2018 Virginia General Assembly
Legislative Highlights
February 20, 2018
On Sunday, the money committee for the House and for the Senate announced their proposed amendments to the budget that had been submitted in December by then-Governor McAuliffe. Although both packages contain some measure of support for greater medical coverage for people with disabilities, only the House version does so through the expansion of Medicaid. Because that version would mean a substantial influx of federal dollars into Virginia, the House version does not contain as many cuts to state services as the Senate version does.
The two sets of budget proposals will be available to members for comment and debate through Thursday, at which point we expect final proposals to be adopted by each house. Unless the two packages agree with each other (which is highly unlikely), the proposals will be sent to closed conference for reconciliation.
The final budget must be adopted by both houses by “sine die,” on March 10th.
The disAbility law Center of Virginia is monitoring developments in the legislature that may be of interest to people with disabilities. Our mission is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation. If there are issues you think we should be aware of, please contact us at info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042.