Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is proposing some spending increases in his latest budget proposal. As Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey reports, new money for transportation is going to be a focus.
Gov. Bob McDonnell will present his proposed amendments to the current-two year, $87 billion budget this morning to the House and Senate budget committees.
The amendments will likely include a mixture of cuts and new spending priorities, two of which he has already hinted would be part of the new budget.
Last week, the governor announced that he would push a 2 percent raise for teachers—their first raise in five years—in exchange for tougher performance assessments. These pay hikes would amount to nearly $59 million. The plan also includes a $15 million grant program to reward exemplary teachers.
In another announcement last week, McDonnell proposed $5.8 million to give a pay raise to local prosecutors and fund vacant judgeships.
An extra $500 million is also expected to be allocated to transportation projects, although it is unclear what these projects will entail.
The Virginian-Pilot writes that some of the savings to offset these new expenditures will likely come from already recommended state agency spending cuts
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