On Sunday, February 5, 2023, the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees will announce their proposed budget amendments for the budget that is currently in place and that will be in place through June 2024. We are watching for amendments that contain some helpful additional funding for disability services.
In December, Governor Youngkin announced a package of amendments to the two-year budget adopted by the legislature last year. That package from the Governor is contained in HB 1400 (Knight) and SB 800 (Howell). After the bill was introduced, legislators had the opportunity to recommend amendments.
On Sunday afternoon, committees and subcommittees in both the Senate and the House will announce their recommendations about those bills. After that, the full House and the full Senate will debate those recommendations and will vote on the packages of amendments by Thursday, February 9.
Once each side votes on its version of the budget, it then goes to the other side. Typically, each will reject the other’s proposal, and the two sides will form what is called a committee of conference, which will then develop a joint budget proposal prior to the end of the session.
We will have more information for you about the budgets after the committee announcements on Sunday.
The disAbility Law Center of Virginia seeks to advance the rights of people with disabilities in Virginia. We are available to educate policymakers about the potential impact of legislative proposals and budgetary considerations. Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues that you think we should be following. Contact us at ga@dlcv.org or info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042.