000 for joint filers, and provide a one-time tax credit of $200 and $400, respectively.
It will also eliminate the age limit for the military retiree deduction and restore the state sales tax holiday that lawmakers allowed to expire.
Budget Priorities Prioritize Spending on Education
However, the announcement on Friday did emphasize that the final budget will focus on educational investments and offer greater operations support and financial aid to schools and universities “to ensure access is not limited due to family income.”
The budget negotiators met on Wednesday and said they anticipated reaching an agreement by Friday after the Democratic-controlled Senate as well as the Republican-controlled House met to discuss the budget.
Conflicts between Republicans and Democrats about how Virginia should spend its billions in surplus dollars have led to unusually extended deliberations over adjustments to the biennial budget plan this year.
The Democratic Party has advocated for increased funding of state services like education, while the Republican Party has favored temporary tax cuts.
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Negotiation Broken Down Due Disagreement
It looked for a time in July that negotiations had broken down due to a disagreement over the details of a deal that Republicans said had been made in February but Democrats denied. But by late July, communication had been resumed.
On Wednesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin, whose signature is required for the final budget deal to take effect, said he was “willing to accept” a compromise based on temporary tax relief and signaled his intention to press for more permanent cutbacks in future legislative sessions.
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