It's getting better all the time
Better, better, better
It's getting better all the time
Better, better, better
~The Beatles, "It's Getting Better All the Time"
Making new laws some times feels like making sausage — hopefully what comes out in a nice neat package is tasty, but the process for getting it made can be ugly. Often times the raw ingredients we are given to start with are awful, but getting the right mix of ingredients, along with some sweeteners and some items to spice things up, we come out with a good product.
When you take a look at it before its done, though, it’s really, really unappetizing.
2018-2020 Biennial Budget
In my 4 years here, I’ve never voted YES for a biennial budget. In 2014, Governor McDonnell’s departing budget didn’t expand Medicaid. In 2016, Governor McAuliffe’s original budget did, but House Republicans took it out.
This year, the House version of the budget passed with Medicaid expansion left in tact on a vote of 68 to 32. I'm happy to say that because expansion was included, I was able to vote YES.
I voted YES to helping the nearly 400,000 Virginians who will gain healthcare coverage, to increased funding for mental health services in the community and in our jails and prisons. I voted YES to teacher pay raises, to an Office of Student Loan Ombudsman, and to more Lottery funds coming back to local school districts with no strings attached.
Of course, this version of the budget isn't perfect and we tried to add a few floor amendments to further improve it, including an amendment to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in public employment and in-state tuition for those that have lived in Virginia for at least a year and have filed to become a permanent US resident. We also objected to a few of the amendments that the House Appropriations Committee decided to include. More information on these are below.
Since the House and Senate budgets differ, there will be a conference committee to work out the kinks in the next week or so. The biggest difference, of course, is that the Senate version doesn't include Medicaid expansion. In spite of this, I'm hopeful that the budget conferees will be able to work out a compromise that includes Medicaid Expansion in time for us to vote on the final version of the budget at the end of next week.
Floor Amendments
Budget Item 420 #1h | To establish a See Something, Say Something Hotline, run by the State Police. The hotline would be specifically for tips and help in identifying potential mass shooting instances. This is my floor speech.
Objections
Budget Item 452 #2h | A committee approved budget amendment to require reverse commuter tolling on I-66 inside the beltway. I also spoke on this.
Budget Item 303 #7h | A committee approved budget amendment to eliminate the proposed 2% salary increase for personal care assistants. Here is my speech.
You can still view online the full biennial budget and all the budget amendments.
Rate Freeze Repeal Bill
Another bill that looked awful when we saw it for the first time was a bill to repeal a 2015 bill to freeze rate reviews for our regulated electric monopolies, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company. I voted no at the time. I’m always skeptical of these sorts of bills, but given how bad the 2015 bill was, I knew we had to do something. The first bill we saw, though, wasn’t much better than the status quo.
I’ve included a chart here that shows you how much better we were able to make that bill through a series of amendments in both the House and Senate committees and on the House Floor. There are three columns, one showing how things work under the 2015 bill we need to repeal, one showing the bill as introduced, and another showing the bill be voted on today.
It’s a bill I would never have supported in its original form, or even as it first came out of committee. As a result of the hard work of a large group of stakeholders, it has emerged in a from I was able to vote YES on.
There are certainly folks who won’t like this flavor of sausage - those who think we used too much spice and not enough sweetener. But at the end of the day, I think it’s a product my constituents and consumers will be delighted with, as more of our energy than ever will come from renewable sources, we will experience fewer power outages, and our grid will be more secure than ever before.