Virginia governor takes office and announces priorities
One of the first things
On Saturday, his first day in office, Youngkin, a Republican, signed a slew of executive orders and directives at the state Capitol in
The actions included orders that aimed at a planned withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; barring so-called "critical race theory," GOP shorthand for things like the discussion of the historical impact of slavery and
The directives included actions to rescind the vaccine mandate for all state employees and to initiate a process to cut by 25% the number of regulations not mandated by federal or state statute.
“We’re going to repeal needless regulations. We’re going to invest in job training. We’re going to foster innovation. And we’re going to win the competition for jobs and corporate re-locations,” he said. "The states around us have created more jobs, grown their economies faster, and took steps years ago that we must take now, lower taxes, business-friendly regulations, workforce development and more. This is a real competition, and to win, we have to 'play to win.' "
Republican Youngkin won the general election in November, defeating Democrat and former governor
Fellow Republicans have a 52-48 majority in the lower House of Delegates, while Democrats have a narrow majority in the state Senate.
Since 2011, the state has sold about
Youngkin said he backed increased investment in infrastructure, such as mega-sites, “to make sure we don’t lose the next advanced battery manufacturing plant after seeing several go to
He added that the state would make sure key projects at its ports and highways were completed.
“So the message is clear, if your cargo container ship is stuck off the coast of another state come to Virginia,” he said. “We’re ready for your business. And we won’t make supply chain problems worse with regulatory red tape.”
Speaking to the General Assembly leaders, Youngkin outlined a plan to double the standard income deduction for residents, eliminate the grocery tax and end the tax on the first
“Virginians are struggling with the high cost of living, in a commonwealth with skyrocketing housing costs, rising fuel prices, and the silent wage theft of inflation."
There are economic fundamentals we don’t control in
"But there is one vital thing we can do to help Virginians. And that is remove some of the tax burden — added on top of rising prices for groceries, gasoline and housing," he said. "That’s why I support suspending the recent gas tax increase for a year and fully eliminating the grocery tax immediately."
He said giving residents a break on their personal income tax by doubling the standard deduction would providing the largest tax rebate in state history.
"These tax cuts benefit the people who need it the most. And represent the largest tax relief ever given to the people of
Youngkin said that education was the key to opportunity and said he wants lawmakers to spend
"Whether they’re called charter schools, lab schools, or schools of innovation — it doesn’t really matter," he said. "I don’t care what we call it I just care that we do it."
He also said that coastal resiliency was vital to state and nation.
"It’s critical to our nation because of our Port and military assets in
Following Youngkin’s address, Democrats pushed back against Youngkin’s proposals.
House Minority Leader
Filler-Corn said the governor’s plans would leave many people behind and that despite campaigning as a moderate, he was backing extreme policies.
Sen.
In neighboring
Gov.
“The governor instructed us to build an essentially flat budget,”
Hardy said that state revenue streams were very unpredictable in these extraordinary times.
“COVID and its associated effects have placed unprecedented external pressures on the budget,” he said. “Federal relief dollars (CARES and ARPA) are helpful, but have many complicated strings attached. Public health officials are struggling to predict where COVID may go. Inflation has escalated. All of this makes budgeting very challenging.”
He noted, however, there was an average 5% pay raise for state employees amounting to
Earlier this month, the state reported its general revenue collections for
Halfway through fiscal 2022, year-to-date collections of nearly
In his State of the State speech, Justice said
"We are shedding our image of being uneducated, dusty, poor and backward," he said.
Still, the state’s economy continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly two years after it first hit the state, according to the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy.
“After historic job losses in the spring of 2020, the state underwent a steep, but partial recovery in the summer,” Sean O’Leary, the center’s senior policy analyst wrote in a blog post earlier this month. “However, growth has been sluggish in recent months, and a substantial jobs gap remains. As of
On Monday, the governor held his first COVID-19 briefing since his diagnosis and held the meeting secluded in his private office.
“I’ve got to admit, it’s been difficult, that’s for sure,” Justice said. “But, by the grace of God above, I made it through.”
As of Monday, the governor said there were 20,392 active cases of COVID-19 statewide with the number of hospitalizations at 854. The cumulative percent positivity rate stands at 7.32%.
Since 2011, the state has sold about