By Virginia Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Falls Church)
Virginia finally has a budget! While the budget does not include everything the General Assembly wanted, I think this is a good, forward-looking budget. Some highlights of the budget include 3 percent raises for teachers for the next two years and increased funding for multiple early and K-12 education programs. This investment in education is crucial for the development and future success of our students.
In addition to supporting K-12 education, the budget also increases funding for higher education, ensuring that our colleges and universities have the resources they need to provide quality education and support to their students. Furthermore, state employees will receive a 3 percent raise, recognizing their hard work and dedication to serving the public.
Another significant aspect of the budget is the allocation of $150 million in additional dedicated state funding for Metro. This funding was necessary to prevent catastrophic service cuts, ensuring that our public transportation system remains reliable and efficient for all who depend on it.
While the budget did include many of my priorities, I was disappointed that the language requiring Virginia to stay in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) did not make it into the final budget. I will continue to fight for programs like RGGI in future years because moving backwards on climate is not an option. You can find a searchable full version of the budget at budget.lis.virginia.gov.
The Virginia Housing Commission has also started to look into my bill on ADUs that I introduced this year. If the bill had passed, ADUs would have been allowed by-right across much of the Commonwealth, with localities being allowed to set reasonable guidelines. I believe that ADUs can provide additional units of housing in many already developed neighborhoods without causing much disruption. They can be great options for many young adults and seniors, and could help be a small piece of the puzzle in fixing our housing crisis. I will continue looking into this issue, and I welcome your feedback.
Additionally, mid-May was the final veto deadline for the last bills of the 2024 regular session. Unfortunately, quite a few bills that I supported were vetoed by Governor Youngkin. One such bill was SB237, which would have codified a right to contraception in Virginia. Given the attacks on access to all forms of reproductive healthcare, including contraception, happening around the country, I supported this legislation to show that Virginia will always stand on the side of access to healthcare.
Another bill that was vetoed was SB729. This bill would have created a Green Energy bank in Virginia, which would have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to address clean energy and the climate crisis. The veto of this bill is a setback for our efforts to combat climate change and transition to a greener economy.
Lastly, SB517 was also vetoed. This bill would have removed tax breaks for neo-Confederate organizations. It is disappointing that this bill did not pass, as it would have been a step towards addressing and rectifying the glorification of a painful and divisive period in our history.
Finally, this time of year brings many graduations. The majority of this year’s class started high school or college during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and faced immense challenges. I want to take a moment to congratulate each member of the class of 2024 for their hard work and achievements. I will be attending many of the graduation ceremonies around the district, and I am excited to be delivering the commencement address at my alma mater, Falls Church High School.
