Special to the Post by ROB BLOXOM
This is Rob Broxom, the first Capitol Report from Richmond.
The 2023 General Assembly will start on January 11th and will be a short session of 45 days.
It is the budget adjustment year in which the governor adjusts the second year of the two-year budget.
Virginia must have a constitutionally balanced budget, so adjustments can increase or decrease depending on income.
Revenues are up again this year, primarily due to federal spending packages.
Governor Glenn Youngkin has asked for another $1 billion to cut taxes on top of the $4 billion he gave Virginia taxpayers last year.
This will be the starting point for negotiations.
Another interesting aspect of this year’s session is that this is an election year.
The House and Senate have 140 members, all of whom must run in newly elected districts for the new census.
This nonpartisan redistricting has drawn many incumbents into the same constituencies.
There are 40 districts where incumbents are challenging each other.
I draw attention to this because many issues can be decided because of electoral pairings rather than partisan divisions.
My prediction is that no law will be passed to provide mail in the primary or to use it in the fall election.
There will be legislation to resolve the issue of nonpartisan votes to be passed.
We need to keep the budget balanced, but other than that, I don’t think there will be much change in policy.
In the coming weeks, I will be sharing the bills and budget proposals for which I am a patron.
It was a pleasure to meet so many voters from the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads and listen to their specific concerns.
Visit https://lis.virginia.gov/ to see the bills being considered during the 2023 Virginia House of Representatives session and follow the live stream committee and floor sessions.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please call your district office at 757-824-3456 or email us at: [email protected]
A lifelong resident of the Eastern Shore, the author represents District 100 in the Virginia House of Representatives.
