Dear Friends, Neighbors, and citizens of Fairfax:

The climactic moment of any legislative session is when we pass the bill containing the State Budget.

The Budget is initially proposed by the Governor.  On the Senate side, it is amended by the august Finance Committee which "reports" the final product in a large binder full of amendments.  Those amendments -- concealed in opaque "budget language" -- often carry items and initiatives known only to Finance members.   

Yet, for all this exclusivity, there is still a fundamentally democratic moment when the budget amendments are read one-by-one to the full body. At that time, any Senate member can shout "Objection!"

Once an objection is named, the amendment has to be defended on the floor and the full body gets to vote.  Many a pork barrel project has been shot down under this old-fashioned scrutiny.

On Thursday, February 26, the Senate took up the 200+ budget amendments proposed by our Finance Committee. Here are the more substantial ones.  In essence, the Senate budget did the following:

1.  Reversed the "LCI freeze" and restored $56 million in funding to Fairfax County.

2.  Allocated additional monies to "hold harmless" school divisions actually losing money under the new LCI figures.

3.  Reduced the state contribution to VRS for two years.  (This is an important and complex issue which needs more attention).

4.  Adopted several fee increases but no general tax increase.

5.  Implemented several cost-saving strategies in areas like corrections. Reduced or eliminated funding for agencies not deemed "core functions."

The net effect of the Senate actions was to achieve a balanced biennial budget of roughly $30 billion, or $4 billion less than the original projection.  There will be some major pain from this budget, but I do believe that it's allocated fairly. 

After debating the "objections" (and striking a couple minor items), the Senate voted on the full package.  It passed on a vote of 30-10.

The Senate budget must now be reconciled with the House version through a "conference committee" comprised of senior members.  The final product will then be voted on by both Houses. 

And that will be our state budget for the next two years. 

JCP Notes:  Thank you all who came to my Town Hall with Delegate Bulova on February 20th in Fairfax City.  We stayed to answer every question.  For all you insomniacs, Channel Twelve in Fairfax City is playing the tape of our meeting this week (allegedly at 4 am).

Finally, I note that the General Assembly received some unwanted national attention this past week from comments made by a member regarding abortion and a divine retribution upon subsequently-born children.  I've had inquiries from my own constituents on this matter.  Without replaying the statements or naming names, I want to state unequivocally that such a concept should be (and is) rejected in this body by our members -- Republican or Democrat.  All children are a blessing. 

We have a couple more weeks to go.  Still a lot of work to be done.  You can continue to reach us in Richmond at (804) 698-7534 or kathy@fairfaxsenator.com.

Let us know how we can represent you better.

Sincerely,

Chap Petersen