RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers are set to convene in Richmond on Friday for a one-day session to consider Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed changes to the state budget.
Lawmakers sent the Republican governor a compromise spending plan on June 1, and he has returned it to them asking for several dozen amendments, many of which are likely to face opposition in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The meeting comes as the governor and General Assembly are creeping toward a June 30 deadline to pass the two-year spending plan that would take effect July 1.
Youngkin is making yet another push for a gas-tax holiday, something he’s been calling for since his campaign last year. He’s seeking to limit the use of earned-sentence credits that allow inmates to reduce their time behind bars. And following protests outside the Virginia homes of some U.S. Supreme Court justices, he wants to create a new felony penalty for certain actions during demonstrations.
Youngkin wants to expand the type of institutes of higher education that can partner with K-12 systems on so-called “lab schools,” an initiative his administration says will help foster innovation in education. He’s also seeking to add language to the budget that would further limit when public funds can be used for abortion services.
Lawmakers have not elected judges to fill two vacancies on the Supreme Court of Virginia, due to a long-running impasse between the two chambers about how other vacancies would be filled. It wasn’t immediately clear if they would take up that issue Friday.
