E-newsletter Volume 5

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

With just one week remaining before the scheduled end of this year's General Assembly session, the state's fiscal situation becomes clearer, along with the challenges we face in completing our work on amending the existing biennial budget.
 
Governor Kaine's administration recently released newly revised figures on the state's anticipated revenues.  As expected, those expectations are even lower than they were when the Governor introduced his package of budget amendments in December.  What he then projected to be a $2.9 billion shortfall he is now saying will be a $3.7 billion shortfall.
 
At the same time Governor Kaine downgraded his own revenue forecast, the federal government passed a multi-hundred-billion-dollar spending plan, some of which is being forwarded to the state governments for distribution.  As is the case with most funds that come from the federal government, there are strings attached.
 
The federal spending package provides funds to give states a meaningful tool to manage their budgets over the next two fiscal years.  For example, the federal package would give Virginia a total of $1.2 billion for state stabilization funds for education, public safety grants and "flex funds" - monies that can be allocated largely at the state's discretion - to be spent during fiscal years 2010 and 2011 (just over $600 million per year). 
 
These monies are obviously insufficient to cover the existing shortfall, let alone the newly revised amount that Governor Kaine announced.  As a result, those planning on federal largesse to stave off cuts in Virginia's budget were disappointed.  But, the monies do mitigate our current circumstances in some instances. 
 
The educational stabilization fund dollars, which amounted to $492 million in FY 2010, were designed to restore reductions in K-12 and higher education to the fiscal year 2009 level.  While hardly a windfall, those funds will help ease the pain of the cuts for our public schools.
 
There is $12 million available each fiscal year in the public safety grants.  The flex fund amounts to about $108 million in each of the two fiscal years.  The key with all of these monies is to utilize them very judiciously.
 
It is essential that wherever possible Virginia not use these one-time monies to cover long-term expenses.  The strings that come with these funds will undoubtedly require some of the monies be used to reduce our shortfall.  But while concocting various accounting gimmicks and schemes that might allow us to use the federal funds in a manner that avoids making cuts to Virginia's budget may sound attractive, it is a perilous course. 
 
We can't count on Virginia receiving these funds from the federal government on an ongoing basis.  If we misguidedly made revisions to Virginia's budget with that assumption, taxpayers might end up on the hook for an even larger shortfall when the funds end abruptly in 2011.  That is not an attractive prospect.
 
Since the Senate amended the House's spending plan this week, the General Assembly is now back on course to complete its work on revising the state's budget.  More encouragingly, the prospects for resolving the differences between the House and Senate over changes to the budget by the scheduled adjournment on February 28 look promising. 
 
Below are a few of my bills that have already passed both the House and the Senate this session:

HB 2132 - Workforce Housing: Provides local school boards greater flexibility in helping teachers pursue the American dream of home ownership within their school district.

HB 2138 - Graffiti Abatement; Permits Localities to Charge Property Owner for Cost Thereof: Defines "defacement" to mean the unauthorized application by any means of any writing, painting, drawing, etching, scratching, or marking of an inscription, word, mark, figure, or design of any type.  Permits localities to charge a property owner for the cost or expenses of removing defacement that occurs on a public or private building, wall, fence, or other structure located on an unoccupied property.  Every charge that remains unpaid shall constitute a lien against such property, but no lien shall be chargeable to the owners of such property unless the locality shall have given a minimum of 15 days notice to the property owner prior to the removal of the defacement. 
 
HB 2141 - Infectious Disease; Deemed Consent For Testing: Ensures that law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics/EMTs will be able to obtain a blood test from persons they come in contact with in the course of their official duties when the circumstances of the contact cause the person to be exposed to bodily fluids in a manner that could transmit HIV or Hepatitis B or C.  In essence, this bill would eliminate some definitional problems in the Code and help to protect our emergency personnel while they are working to protect us.
 
There are a lot of bills involving major issues that will be decided during the last week of the session.  If you want to let us know where you stand on an issue, you can contact us here by sending an e-mail to Deljmiller@house.virginia.gov or by sending a letter to me at PO Box 406, Richmond, VA 23218-0406.  Or, you can still call on the toll-free Constituent Viewpoint Hotline at 1-800-889-0229.
 
I hope you enjoyed this week's column.  Next week look for our final column from Richmond for this year.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions, concerns or comments.
 
Sincerely,
Delegate Jackson Miller