Amidst a viciously fought battle over the state’s biennial budget, the Democratic finance chairs in the General Assembly on Thursday urged Gov. Glenn Youngkin to cool his statewide speaking tour, which he hopes will rally support against the state’s biennial budget that the legislature sent to him earlier this month.
“It’s hard to envision productive negotiations being undertaken in the midst of your statewide tour touting a ‘Backwards Budget,’” Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth and the chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, and Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William County, who heads the House Appropriations Committee, said in a letter to Youngkin obtained by Cardinal News.
“What is backwards is your understanding of the budget process,” the two committee chairs wrote. “Your desire to engage the legislature in crafting amendments to the budget prior to the reconvened session [on April 17] is unprecedented, much like your ongoing threats to veto the entirety of the budget if it does not meet your demands.”
The letter followed a video meeting between the governor and the two budget committee chairs earlier this week.
“Governor Youngkin has been clear: Virginians are overtaxed, and he will not support new tax increases on hardworking Virginians,” Rob Damschen, Youngkin’s communications director, said in a statement.
“When the governor called Tuesday’s meeting it was to gauge the willingness of Chairs Lucas and Torian to come to the table and move Virginia forward, not backward. The governor is informing Virginians about the higher taxes and higher electric bills on families, and more criminals on Virginia’s streets if the budget the Democratic General Assembly wrote became law. I’m sure they wanted their massive tax increase on Virginians kept a secret.”
Youngkin kicked off his statewide tour last week in Richmond, where he vowed to cut more than $2.6 billion in tax increases from the state’s biennial budget that the General Assembly approved with bipartisan support last month. He also didn’t rule out vetoing the entire spending plan if lawmakers don’t include a proposed $2 billion sports arena in Alexandria that Senate Democrats have refused to even consider.
The $4 billion in tax cuts that the legislature approved at Youngkin’s behest in the last two years has already strained the state’s ability to meaningfully serve working Virginians and their families, Lucas and Torian said in their letter.
“In fact, just to backfill the gaps those tax reductions have generated and maintain structural balance going forward, the legislature adopted your proposal to further modernize Virginia’s sales tax structure,” the letter said, referring to the assembly’s approval to increase the state’s digital tax, which would bring an extra $714 million in revenue general fund over the next two fiscal years.
“Like the initial steps made when the General Assembly — led by Republican patrons — adopted legislation in response to the Wayfair decision in 2019, we have not proposed to increase taxes. Instead, we are working to avoid further erosion of our sales tax base and modernizing our tax system by recognizing the shift toward digital rather than physical goods,” the letter said.
The Wayfair decision was the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows sales tax to be extended to digital goods.
The General Assembly, Lucas and Torian concluded, had considered all of Youngkin’s proposals and made amendments that “prudently invested resources in our highest priorities,” largely K-12 and higher education. In their bipartisan budget, lawmakers are asking for more than $2.5 billion in new funding for K-12 public education, and a 3% salary increase for teachers and state employees.
“We all can agree that Virginians deserve a government that works to improve their lives through access to education, mental health services for our most vulnerable populations, and provide safer communities,” the letter said.
“At this juncture in the legislative process, this is your opportunity to offer amendments to our bipartisan budget that reflects your expectations. We hope that you keep all of Virginia’s citizens in mind when you complete this next step in the process. We have completed our work, on-time, and now it’s your turn.”
The only other budget negotiator who could be reached for comment Thursday night was state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, who faulted the governor for not being willing to work with the legislature.
“This guy is exhibit A that having a so-called successful career in business does not prepare you for being Governor of Virginia,” Deeds said. “He is absolutely not doing himself any favors” with campaign-style rallies about the budget, he said.
“He’s got to negotiate with the legislature on the arena,” Deeds said. “He was unwilling to do that. He was not willing to leave big priorities on the table. He thinks it all about cutting taxes and auditioning for whatever the next thing is. It’s governing, not campaigning. He talks about wanting to compromise but he wants to do it all in the press, in front of friendly audiences. … The letter that Luke and Louise wrote is on the money.”
This is the letter that Sen. Lucas and Del. Torian sent the governor Thursday:
This is the letter that Gov. Youngkin sent budget negotiators on March 1: