WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Virginia legislators replaced their warlike budget rhetoric for a more conciliatory tone Tuesday and predicted a compromise on the state’s $78 billion spending plan by the end of the week.

Both chambers of the General Assembly voted to extend their session until Thursday in the expectation that a small team of negotiators would produce a single two-year budget by then.

“The prognosis now is we’ve made some substantial progress and it will take one more round to complete this,” Del. Margaret Vanderhye, D-McLean, told The Examiner after being briefed on the progress of the conferees.

Republicans also spoke hopefully of a quick outcome. By Tuesday afternoon, however, House GOP conferees had not cemented an agreement on the Senate’s demand for drug courts and prisoner re-entry funding, according to a House staffer. Also not finalized was how much to tap the state’s “rainy day” fund to help close a $2 billion shortfall through fiscal 2010.

House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Fredericksburg, released a statement that contrasted sharply with the public rancor since the House and Senate introduced their respective budgets.

“While everyone wishes that the budget-writing task could have been accomplished in the regular, 60-day session, I believe that good-faith efforts by both House and Senate conferees over the past several days to overcome important differences will enable lawmakers to finish work shortly,” Howell said.

Seemingly deep schisms over spending priorities persisted until days ago, including the Senate’s and Gov. Tim Kaine’s insistence on expanded pre-kindergarten and the House’s long-term reduction in the state’s share of teacher pay increases. Even how much revenue was available amid the sharp economic downturn was a matter of debate.

Lawmakers and Kaine want to dispense with the budget talks quickly so they can focus on the state’s transportation crisis. The Virginia Supreme Court last month gutted a $1.1 billion transportation funding package approved by the assembly last year, ruling that the regional tax authorities empowered under the bill were unconstitutional.

wflook@dcexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

7:42 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Dulles rail re-bidding stripped from budget"

Lisa Green said:
I've read the State contract with Bechtel for Dulles Rail and I don't see how bidding out this project would be a "breach of Contract" as Sen. Colgan and Governor Kaine assert. This is hogwash that Governor Kaine has put out to stifle real competition. We've got to get him out of Bechtel's pocket already.

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7:41 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Dulles rail re-bidding stripped from budget"

Examiner Reader said:
Someone should look into Governor Kaine's connections with Bechtel. Something isn't quite right there. Maybe we'll get lucky and find that Kaine was Bechtel's "Client #10"?

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10:55 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Saslaw pushes tax increase to fill transportation gap after ruling"

Examiner Reader said:
i agree with the person below no excuse for va being so broke oh yea they left one out to va is one of the few states were u have to buy county stickers to just think of all those thousands of people that have to buy them here in va at twenty bucks apeace most other states dont have to buy, them so my question is were is all that money going to would really like to no the answer to that one,so the person below is exactly right theres no excuse for va being so broke,do your job kaine and quit getting off the wall bills passed that waste tax payers money,thats not the job we the people voted you in to do.

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2:22 PM MST on Mon., Feb. 18, 2008 re: "Governor�s plan to cut state aid puts squeeze on local budgets"

Examiner Reader said:
Get rid of the illegal people in N.Virginia, and the drain they have us and get busy taking care of the Americans. There is no excuse for Virginia to be so broke. One of the few states that have total controll of the liguor,beer and wine, one of the few states that you have to pay personal property taxes on your car every year,one of the few states that is a commonwealth. So Mr.Kaine, do your job, get your priorities straight and find out where all the money went.

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