FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RICHMOND, VA – Today Virginia’s House Appropriations Committee reported House Bill 1800, the budget bill, to the full House of Delegates by a vote of 19-2. The Appropriations Committee’s recommended package of amendments to the commonwealth’s 2020-2022 biennial budget includes:
- $231.4 million for a 5% teacher pay raise
- $84 million to maintain affordable access to Virginia colleges and universities
- Funding paid sick leave for essential workers
- $36.7 million GF and $38.1 million NGF to meet the minimum wage increase for home care workers and $4 million for sick leave for home care workers
- A $12 per patient, per day increase in nursing home payments
- Funding for a pilot program allowing public broadband authorities to compete for 10% of Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grants
- Additional funding to meet Chesapeake Bay clean-up benchmarks
- Funding to institute automatic expungement and end mandatory minimum sentences
House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian issued the following statement: “Today, Virginia is in a strong fiscal standing thanks to prudent decisions made by the Administration and this committee throughout the last year. With a brighter revenue forecast and a clearer path out of the pandemic, this budget will continue the work of the last special session to build a safer, healthier, and more equitable commonwealth.
“In considering the more than 500 amendments submitted, we maintained the focus on fiscal responsibility that has kept our commonwealth on solid footing thus far. Based on the priorities I laid out at the start of the 2021 session, this committee’s work emphasized funding policies that will protect Virginia’s workers and foster financial security for all Virginia families. We are restoring more funding to key priorities and looking forward at Virginia’s needs in 2022 and beyond.”
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Delegate Luke Torian represents House District 52 in the Virginia House of Delegates, serving Dale City, Woodbridge, and the towns of Dumfries and Occoquan. He has held office since 2009 and serves as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. He is also a member of the House Rules and General Laws committees.