State budget compromise reached by Youngkin, General Assembly leaders

The General Assembly is expected to vote on a new state budget on Monday after Youngkin and Democratic legislators reportedly struck a compromise.

Virginia is another step closer to a state budget. 

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Del. Luke Torian, a Democrat representing parts of Prince William County, confirmed this week to multiple news outlets that a state budget compromise had been reached with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

“It will not be released until Saturday; there are a lot of administrative things that need to be done,” Torian said Thursday, according to The Virginian-Pilot. “We just reached an agreement this afternoon.”

Torian did not respond to Dogwood’s requests for comment. 

The compromise comes after Democrats and Youngkin spent weeks trading barbs over their budget proposals before agreeing last month to start negotiations over. 

WATCH: Democrats in Virginia did not back down when Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin tried to railroad a bipartisan budget

The budget compromise does not include tax increases or a provision backed by environmentalists to have Virginia rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state effort to create cleaner air. The compromise does include annual 3% raises for state employees and teachers, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

More details about the budget are expected to go public over the weekend. The General Assembly meets for a special session to consider the state budget on Monday. 

“Governor Youngkin is grateful for all the members of the General Assembly, as well as the leadership, and conferees for their ongoing efforts to deliver a budget,” Governor Youngkin’s press secretary Christian Martinez said in a statement. “He looks forward to finishing the work to deliver on our collective priorities for all Virginians next week.”