Virginia General Assembly:

Continues State Budget Negotiations

The General Assembly convened on January 12 and adjourned on March 12. But they didn’t finish their work. Central to unfinished business is the state budget, where House and Senate budget negotiators are some $3 billion apart.

It was hoped that budget negotiators would have completed the budget by April 27, when the General Assembly returned to Richmond for its one-day Reconvened Session. Alas, the budget still was not completed.

Now, it’s likely to be approximately mid-May, give or take, before budget negotiations are completed and General Assembly members return to the Capitol to deliberate and vote on the budget. A mid-May budget vote would be approximately six weeks before the June 30 end of the fiscal year.

The extensiveness of this budget delay is unprecedented in modern times. Since the General Assembly hasn’t adopted a budget, the local governments, school divisions, and other authorities and entities that depend at least in part of state funding have been unable to finalize their new annual budgets.

It is important – for many reasons – that the General Assembly complete its budget negotiations and vote on it sooner than later.

 Youngkin Signs Bill Regarding Coordination between VDH and EPA on PFAS MCL

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law House Bill 919. He signed it on April 11, 2021. It becomes effective July 1, 2022.

The legislation, sponsored by Delegate Bobby Orrock (R-Spotsylvania), proposes coordination between the Virginia Department of Health and the US Environmental Protection Agency on the development of drinking water “maximum contaminant level” (MCL) regulations.

The bill also notes that Virginia should reconsider adopting a state-specific MCL since VDH’s study and testing over the past year has identified no major known PFAS problems in Virginia’s large drinking water sources and systems. VDH will soon be studying PFAS MCL implications for smaller drinking water systems and their ratepayers. VDH and Virginia’s municipal water departments and authorities will continue working closely together.