Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Alexandria staff: Richmond budget adds $112.5M for housing trust fund, $2M for Freedom House; transportation and constitutional amendments advancing
Summary
City legislative staff reported a Richmond update: a school construction sales-tax bill is moving, two competing transportation funding packages are under consideration, four constitutional amendments cleared the General Assembly (one slated for an April 21 referendum), and the senate budget includes amendments directly affecting Alexandria including $112.5M for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and $2M for the Freedom House Museum.
Wendy, Alexandria’s legislative staff, told the subcommittee she had just completed her first full week in Richmond and provided a multi-issue update focused on education, transit, constitutional amendments and budget impacts.
She said one House bill would raise the sales tax by 1 percentage point to fund school construction and had been reported out of subcommittee; Alexandria testified in support alongside the Alexandria City Public Schools lobbyist to address aging school facilities. On transportation funding she described two competing approaches: a broad revenue package that would modernize and expand the tax base to raise money across the Commonwealth (with a significant share directed to Northern Virginia), and a separate package aligned with an "SJ 28" plan that focuses on local transit systems such as DASH and commuter rail to close operating and capital gaps.
"There’s a couple of bills that would raise the sales tax by 1% that would allow for more funding for school construction," Wendy said, and she noted staffing and delegation coordination in Richmond as the proposals move through negotiations.
On constitutional amendments she said four cleared the General Assembly: a mid‑decade redistricting amendment that is scheduled for referendum on April 21, plus three others—an affirmative right to marry, restoration of voting rights following completion of a felony sentence, and an amendment ensuring access to reproductive freedom—that are likely to be scheduled for a November referendum.
Wendy highlighted three senate budget amendments that directly apply to Alexandria: "a 112 and a half million dollar increase to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund," "$2,000,000 in accessibility and rehabilitation at the Freedom House Museum," and establishment of a work group to examine locally subsidized state employees (the work group carries no direct funding for the city). She cautioned the group that Senate and House budget amendments are starting points for negotiation and not finished deals.
The report closed with a process reminder that the bill‑filing deadline had just passed and staff would track late or potentially controversial bills that appear at the end of filing windows. The subcommittee said it expects to formalize positions at a Tuesday docket meeting.
Next steps: staff will continue to track and, where appropriate, engage with bill patrons and regional partners to refine language and secure funding or guardrails before formal positions are adopted at the upcoming docket meeting.
