34 minutes.
Senators had only 34 minutes to review last years $77B biennial budget under the leadership of Democrat Dick Saslaw.
Now, with a state deficit of $3B, Democrats have only themselves to blame for a lack of transparency and oversight in the review of last year’s budget – where Republicans were stating that the funding estimates made by then Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner were way too optimistic. Had they been listened to, we wouldn’t be facing a state deficit.
To prevent this from happening again, Senator Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt) has introduced SB 934 [1]. The legislation requires that the conference committee report on the budget be posted on the General Assembly’s website for 72 hours before legislators could vote on it – giving ample time for transparency and discussion.
“Taxpayers deserve more than 34 minutes of thought before their government writes a 77 billion dollar check on their behalf,” said Smith. “I understand the need to move swiftly, but more transparency is needed.”