Governor Glenn Youngkin confirmed in comments made Wednesday that he dropped his request for tax cuts as an olive branch to Virginia’s Democratic lawmakers, who the governor hopes will similarly drop their requests for tax hikes.
Youngkin maintained that Virginia does not “need to raise taxes” and has “plenty of money in the system” during an interview with WTOP News. He told the outlet that Virginia lawmakers should “press forward with an agreement that we won’t raise taxes, and I will stop advocating to reduce them.”
Despite the possible roadblocks posed by Democrats, the governor told WTOP he was optimistic he could work with the General Assembly to finalize the budget by the end of April 19.
“I certainly am hoping that the General Assembly will fully engage with me,” Youngkin told the outlet. He continued, “This is a chance for us to demonstrate that we can work together in a divided government.”
While Democrats have not ruled out the governor’s proposal, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) pointed to the stipulation in Virginia’s constitution that compels lawmakers be given 10 days to scrutinize Youngkin’s proposal.
Lawmakers will return to Richmond next Wednesday to review Youngkin’s budget changes and the amendments he made to more than 100 bills they sent to his desk.
Though he has yet to veto the budget and has projected confidence ahead of lawmakers’ return to Richmond on Wednesday, influential State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) previously acknowledged the possibility Democrats and the governor could fail to reach an agreement.
On Thursday, Youngkin’s office released a fact sheet about his changes to the budget, which the governor branded a “Common Ground” budget that will serve the commonwealth’s needs.
“The Commonwealth is in a stronger financial position than ever before, with steadily rising revenues, record reserves, and a sterling AAA bond rating,” Youngkin’s office explained.”The strength of our financial position is the foundation for our ability to deliver a structurally balanced budget while making significant investments and avoiding tax increases.”
Youngkin’s fact sheet noted his budget “eliminates all proposed tax increases and invests a record $21.3 billion in K-12 education.” The fact sheet also declared that “the Common Ground budget confirms we can make unprecedented investments in collective priorities without raising taxes.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Governor of Virginia. Background Photo “Virginia Capitol” by Famartin. CC BY-SA 4.0.
