Budget

Agencies relying on state funding are hoping that when Virginia lawmakers reconvene next week for a Special Session, they'll be able to set aside their differences and pass a budget.  

While Medicaid expansion is a huge sticking point, it's not the only issue where lawmakers have some philosophical differences.

Senate Finance Co-Chair Walter Stosch says the more optimistic news is their agreement on the caboose budget—the bill that adjusts current fiscal year spending.

The president’s newly unveiled budget is rekindling a debate at the U-S Capitol over the role of the government in people’s lives.

While Virginia's former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife fight a host of charges that they contend broke no ethics laws, Virginia lawmakers have advanced a series of bills that give elected officials and lobbyists a clearer picture of what's legal and what isn't. 

State lawmakers sought to close some loopholes in existing law, while not making the requirements so burdensome that honest mistakes would be severely punished.

The probability that the Virginia General Assembly will not complete its work by its scheduled Saturday adjournment has grown to a near-certainty. 

House of Delegates GOP leaders on Tuesday called on the Senate to set aside its version of Medicaid expansion—known as Marketplace Virginia—to speed up passage of what Republicans are calling a “clean budget” without it.  They also proposed a special session just to consider expanding the Medicaid program.

As the effort continues to press the Virginia House of Delegates to jump on board with Medicaid expansion, mental health advocates are warning of what could happen if those who are uninsured remain so. 

One coalition says that while both chambers have made addressing mental health a priority this session, those who suffer from illnesses will still face many challenges if they do not have the means to pay for critical services.