RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin unveiled his proposed amendments to the biennial state budget on Thursday. The governor outlined his spending plan before the Commonwealth’s House and Senate Finance Committees.
The plan is detailed in two briefing documents that have been made available on the committees' website.
The Governor’s budget amendments plan to provide about $1 billion dollars in tax cuts for individuals, and businesses – both large and small. In addition to a corporate tax rate cut from 6% to 5%, Youngkin also wants to create a statewide 10% business income tax deduction for small businesses.
“We have put contingent safeguards in place on other spending priorities to guard against the uncertainty of our already conservative revenue forecast,” Youngkin said at the meeting.
When it comes to education, Youngkin’s budget adds $16.8 million to expand the use of reading specialists to 4th and 5th grade and adds $7.2 million for math specialists in K-8 schools.
In a mission to strengthen behavioral health resources, he wants to spend $58 million to increase the number of crisis-receiving centers and $20 million to fully fund more mobile crisis units.
He also hopes to accelerate investments in workforce development -increasing spending by over $60 million.
Virginia Lawmakers will review the budget proposal and most likely suggest changes before sending it back to the governor for consideration.
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