Last winter’s Virginia State Legislative session “was the most difficult budget year I can remember,” State Del. Jim Scott told the Falls Church City Council Monday as he and State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple made their annual appearance to receive legislative priorities from the Council to take to Richmond in January.
Last winter’s Virginia State Legislative session “was the most difficult budget year I can remember,” State Del. Jim Scott told the Falls Church City Council Monday as he and State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple made their annual appearance to receive legislative priorities from the Council to take to Richmond in January.
Last year, Sen. Whipple conceded, “It was heart-wrenching, as we were no longer able to protect K-12 education from cuts.” She said that while this year, the second in the state’s biennial budget process, is not expected to be as bad at last year, “Caution is the ringing word.” Scott said that increased Medicaid costs, obligations to the Virginia Retirement Fund and the need to recharge the state’s “rainy day fund” will constrain the budget, while some legislators will be pushing to lower the gross receipts taxes on business, which is a major revenue source for localities. “I will fight to protect local sources of revenue,” he said.
