Governor Ralph Northam proposed a new budgetWednesday, kickstarting round two of spending negotiations with lawmakers. His budget also reiterated a call for Medicaid expansion.
Disagreements over Medicaid expansion between Republicans in the House and Republicans in the Senate have been the hold-up on the state budget.
Because lawmakers couldn’t agree on the budget during General Assembly, Governor Ralph Northam has to start the process from the beginning - which means re-introducing the budget. Call it deja vu.
“You’ll find it looks a lot like the initial budget we introduced in December, in fact it’s the exact same budget with one key difference,” Northam said.
The single difference is that any taxes the state brings in above current revenue forecasts will be saved, not spent. Senate lawmakers were hoping that money could potentially be used.
“(Northam’s) refusal to base his plan on a more current revenue forecast, means the current standoff cannot be resolved quickly,” wrote Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment in a statement.
Republicans in the House, though, were keen on the idea. In a statement House leadership wrote:
“The House always takes a conservative and responsible approach to estimating revenue, and we are committed to utilizing the current revenue forecast as we craft the budget.”
Other than saving surplus funds, Northam’s budget is identical to the one former Governor Terry McAuliffe introduced last year. He said he hopes that will make negotiations smoother.
“I remain open to working with members of both chambers and both parties to move this conversation forward in a way that works for everyone,” Northam said.
Northam and his finance secretary have already been talking with members of the budget conference, and they expect to keep working together ahead of the upcoming special session that begins April 11th.
Lawmakers have until the end of June to come up with a budget, or there could be a state government shutdown. They normally finish the process in mid-March.
