Bill of the Day: Virginia’s Biennial Budget

A less-discussed but critical part of Virginia’s legislative process is the state budget. Every two years, the Governor introduces a proposed Budget to then be amended and agreed upon by the General Assembly. At the end of his term, then-Governor Northam shared a budget with historic allocations of funding to protect Virginia’s natural resources. Now, the budget is moving through the General Assembly for approval.

Over the next two weeks, members of the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee will create and report their own respective budget proposals based on the Governor’s proposal. These budget reports will each be released on Sunday, February 20th.

Each budget report will then go before its respective chambers where it typically ends up in the budget conference committee. Members of both chambers will work in that committee to craft a budget they can send to Governor Youngkin for final review.

Now is the time to let your legislators know that it is critical to maintain Northam’s conservation funding and to support the following amendments in the Budget Bill. The conservation funding highlighted below is essential to keep Virginia’s environment and public health intact.

Water Conservation Funding

Clean water was a bigger winner in the Governor’s outgoing budget, receiving an historic $1 billion in funding to restore the Chesapeake Bay, helping Virginia meet the 2025 deadline to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Clean water funding also included investments to update failing sewer and septic systems, protect and expand our tree canopies, study the impacts of gold mining, and contribute to critical funds to keep our water clean.

In addition to Northam’s proposed water conservation funding, VCN and our Partners support the following budget amendments:

296 #2h

$600,000 per year to the Virginia Department of Health to continue studying the occurrence of PFAS in the Commonwealth’s public drinking water.

374 #2h

$300,000 per year to the Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop and implement a statewide environmental literacy plan, and to provide assistance to community organizations related to environmental literacy education.

374 #2h

374 #3s, #1s, #3h, #1h

$3.6 million to the Soil and Water Conservation District for administrative support to meet Virginia’s Bay TMDL goals.

374 #6h, #4s

Increased funding per year to districts for routine maintenance for district owned dams and expand the use of remote monitoring to all district-owned dams.

378 #4h

$300,000 per year to the Department of Environmental Quality to test fish in Virginia waterways for PFAS chemical contamination.

378 #6h, #13h, #1h

$320,000 to Department of Environmental Quality to support surface and groundwater testing for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), “forever” chemicals linked to harmful health and environmental impacts.

382 #1s

Funding for 2 new staff to prepare statewide mussel restoration plan.

388 #1h, #1s

Funding for 1 new staff to do oyster stock assessment.

486 #8s

$40.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to Stafford County for upgrades to the Little Falls Run Wastewater Treatment Facility.

OPPOSE 4-5.12 #1g

This amendment directs state agencies and entities to begin terminating the Commonwealth’s participation in RGGI and prohibits the expenditure of revenues generated from participation in RGGI without prior approval of the Governor, including all funding for the Community Flood Preparedness Fund.

Land Conservation Funding

Governor Northam dedicated $245 million for outdoor recreation to increase equitable public access of our green spaces for all Virginians in his outgoing budget. Of that budget, $233 is dedicated to improving and expanding multi-use trails. More historic investments were made for Virginia’s historic and cultural resources, including increased funding for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Preservation Fund, the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, and the development of a program to support conservation of tribal land.

In addition to Northam’s funding, VCN and our Partners support the following budget amendments to conserve our land:

375 #14h

$40 million each year for the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation.

375 #1s

$20 million in FY 23, $30 million FY 24 for the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, therefore increasing funding for the Fund to $40 million annually.

c-76 #2h

$2 million for renovations of the Department of Wildlife Resources’ Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Center to support recovery of Virginia’s freshwater mussels.

Transportation Funding

Northam’s proposed budget nearly doubled funding for Virginia’s rail programs, providing the funding needed to improve the speed, frequency, and reliability of service; extend service to new areas; modernize stations; and improve multimodal connections to them. Northam increased funding for public transportation, which will help Virginia provide reliable service that will increase ridership and help meet our climate goals.

In addition to Northam’s funding for rail programs and public transportation, VCN and our Partners support the following transportation budget amendments:

121 #1h, #2s

Provides funding for the Virginia EV Rebate Program, including a $2,500 standard rebate for EVs, an enhanced rebate of $2,000 for households 300% below the federal poverty line, price caps for new and used EVs, an advisory council, and sunset date.

121 #6h, #1s

$20 million per year for the Driving Decarbonization Grant Program Fund that HB351/SB708 would establish. The program will fund up to 50% of private developers’ non-utility costs of EV charger installation, with $5 million reserved annually for funding chargers in historically economically disadvantaged communities and increased grants for charger installations in these areas.

126 #2h

$5 million per year for the Virginia Rural EV Charging Network Program, establishing at least three chargers in each electric cooperative’s service territory and development of a marketing and awareness campaign to promote their use.

447 #1s

An estimated $900,000 per year from the dedication of 7.5% of annual sports betting revenues to the Transit Transition Fund, through SB488, to support planning for the transition to zero-emission transit buses.

452 #2h

$15 million for VDOT to establish a grant program to expand EV infrastructure in rural and underserved localities. Grants may be provided for chargers in publicly-accessible locations; priority given to projects in rural areas, low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, and communities with high ratio multi-unit dwellings.

479.2 #1h, #3s

$20 million from ARPA funds for incentive and retention bonuses for the transit work force.

Environmental Justice

To support our efforts to develop an Environmental Justice plan for the Commonwealth, VCN and our Partners support the following budget amendment:

373 #1h & #1s

Extends the operation of the state’s interagency environmental justice working group in the new biennium budget, as the previous authorizing budget language is set to expire on July 1, 2022. The working group is charged with conducting an assessment of the processes and resources required of state agencies to develop agency-specific environmental justice policies.

Energy

To defend our clean energy progress, VCN and our Partners oppose the following budget amendment:

OPPOSE 4-5.12 #1g

Take Action

VCN and our Network partners will continue to advocate for strong conservation funding throughout the 2022 General Assembly session and beyond, making sure we keep the necessary funding in the Budget Bill while continuing to address any gaps that have been left. If you’d like to advocate for a strong conservation budget, you can email the legislators below to request support for the Virginia Conservation Network’s budget priorities:

Tell your Legislators to Support Conservation Funding!