RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted Monday to accept Gov. Abigail Spanberger's proposed changes to the state's two-year spending plan, ending months of budget debate just one day before the state government would have shut down.
The General Assembly gave final approval to all 14 amendments proposed by Spanberger, clearing the way for the $207 billion budget to take effect July 1. The budget did not require Spanberger's signature and is now law.
The updated spending plan includes new funding priorities while locking in pay raises and tax relief. Among the key provisions:
- 4% raises for teachers
- 3.5% raises for state employees
- Higher standard deductions for taxpayers
- A new energy consumption fee on data centers expected to generate roughly $600 million a year
Spanberger's amendments also add funding for firefighter cancer screenings, home care workers, the Virginia Department of Elections, and a new digital services team. The budget also delays a ban on the open carry of certain assault weapons in some public places by one year.
Spanberger shared the following statement on the finalized budget:
Today, by finalizing our budget, Virginia is charting a path toward a stronger, more secure, and more affordable future for every family who calls our Commonwealth home.
This budget reflects our shared commitment to strengthening Virginia schools, expanding economic opportunity, and addressing the affordability crisis created by reckless policies out of Washington — all while contending with President Trump’s disastrous cuts to healthcare. With historic investments in education, four percent raises for our teachers, and landmark funding to help families manage the rising cost of childcare, we are making real strides to uplift every student, listen to parents, support educators, and prepare communities for long‑term success.
Democrats said the negotiations were worth it, pointing to investments they say strengthen core services.
"I'm really excited about our budget," said State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax). "I think we went through a lot to get here, but at the end of the day, data centers are going to contribute about 1.1 $1.2 billion over the biennium to help fund our government, just like every other taxpayer in our state, and that extra money resulted in us being able to give a larger pay increase to our teachers, a larger pay increase to our state taxpayer, to our state employees."
Republicans criticized both the process and the final budget.
"We finally passed the budget and got it moving finally today, 100 days late, right at 100 days late, and you know we should have been able to do this sooner, quicker, so that our localities, our folks out there could count and be able to pass their budgets and move forward," said Del. Terry Kilgore, Republican House Minority Leader.
Republicans argued the budget does not do enough to make the commonwealth more affordable and said major policy issues, including marijuana and energy-related provisions, should have been debated separately instead of being folded into the budget.
Despite those disagreements, lawmakers from both parties agreed the budget had to be done to keep the state on track for the new fiscal year.
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