WOODBRIDGE, Va. – After a full month of discussion, the Virginia General Assembly met in special session at the Virginia state capitol on Tuesday to continue work on the two-year, $85 billion Virginia biennial budget that runs from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014. The budget, contained in House Bill (HB) 1301, passed the Senate of Virginia on Monday by a vote of 35-4, with Senate amendments attached. The bill was then considered on Tuesday by the Virginia House of Delegates, which rejected the Senate amendments by a vote of 23-69.
The move was expected by both houses as a parliamentary mechanism to refer HB 1301 to a joint House-Senate Conference Committee, where differences would be ironed out through a process of negotiated compromise. After the conference committee reports a compromise bill to the House and Senate, each body will take final action that will produce an agreed-upon budget that will go to Gov. Bob McDonnell for signature.