Governor Glenn Youngkin 'Delivers on Promises and Signs Virginia State Budget'

RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin today (Sept. 14) signed the Virginia State Budget, delivering on promises made to all Virginians to lower the cost of living by providing an additional billion dollars in tax relief, restoring excellence in education by empowering parents and investing in our students and supporting law enforcement.

“This budget is the result of what we can accomplish when we put politics down and choose conservative commonsense solutions and make critical investments to ensure Virginia is the best state to live, work, and raise a family. I’m proud that we’re delivering on our promises to our veterans, our families, and fellow Virginians to lower the cost of living by providing an additional one billion dollars in tax relief on top of last year's historic four billion dollars,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. 

“This budget not only reflects our commitment to our students and teachers but also our law enforcement community in the Commonwealth. Together, we are accelerating results and building a Virginia that competes to win and gives the next generation of parents, teachers, students, farmers, law enforcement, nurses and first responders the tools needed to ensure their success and prosperity in the Commonwealth.” 

“This budget represents that bipartisan, bicameral compromise is still strong in Virginia. I was so pleased to see the Governor sign this important bill today that gives record funding to our public schools, supports our law enforcement in their mission to keep Virginia communities safe, and expands access to much-needed mental healthcare. Most importantly, we did all of this while also giving back hard-earned tax dollars to Virginia's families,” said Delegate Barry Knight, House Appropriations Committee Chair. 

“This budget reflects bipartisan priorities: it has additional tax relief, and it also contains unprecedented investments in education, natural resources, and behavioral health. It is a win-win for the citizens of Virginia. The budget also prioritizes the areas I have often spoken about as ‘promises kept,’ It makes significant investments to unwind the K12 support cap from the ‘Great Recession,’ increases teacher and state employee pay, provides funding to lower the cost of higher education in the form of both operating support and need-based aid, and provides funding in the area of mental health to help support some of our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Senator Janet Howell, Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Co-Chair.  

“The budget provides funding for necessary services. We added almost two-thirds of a billion dollars to schools as they are working to help students who have suffered from learning loss regain achievement. The budget also provides a badly needed extra $200 million for mental health support and increased support for public safety. In addition, we are funding development and jobs that lead to our continued improving economy that will benefit Virginians,” said Senator George Barker, Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Co-Chair. 

Cutting Costs For Virginians 

• $1 billion in tax cuts. On top of last year’s cuts, which totaled $4 billion, Governor Youngkin has signed over $5 billion in tax relief. 
• Reinstates the state-wide sales tax holiday for school supplies, clothing and footwear.
• Sends taxpayers back their money, up to $200 for single filers and $400 for married couples filing jointly. 
• Increases the standard deduction to $8,500 for single filers and $17,000 for married filers.
• Provides tax relief to more veterans by eliminating the age restriction on military retirement income tax relief. 
• Increases the business interest deduction from 30% to 50%, which will save small businesses and employers $10.3 million annually in tax year 2024. 

Restoring Excellence In Education 

• $653.3 million in aid for K-12 education and schools divisions. 
• $418.3 million of that is one-time General Funds targeted to fight learning loss and chronic absenteeism.
• $152.3 million is to hire more support staff for students and teachers. 
• $6.7 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund dollars devoted to expanding the Virginia Literacy Act to grades 4 through 8. 
• $54.6 million from the General Fund to give teachers and other school staff a 2% raise starting on January 1, 2024. This is on top of the 10% raise for teachers that the Governor proposed last year. 

Keeping Our Communities Safe

• $155.6 million in new spending for mental health services, including: 
• $58.0 million to create crisis-receiving centers and crisis stabilization units 
• $34.0 million for permanent supportive housing and housing for individuals with serious mental illness 
• $18.0 million for a targeted pay raise of an average of 5% for all Community Service Board staff 
• $11.7 million for school and community-based children’s mental health services 
• $10.0 million for 15 additional mobile crisis teams 
• $10.0 million to contract for psychiatric emergency programs in hospitals
• $4.4 million to increase funding for first three steps of STEP-VA 
• $4.0 million for the Virginia Mental Health Access Program 
• $15.0 million to increase support for the Operation Ceasefire Grant Program 
• $9.5 million for healthcare workforce initiatives to close the nursing and behavioral health workforce shortage. 
• $10.0 million to establish the Safer Communities Program. 
• $5.1 million to support TDO/ECO transportation activities and local law enforcement agencies. 
• $1.2 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to backfill reduced fine and fee revenue receipts. 

Reinvigorating Economic Growth And Making Government Work for You  

• $150 million devoted to widening Interstate 64 between Richmond and Williamsburg. 
• $125 million devoted to the Virginia Business Ready Sites Fund, plus $75 million to empower the Commonwealth to procure sites and make them ready for large employers. 
• $18 million devoted to the victims of the Southwest Virginia floods that occurred in 2022. 
• $17.0 million for managing stormwater encroachment in the City of Virginia Beach. 
• $12.3 million devoted to closing the remainder of the unemployment insurance appeal backlog. 
• $10 million devoted toward developing an inland port in Southwest Virginia. 
• $4 million will go toward launching the Virginia Power Innovation Fund to make Virginia the landing ground for future energy technologies and supply chains. 
• $6 million devoted toward economic development activities related to the Partnership for Petersburg. 
• $700,000 for the Dairy Producer Margin Coverage Premium Assistance to support Virginia’s dairy farmers. 

Watch Governor Youngkin sign the Virginia State Budget here.