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State Sen. Emily Jordan

We have been working at a fast pace in Richmond this week.  Successful bills introduced in the House and Senate have now “crossed over” to the opposing chamber.  One of the most important legislative actions this week was the release of the budget.  Each Chamber released their version and each will go to conference for negotiation.    

Just to name a few, the Senate budget includes a 1.5 percent bonus for state and state-supported local employees, increases worker’s compensation coverage after the date of diagnosis that workers’ compensation coverage benefits are payable for anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by law-enforcement officers and firefighters acting in the line of duty, grants to support critical water infrastructure projects, and increased funding for the Business Ready Sites Grant program.  

Our Commonwealth has a two-year budget process known as the biennial budget. In mid-December, the Governor presented a budget proposal to a joint meeting of the Senate Finance and Appropriations and House Appropriations committees. In odd-numbered years, such as this 2025 General Assembly session, the Governor proposes amendments to the existing biennial budget. Each Chamber proposes amendments to the Governor’s budget.  

The next phase of the budget process is that each legislative chamber rejects the other’s proposal, and the budget is sent to a conference committee.  The House and Senate appoint “conferees.” Conferees are members who work diligently to negotiate a final budget and present a “conference report” that each Chamber may vote on.    

An additional step in the budget process allows the Governor the opportunity to propose amendments and line-item vetoes to the passed budget. The final step in our budget process allows the legislature, at the reconvene session in April, to vote to approve or reject the Governor’s actions.  A Governor’s budget amendments must be approved by a simple majority of each chamber to succeed. Line-item vetoes can only be overridden by a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers. 

As legislation moves forward, if you have thoughts on it, please do not hesitate to reach out.  Tune into “The Jordan Journal” next week for further session updates.