You know how we elect qualified people to make decisions for us? That whole representative democracy thing? Well, it’s not working out so well here in Virginia.
Crafting a budget is perhaps the single most important thing our elected officials can accomplish, but this year the General Assembly just didn’t get it done. The 2006 session should have ended two months ago, but an impasse over the $74 billion 2006-08 budget (specifically transportation costs) prompted a special session—more than 70 days and counting. What’s the added taxpayer cost? More than $109,000 so far, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The marathon impasse marks a new State record for legislative indecision, and local delegates say they don’t see a resolution coming anytime soon.
What the hell are those guys doing down there?
“We’re not doing much,” says Democrat David Toscano, Charlottesville’s freshman delegate. “In theory, we have a budget to negotiate, but until there’s some agreement on transportation, there’s no budget.”
The argument pits moderate Republicans in the Senate against conservative Republicans in the House. Senate Republicans and their Democratic allies want the budget to include $748 million in new taxes to help pay for new roads and transit. House Republicans, many of whom have pledged allegiance to right-wing anti-taxer Grover Norquist, oppose new taxes on principle, especially since Virginia sits on a $1.4 billion surplus. “That ought to be enough to pay for what we need,” says Rob Bell, Albemarle’s Republican delegate.
Virginia’s current budget remains in effect through June. Come July 1, no one is sure what will happen. The Virginia Constitution is vague, only saying that the State may not spend money “except in pursuance of appropriations made be law.”
That would suggest that if there’s no budget, then the government can’t legally spend a dime.
“That can’t be the answer, because it defies common sense,” says UVA law professor A.E. Dick Howard, who helped write much of the current constitution. Even without an approved budget, Howard says, Governor Tim Kaine can spend money to keep the State running. Indeed, Kaine and his staff are forming a plan in case July arrives with no budget. “The constitution is not a suicide pact,” he says.—John Borgmeyer
