This
afternoon the House and Senate passed House
Bill 1400, the compromise version of the FY2015-2016 budget. The conference
report includes $193 million for the teacher retirement fund, $52.8 million for
the state share of a 1.5% salary increase for funded SOQ instructional and
support positions, $200,000 for expedited retakes, $366,000 for professional
development for principals and teachers that work with high-needs students, $1
million for the expansion of the Virginia Kingergarten Readiness Program, and
$250,000 to support the expansion of Virtual Virginia. It also includes budget
language that directs the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) to
conduct a comprehensive review of public employee health programs in the state
and provide a detailed report to the House Appropriations and Senate Finance
Committees by October 31, 2015. As part of the review, DHRM will conduct an
actuarial review of the impact on the state, local school divisions, and local
governments on the impact of including local school division in the state
employee health program.
This year’s budget process has gone much smoother than last year and the vote
even came ahead of the normal adoption schedule. Moments ago, Governor
McAuliffe released the following statement
on the General Assembly’s passage of the state budget.
“Virginians
should be proud of the manner in which their leaders worked together across
branches of government and party lines to pass a balanced budget that invests
in a key priorities for a new Virginia economy. I want to thank Chairmen Jones,
Stosch and Colgan for their partnership throughout a budget process that has
been marked by bipartisan leadership and cooperation.
“At the beginning of this session, I asked the General Assembly to pass a budget that closes our revenue shortfall while enhancing economic development, investing in expanded health care services, protecting education and giving state employees a raise. I am pleased that the budget passed by the House and the Senate honors all of those priorities and I look forward to reviewing in detail in the coming days.”
Now that the budget has passed, the House and Senate are busy finalizing all of the legislation that is currently in conference. It is expected that they will complete their business tomorrow and adjourn Sine Die. We are busy combing through the remaining bills and will provide you a post-session update in the coming days.
Thank you again for all of your support and advocacy efforts over the past two months.
