News Briefs
Issue date: 1/21/10 Section: News
McDonnell outlines budget priorities to lawmakers
Two days after taking office, Gov. Bob McDonnell told lawmakers Monday, Jan. 18 that he will seek increased funding for economic development, but he gave little hint of what he will cut to close a $4 billion budget shortfall.
McDonnell told a joint session of the General Assembly that he wants a number of incentives to attract business and spur job growth. He vowed he would veto any bill to increase taxes and called on the legislature to help him in bipartisan fashion to put the state on "secure financial footing."
Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine left McDonnell a two-year budget that was balanced using a $1.9 billion tax increase, which McDonnell has flatly rejected. McDonnell and the legislature must find about $2 billion in cuts on top of the $2.3 billion that Kaine proposed.
McDonnell, inaugurated Saturday as Virginia's 71st governor, said it was too soon to deliver his specifics on the budget but that his administration will offer a series of budget amendments this week.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Free health clinics plead with legislators to stop cuts
Virginia's health clinics for the uninsured gave state legislators something to chew on Wednesday: a box of saltwater taffy and a plea for no more cuts in the state's medical safety net.
Already stung by a proposed 10 percent cut in state aid, free clinics and other health providers are visiting the General Assembly with a message to hold the line on money for services to people with little or no insurance. Demand for services to new patients has increased more than 20 percent in two years at 58 free clinics across Virginia.
Representatives of free clinics were joined Wednesday by the foundation and community health providers, who will bill patients what they can afford to pay. They already have support from Del. John M. O'Bannon III, R-Henrico, a doctor who touts the demand for services at a new clinic opened by CrossOver Ministry in his West End district.
Two days after taking office, Gov. Bob McDonnell told lawmakers Monday, Jan. 18 that he will seek increased funding for economic development, but he gave little hint of what he will cut to close a $4 billion budget shortfall.
McDonnell told a joint session of the General Assembly that he wants a number of incentives to attract business and spur job growth. He vowed he would veto any bill to increase taxes and called on the legislature to help him in bipartisan fashion to put the state on "secure financial footing."
Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine left McDonnell a two-year budget that was balanced using a $1.9 billion tax increase, which McDonnell has flatly rejected. McDonnell and the legislature must find about $2 billion in cuts on top of the $2.3 billion that Kaine proposed.
McDonnell, inaugurated Saturday as Virginia's 71st governor, said it was too soon to deliver his specifics on the budget but that his administration will offer a series of budget amendments this week.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Free health clinics plead with legislators to stop cuts
Virginia's health clinics for the uninsured gave state legislators something to chew on Wednesday: a box of saltwater taffy and a plea for no more cuts in the state's medical safety net.
Already stung by a proposed 10 percent cut in state aid, free clinics and other health providers are visiting the General Assembly with a message to hold the line on money for services to people with little or no insurance. Demand for services to new patients has increased more than 20 percent in two years at 58 free clinics across Virginia.
Representatives of free clinics were joined Wednesday by the foundation and community health providers, who will bill patients what they can afford to pay. They already have support from Del. John M. O'Bannon III, R-Henrico, a doctor who touts the demand for services at a new clinic opened by CrossOver Ministry in his West End district.
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