Senate, House negotiators reach late budget deal

From Pilot and wire reports

RICHMOND

House and Senate budget negotiators reached a tentative deal about midnight Friday on the state’s $77 billion two-year budget.

The accord leaves in doubt whether the General Assembly will take a rushed final vote on the 16-month spending blueprint late today or adjourn late for the sixth time in eight years.

Six senators and six House members bickered right up to the moment they sealed the deal with a handshake minutes before midnight.

The consensus the two sides reached uses about $1 billion in federal stimulus money to offset a $3.7 billion shortfall, the deepest on record in Virginia.

It would restore many of the cuts a plunging economy and poor tax collections forced on health care, public safety and education.

Legislators worked late sorting out details on criminal justice. They agreed to make no cuts to state sheriffs. They’ll appropriate $120 million in federal stimulus money to state colleges and universities. Negotiators voiced hope that the money would keep tuition increases below 5 percent next school year.

In the final minutes of negotiations, they also decided to strip $1 million in funding from public television and radio.

Lawmakers had grappled with two issues that have stymied talks for a week: whether the legislature should restrict local school staffing and whether nonviolent felons should be released from prison 90 days early to save money.

A key issue was whether the state should set limits on the size of support staffs in local school districts . The House said imposing a formula for the number of jobs in each district could save the state $300 million a year; the Senate said staffing decisions should be left to local school boards.

There was also disagreement on a Senate plan to release some nonviolent felons nine months before their prison sentences expire, allowing the state to save about $5 million a year. The House opposes the idea, saying it would free people convicted of pornography and bestiality offenses.

The negotiators rejected the Senate proposal to release many non-violent felons 90 days before their prison sentence ended.

On the school staffing issue, lawmakers chose to put off a decision on the matter until next year and ask the State Board of Education to study it and make a recommendation.

Earlier in the evening, legislators were making tentative plans to extend the session until Sunday. If they do so, it will mark the sixth time in the past nine years the General Assembly has missed its adjournment deadline because of budget disagreements.

The House and Senate passed competing versions of the budget earlier this month. The negotiators had to iron out differences into a single plan that can be presented to the General Assembly.