Delegate Anderson reports on two-day legislative session

Here’s a summary of what happened at the Sept. 17-18 special General Assembly session in Richmond:

BUDGET: Because tax revenues over the next two years will be $2.4B less than originally expected, we worked with the Executive Branch and passed, almost unanimously, a revised state budget that balances the books (try that, Federal Government). We fixed the shortfall by trimming 4% from state agencies and 3.3% from higher education (without raising tuition and fees). Funding for K-12 public schools was not cut. Under state law, we tapped the state Rainy Day Fund to avoid further cuts. This bipartisan effort within the General Assembly and with the Executive Branch illustrates how the Washington Way is not the Virginia Way.

MEDICAID: As promised, the Speaker permitted Medicaid legislation to come to the Floor for debate. As predicted, we reached no decisions because work is still underway on Medicaid reform, which I prefer to expansion of a program that consumes 22% of our budget and grows at 8% per year. With the news that 250,000 more Virginians will have their health insurance cancelled over the Christmas holidays, hundreds of families in PWC have asked me to fix Medicaid, improve access to health care, and make the health safety net stronger. More later because the conversation continues.

JUDGES: We approved 40 new judges for the Virginia court system, including two in Prince William County. Wallace S. Covington III, currently the Brentsville District Supervisor, will serve as a General District Court judge, and H. Jan Roltsch-Anoll will serve as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge. Both appointments are effective on December 1.

In other business, we recognized Virginia’s “Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve” (ESGR) organization that makes it possible for uniformed members of National Guard and Reserve organizations to serve our nation.