Del. Jason Ballard
Virginia General Assembly
Last Thursday, Governor Glenn Youngkin addressed the Joint Money Committees of the Virginia General Assembly and provided some great news about the Commonwealth’s fiscal outlook. In fact, he stated that Virginia is currently in the best shape from a revenue standpoint that it has ever been. This is in stark contrast to General Assembly Democrats’ claims that the “sky is falling,” and this recent news has left them scrambling for new talking points.
The governor’s message on Thursday was one of positivity and optimism – the Commonwealth is flush with cash, and the feared impacts of changes in Washington do not appear to be nearly as bad as first thought. Virginia finished fiscal year 2025 with a $1.8 billion cash cushion, which includes $572 million in excess revenue over and above adjusted forecasts. Employment continued to grow above estimates, and total payrolls are close to a percentage point higher than June of 2024, even as Virginia’s overall unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percent in June of this year. Of the 80,000 net reduction in federal employment, 11,200 are located in the Commonwealth. Excluding federal employment, year-over-year employment in Virginia grew 1.1 percent this June. Federal workforce reductions have largely been driven by reduced hiring, as year to date hires are down 29 percent.
Throughout Governor Youngkin’s administration, $8.9 billion will have been returned to taxpayers. This has saved the average Virginia family more than $4,600. This was achieved by the enactment of General Assembly Republican priorities, to include increases in the standard tax deduction, eliminating the state tax on groceries, providing individual income tax rebates, and the authorization of military retirement income tax subtractions.
Importantly, the governor also made it clear that no one who chooses to participate in work requirements will lose their coverage under Medicaid. A 2018 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study found that roughly 40,000 Virginians would likely choose not to participate of their own accord. General Assembly Democrats were indignant that the governor chose to trust a JLARC report rather than a Congressional Budget Office estimate – which was more than an order of magnitude worse. In my experience, JLARC does a great job producing accurate studies and figures.
Virginia will receive at least $100 million annually for the next five years to drive rural health care transformation and expand rural services, and legislators serving southwest Virginia are working to ensure that hospitals have the resources they need to serve our region. Democrats in Richmond promised that a fiscal disaster was imminent, but that is simply not the case. Virginia’s economy is strong, our reserves are full, and our credit rating is a sterling AAA. That is not the crisis they wanted to run on.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at DelJBallard@House.Virginia.Gov. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
