Virginia eked out a $129 million surplus for its $41 billion budget in Fiscal Year 2o12, Governor Bob McDonnell reported in a press release this afternoon. It’s the third straight year with a surplus, although the sum is smaller than the $228 million recorded in FY 2010 and $403 million in FY 2011.
There won’t be much money for the politicians to play with. The surplus is all spoken for: $78.6 million for the Rainy Day Fund, $12.3 million for the Water Quality Fund, $20.2 million for transportation, and the rest toward payment of a state employee bonus.
The press release attributed the surplus primarily to stronger-than-expected revenues. Collections rose 5.4% compared to 4.5% forecast.
McDonnell took the opportunity to praise Virginia’s conservative fiscal management while taking a swipe at the spending culture in Washington, D.C. “For too long, elected officials from both parties have over-promised and overspent, and the result is the fiscal crisis we see unfolding in Washington D.C. Here in Richmond, we are committed to a culture of fiscal responsibility and restraint in state government. We have made some very tough choices. We have reduced spending, not raised taxes and focused government on its core functions. Virginia continues to live within its means.”
All true.
Virginia spending in FY 2012 has rebounded since the recession to 2008 levels. With economic growth expected to slow over the next two quarters, there will be no let-up for the budget hawks. Then the threat of sequestration, which would result in massive cutbacks to federal spending in Virginia, looms in 2013. Fortunately, the General Fund budget calls for only 1.1% in spending this fiscal year.
— JAB
Special thanks to personal injury lawyer Thomas Soldan for supporting Bacon’s Rebellion.
