House budget-makers say they want to double the proposed new funding to revamp and expand Virginia’s ailing mental health system, though much of the spending has little to do with reforms spurred by the Virginia Tech tragedy.

The House and Senate, and the governor, have reached a consensus that at least $42 million more should be spent over the next two years to improve treatment for the mentally ill, one of the rare points of agreement during increasingly divisive budget talks.

It’s also one of the few spending proposals that looks immune from cuts amid a $1.4 billion budget shortfall.

House budget-makers, however, included an extra $43 million of mental health spending. Almost all of it would provide Medicaid funding for 800 mentally retarded patients in community care, 650 patients more than proposed by Gov. Tim Kaine or the Senate.

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Lawmakers, at a news conference Wednesday, did not dispute that the funding had little to do with the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy in April, when deranged gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 fellow students and faculty.

The massacre spurred dozens of new bills aimed at loosening the rules of involuntary commitment, restricting the mentally ill’s access to firearms, and overhauling what many called a “broken” mental health system.

The tragedy did, however, “put mental health issues on the front burner” for legislators, said Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, who is considered the House’s most knowledgeable legislator on the issue.

“After the tragedy of April 16, no one was going to ignore mental health issues this year,” he

said.

Almost $6 million in the House budget would aid veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, compared with a more modest increase in the Senate.

The Senate’s proposed budget includes funding to add 150 new slots for Medicaid funding, in which the state applies for a “waiver” from federal requirements that Medicaid dollars go only to mentally retarded patients in institutions.

“I’m glad they’re doing it,” said Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, of the House’s efforts. Kaine said the House’s mental health package “looked fine.”

wflook@dcexaminer.com