Senate aims to preserve funds in key areas

Edd Houck
Published: February 20, 2008

As the General Assembly crosses the halfway point of its 2008 Session, the Senate Finance Committee has approved amendments to the governor's budget. During the upcoming weeks, the conference budget committee, consisting of 11 legislators, will meet to reconcile the differences between the Senate and House budgets. As one of these legislators, I will play a key role in this process.

During the last year, the national economy has shown significant signs of an economic downturn impacting revenues at the state level. Gov. Kaine recently revised revenue estimates, projecting a $2 billion shortfall over the next three budget years. To close this deficit, Gov. Kaine, with the majority of the Senate Finance Committee's support, proposed several budget actions, including a five percent cut for all state agencies and a withdrawal from the state's rainy day fund. 

As chairman of the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee, I led efforts to address immediate needs with modest investments while eliminating approximately $85 million from the governor's budget. Key initiatives include substantial funding for mental health programs throughout the commonwealth in the wake of the tragic Virginia Tech incident. Additional dollars were provided to meet anticipated increases in Medicaid, comprehensive services for at-risk youth and families, and foster care. Funding was also provided for mental health care services to returning soldiers and for free clinics and health care centers. 

Education funding was provided to improve the qual-ity of K-12 public education in the commonwealth.  Despite cuts, dollars were maintained for the literary fund grants and loans to help localities with school construction. Average teacher salaries in Virginia are now at 11.5 percent below the national average. In response, the committee supports maintaining the state's share of a 2.5 percent teacher salary increase, effective December 2009.  

In other areas, the Senate passed legislation allowing the commonwealth to bor-row approximately $2.6 billion to finance construction and renovation projects for state colleges, mental health facilities and prisons. 

In the 17th District, financed projects include construction at the University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College.

We cannot stand still as Virginia continues growing.  At our higher education institutions, there is a need for additional facilities to meet the increasing student population. With interest rates at low levels, the cost of issuing and repaying the bonds will decline. I look forward to hearing from you with comments or questions. 

Edd Houck represents Culpeper and District 17 in the Virginia Senate. He can be reached at (804) 698-7517 or