Video: Gov. Abigail Spanberger Declares “There is no other option but to have a budget [by 6/30]…every member of the General Assembly…must have that as their priority”

See below for video and highlights (bolding added by me for emphasis) from Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s interview earlier today with NBC12 in Richmond.

• “Certainly, we need to have a budget by the end of the month, and it is a typically a longer process of negotiations. Many months ago, the House and Senate came out with their initial proposals, voted on those, and then it went to conference. Throughout the conference process, there hasn’t been significant movement. And so, recognizing the urgency of the moment, the House Appropriations Committee and the larger  House of Delegates  moved forward with releasing their proposed conference language, which is an expansive budget that does everything from, you know, fund local priorities, investments in public safety and violence reduction, record investments in public schools, supporting some of the real needs we will have in light of…federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. The list goes on and on…And in recognizing that there hadn’t been much progress on that negotiating process, the House put out their budget very very publicly, and included numbers that had been in the original Senate budget trying to push things forward. But ultimately there is set to be a vote for the House of Delegates on Thursday. The Senate is supposed to vote next week.  And we need there to be an agreement among members of the General Assembly about what it is that they’re going to be voting on.”
• “I think in any negotiation…it’s clear to say what do what do we agree on? Well, I think broadly speaking and as you mentioned in the House budget that had the support of Democrats and Republicans alike, I think broadly speaking, people across Virginia  are worried about long-term data center impacts, whether they’re paying their fair share on energy consumption or grid utilization.  There’s also a desire to say that, you know, any industry that is growing in in the Commonwealth is a good community steward and making local investments. The list goes on and on. And so what the House did in their proposed budget  is build out a proposal for a commission that would be rather expansive in both understanding the current lay of the land but also asking what else could the state be requiring or incentivizing.  It’s multiple pages of mandates for this commission so that there can be clear definable legislative priorities to move forward in the next session. And I think importantly, this isn’t a now or never kind of moment. And the House is saying  very clearly, which is why I’m supporting their effort, let’s take a comprehensive, long-term view about the types of incentives we give to this particular industry; let’s do it thoughtfully and in an engaged multi-step process so that by the time the General Assembly is legislating, they  can do it in a thorough way that impacts Virginia positively from an economic standpoint to a worker engagement standpoint  to an environmental standpoint.”
• “So, we’re going to be releasing the full details of that [cannabis] bill tomorrow. But it really goes back to the original patrons of the bill, Delegate Krizek in the House of Delegates and Senator Aird in the State Senate. We were always very clear with each other. The proposal that they put forward, the bill that they put forward is one they had worked on. I came in as a new governor with some concerns and some priorities in particular places – public health, the time frame as the administration that needs to actually implement this public safety. And we got to work. I said, you know, I want to get to yes, let’s figure out how to do it. And they have been extraordinarily forward-leaning. And so, we’ve had ongoing negotiations for a number of months  to make sure that I feel very comfortable the day that I signed that bill into law that it is going to be  highly implementable, that we’re setting Virginia up for success, that we don’t see some of the kind of market failures and other issues that other communities have faced. And so I think it’s a result of really solid work and  look forward to releasing all the details tomorrow.”
• “I think if you look at what the legislature has accomplished through the General Assembly session, you know, hundreds of bills that really make an impact, right? And it’s not just about the numbers of legislation. It is capping the cost of insulin. It is removing the need for pre-authorizations before you go see the doctor and get the care that you need. It’s investment in  eviction reduction and also  support to the growth of more  housing supply across the Commonwealth. It’s investment in early childhood education. And the really recognition that we’re at a moment in time where Virginians need us to be responsive to the things that are top of mind. And that means in a landscape where we’re seeing ever-inccreasing prices, that’s increasing housing supply that’s contending with rising energy costs and importantly rising health care costs. And we did so much of that; my entire affordable Virginia agenda passed. And I look forward to putting so much of it into into effect come July 1st.”
• “So, RGGI is an important program that makes valuable investments in weatherization and in resiliency, particularly for coastal communities where they experience regular flooding. And not just coastal communities, of course. We’ve seen  severe and catastrophic inland flooding. So ensuring that we are making investments in resiliency, whether it’s along our coastline or in other flooding prone areas, weatherization programs within Virginia that can have the dual impact of conserving energy but also lowering people’s energy bills.  This program, it makes investments in those priorities and can be extraordinarily beneficial  to to Virginia and Virginians.”
• “There is no other option but to have a budget. And so, every member of the General Assembly, House or Senate, must have that as their priority. There is no other option but to have a budget passed and sent to the governor so I can sign it by the end of the month. It is extraordinarily important…I mean, our communities depend on it, the Commonwealth depends on it, and Virginians depend on it.”