Senate passes budget with $200/$400 tax rebate, teacher bonuses and disaster funding

The Virginia Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 800, the biennial budget bill, after a day of committee explanation and floor debate that included amendments on tax relief, education funding and limits on executive actions.

Senator Lucas, the senator from Portsmouth and chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, described the measure on the floor as “a wonderful and structurally balanced budget that supports a strong Virginia.” The bill passed on final passage by a vote of 38-2.

Why it matters: the budget package packages nearly $1 billion in targeted tax relief and one-time spending intended to address inflationary pressures for working families while funding ongoing needs in education, health care and disaster resilience. It also contains policy language on taxation, data-center exemptions and other enactments that affect state priorities for the next two years.

Key provisions and totals explained on the floor included a working-virginians tax rebate of $200 for single filers and $400 for joint filers (estimated cost about $978,000,000) to be delivered as early as Oct. 15 for most filers. The budget extends recent increases to the state standard deduction for two years and adds an extra $250 for single filers and $500 for joint filers for that period. It also raises the refundable portion of the state Earned Income Tax Credit from 15% to 20% of the federal credit and raises the estimated-payment liability threshold from $150 to $1,000.

On education, the bill includes roughly $134.4 million for a $1,000 bonus for teachers and school support staff (one-time, no local match), roughly $53 million for special-education add-ons in K–12, $50.5 million over the…