Yesterday, Virginia Senate Democratic leaders ripped into Gov. “MAGA Glenn” Youngkin’s budget amendments, calling them a “farce,” “shortsighted,” “campaign-style charades,” “poor leadership,” “squandered opportunity to authentically seek common ground,” among other things. Also ripping Youngkin was the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, which said that the governor’s budget amendments “reduce proposed investments into the building blocks of our communities like K-12 public education and other key priorities”; Sen. Louise Lucas and Delegate Luke Torian, who said “What is backwards is your understanding of the budget process, your desire to engage the legislature in casting amendments to the Budget prior to the reconvene session is unprecedented, much like your ongoing threats to veto the budget in its entirety if it does not meet with your demands”; etc.
Speaking of Youngkin’s harmful/bad changes to the budget, see below for what he appears to be doing to Metro funding. Per WAMU reporter Margaret Barthel:
“In budget amendments, Youngkin made some key changes to the General Assembly’s $150 million over two years proposal that are worth knowing about if you’re a Metro rider or a Northern Virginia resident or both.
Overall, Youngkin’s proposal includes $130 million over two years for Metro, about in-line with estimates from transit leaders about what the system needs to avert a fiscal cliff. (Context below.) But it does that by shifting the burden to NoVA.
In fact, Youngkin is only proposing $35 million in new state support for Metro in 2025 and none in 2026. The remaining $98 million would come from extra state funds given to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission for Metro funding in 2022.
Why does that matter? The NoVA jurisdictions that make up the NVTC had been planning to parcel that Metro money out over two years — when the Metro bills will be big! — freeing them up to spend local money on other priorities.
“The decreases to this state fund are just going to force additional hard choices,” says NVTC Chair and Arlington County Board member [Matt deFerranti]. “We have to make hard choices, but we need a partner in the state.”
He said the move could mean local tax increases and delays in planned-for projects, including Metro entrances in Ballston and Crystal City. And he called it “an opportunity cost” in that hang-ups in Virginia’s shorter-term Metro funding picture could derail longer-term regional dialogue about developing a long-term inflation-adjusted source of funding for Metro, a mechanism regional leaders hope could prevent these regular funding challenges in Metro budgets.
The other change essentially makes Virginia Metro funding contingent on the transit agency working with a consultant to create “a financially sustainable business plan” by January 2025. That plan would then need approval from the chairs of the money committees and the governor.”
Also see NBC4 reporter Adam Tuss’ article, which states, “What was thought to be a pledge of extra funding from Richmond for Metro essentially was taken back.”
Ugh, not good at all. In short, Youngkin is screwing over transit in Northern Virginia. Why? Who knows with that nasty, vindictive, right-wing dude, but you’ve got to wonder if it’s in part revenge for the demise of his “Glenn Dome” deal (plus, Youngkin’s general hostility to transit). As VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell puts it:
“WMATA is the rocket fuel of the Northern Virginia economy and its fiscal health is critical to continuing to attract high paying jobs to the Commonwealth. If the Governor truly cares about attracting and keeping high paying jobs in Virginia, funding WMATA needs to be a Commonwealth priority.”
But…does he? Doubtful.
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