Democrats voted down both the House and Senate Budget, putting partisan politics before Virginians.

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	Not passing a budget will mean no funds to pay for teachers, police, hospitals, libraries, Medicare, or road projects. In addition, countless other state funded areas will all grind to a halt. You can help prevent this! For the first time since Virginia first instituted its biennial budget process in 1920, the General Assembly found itself without a budget bill to consider. Senate Democrats, are refusing to pass a budget unless Republicans give them committee assignments that the voters did not give them at the ballot box in November.   Democrats followed through with their threat and killed the budget today.  Their action left the General Assembly in uncharted legislative territory with no clear way to resolve the impasse.   Although the Lieutenant Governor can break ties in the General Assembly, the Constitution does not give him the power to do so on enacting the state budget.  Since passage of a budget requires 21 votes in the Senate, at least one Democrat and every Republican would have to vote for the budget.  So far, every Republican has voted in favor of the Senate budget proposal, but no Democrat would do so. During the previous stalemates, the General Assembly could not agree on the terms of a budget agreement, but negotiations continued over the specific details of a budget bill.  This time there is no budget bill to discuss.   Senate Democrats want to reorganize the Senate, despite it having been organized back on January 11.  Their complaints are about the politics not the policies. See my thoughts in the issue here. By derailing the budget process, Senate Democrats are effectively holding every core service the Commonwealth provides its citizens hostage.  Frustratingly, the Senate budget plan was crafted with the extensive input and active collaboration of Senate Democrats.  Democrats stripped virtually all the transportation funds out of the budget and demanded that they be added to already plentiful education funding.  Yet, Democrats still refuse to pass the budget because they want certain committee assignments.  Not passing a budget will mean no funds to pay teachers, police, hospitals, libraries, Medicare, road projects and countless other state funded areas will grind to a halt. Is there a way out of this situation?  At this point, it's hard to see one.  If the Senate Democrats continue to insist on holding the budget hostage until their demands unrelated to the budget are met, this could drag on for quite a while.  Unless the public puts enough pressure on Senate Democrats to vote for a budget, Virginia is headed for disaster.    What can you do?  Send a message to Senate Democrats demanding that they stop holding the budget hostage for political purposes and pass the budget now. Also, write letters to the editor in your local newspapers, comment in on-line papers, blog, and get the message to your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  Virginians need to speak out before there is a government shut down. With just one week left, everything is winding down fast.  I'll have a wrap-up for you next week, along with a report on the current budget standoff and the prospects for its resolution. Warm Regards, Senator Dick Black Follow Senator Black on Facebook to keep up with events in Richmond, and please don't hesitate to contact our office during the legislative session at (804) 698-7513. # # #

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