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Citizens of Virginia, lawmakers have reached a budget deal which is one of the largest deals in history. What is included in the state budget? Pay raises for state employees, teachers, bump in pay for lawmakers, funds for education but no expansion of medicaid.
Lawmakers in the House of Delegates and Senate have reached a state budget deal that includes a bump in pay for themselves. The two-year, 105-billion dollar budget passed last Friday would give lawmakers an extra hundred dollars a year for attending meetings while the General Assembly is not in session. State employees will also get a three-percent pay increase. Teachers will get a two-percent raise.The increases in teacher pay are a part of a $900 million increase in K-12 spending by the state. However, the budget continues to block expanding Medicaid and taxing hospitals to fund the state’s share of Medicaid. But, it does increase Medicaid eligibility for people with serious mental illness and adds about $3.5 million for juvenile mental health treatment. The budget also includes a line item that would establish pilot programs in local and regional jails to help treat people with mental illness.
The Virginia Budget Deal heads to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s desk to be signed before it goes into effect.
