Both chambers signed off on amendments that would tweak the final year of the 2024-2026 budget, overhauling Youngkin’s own revisions. They proposed giving a $200 rebate to individual income tax filers and $400 to joint filers by October. They also moved to make the refundable earned income tax credit 20% of the federal credit. Both the House and Senate also proposed extensions and increases on standard deductions for the next two years.
The proposed amendments seek to redirect Youngkin’s car tax relief proposal, which aimed to make a permanent, refundable income tax credit of up to $150 for people earning under $50,000 a year, and up to $300 for joint filers making under $100,000 annually. Democrats also nixed Youngkin’s proposal to cut the tax on tips, arguing the rebates would provide all Virginians immediate, one-time financial relief regardless of income or occupation. In a quick floor speech, Republican Del. Eric Zehr blasted the changes as taking some money away from lower- and middle-income workers and benefiting the wealthy.
“We absolutely respect working out there every day for tips,” Democratic Del. David Bulova said following Zehr’s remarks. “But I will also say you have a lot of people out there working every day picking up our garbage, doing manual labor, working at a McDonald’s who don’t get taxed tips.”
Each chamber will now take up the other’s plan and reject it, sending the bills to a conference committee, a small delegation of lawmakers who meet behind closed doors to hash out a compromise. From there, the joint plan would ultimately head to the governor for his consideration.
Tax relief aside, here are some other key items in connection to the two chambers’ bills:
Democrats in both the House and Senate want to eliminate Youngkin’s proposed $50 million amendment creating funding for private education vouchers, which he called opportunity scholarships. Last year, Youngkin’s administration announced it would create a new accountability system measuring schools’ success across the state, though amendments passed in the Senate’s budget would delay such action.
The House and Senate chambers also proposed one-time $1,000 bonuses for teachers and school support staff. After years of debate, lawmakers allocated $223 million to end a more than 15-year cap on state funding of school support positions.
Despite some amendments being introduced by lawmakers, neither chamber’s budget addressed what would happen if the federal match rate changes for Medicaid. Virginia is one of nine states in the U.S. that has a trigger law for swiftly ending its Medicaid expansions if federal funding falls.
It comes less than a week after the White House paused federal grants and loans, including Medicaid, which created a frenzy of uncertainty before the directive was blocked by a federal judge and ultimately rescinded.
The House and Senate budgets are more uniform than they have been in recent years. One distinction, however, is that the Senate this week passed an amendment that would tax and regulate so-called “skill games” — the slot-like betting machines that have proliferated in such businesses as truck stops, restaurants and convenience stores around the state before a ban took effect.
The House left the potentially addictive games behind this year after Youngkin vetoed skill-game related legislation last spring. The House did propose as part of its spending plan a Virginia Gaming Commission that would oversee all forms of gaming in the state, including casinos, sports betting and the Lottery.
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
