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Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on December 27, 2009:
Last month, Virginians spoke loudly. With over 58 percent of the vote, we elected Republican Bob McDonnell the 71st Governor of Virginia. Additionally, we added six Republican seats in the House of Delegates.
McDonnell and his Republican ticketmates won running on a platform that included a commitment not to raise taxes during a recession. They knew the worst time to consider a tax increase is while Virginia’s families are having trouble making ends meet.
They pledged to balance the current budget shortfall through targeted cuts, efficiencies, and spending reductions. And they vowed to aggressively seek to improve the economy by attracting new jobs and economic development opportunities to Virginia.
Voters responded well to this message, as the election results prove.
Less than 45 days after the election, Gov. Tim Kaine proposed a new two-year budget for Virginia. Embedded in his budget is a proposal to end the car tax and replace it with a new income tax surcharge of 1 percent. The result would be a net tax increase on the citizens of Virginia.
During his campaign, McDonnell vowed to pay for transportation improvements in part by selling and privatizing Virginia’s ABC operations. In his budget, Kaine embeds revenues from a proposed 2-percent increase on liquor prices at ABC stores.
Setting aside personal feelings on the policies proposed in Kaine’s budget, the objectives do not mesh with the policies laid out by the incoming governor and incoming House of Delegates. This demonstrates an inherent weakness in Virginia’s budgeting process.
Since the mid-nineteenth century, Virginia has operated under two-year budgets. Currently, when the General Assembly meets for 60-day sessions in even-numbered years, we enact a budget for the following two years. When we meet for 45-day sessions in odd-numbered years, we review the budget passed the previous year and make appropriate mid-way revisions in light of economic changes.
The process begins when a governor introduces a budget proposal in December. The introduced budget becomes a bill that serves as the starting point for the General Assembly’s work.
The problem with the current system is evident considering Kaine’s final budget proposal. With less than one month left in his term, he introduced a budget that includes vastly different priorities than those of the incoming McDonnell administration and General Assembly.
There was little motivation for Kaine to do otherwise. He will not have to shepherd the budget through the General Assembly and, come March, he will not have to make a decision about whether to sign, veto, or amend the budget passed by the Assembly. In short, after introducing a budget proposal this year, Kaine’s direct involvement ends for good.
But while Kaine is ending his involvement with the budget, he is making the job of the Assembly that much harder. Knowing the current political realities and the priorities of the incoming administration, we know the tax and fee increases embedded in Kaine’s budget proposal will not succeed. As a result, we must start from scratch to determine appropriate cuts. The Kaine proposal will not prove a useful starting point.
To address this exact issue, I introduced legislation last year to alter Virginia’s budgeting process. While still allowing for a two-year budget, my bill proposes that the Assembly pass the two-year budget in odd-numbered years and make revisions to it in even-numbered years. The lengths of the sessions are reversed accordingly.
Such a change would be particularly beneficial during a gubernatorial transition every four years. Under my plan, a new administration would enter office during the middle of a two-year budget already enacted. During the governor’s first General Assembly session, he or she would oversee revisions to a budget already in place.
This change prevents a situation like our current one, in which an outgoing governor presents a budget that is not in line with the priorities of his successor.
The legislation has the added benefit of allowing an incoming administration an extra year to learn the process and develop expertise before having to develop an entirely new two-year budget.
And my bill ensures that whenever a governor introduces a two-year budget, he or she will be present to advocate for the budget before the Assembly — to sign, veto, or amend what the Assembly passes, and to govern for at least one year under the new budget.
Last year, my proposal failed to advance through the Assembly. I am introducing the measure again this year and am hopeful our current predicament clearly demonstrates the wisdom of this change.
Republican Ryan T. McDougle of Hanover is a member of the Senate of Virginia representing the Fourth District. He can be reached at senator@ryanmcdougle.com.
