Surovell criticizes Youngkin's governing process and casts doubt on additional reserve funding
He casts doubt on additional reserve funding that Youngkin wants.
This is the Virginia Scope daily newsletter covering Virginia politics from top to bottom. Please consider becoming the ultimate political insider by supporting non-partisan, independent news and becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter today.
Have a tip? You can reply to this email or reach out to me directly at Brandon@virginiascope.com.
Surovell responds to Youngkin’s vetoes and amendments
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin Tuesday for his long list of amendments and vetoes that were dropped Monday night. He also said it seems unlikely that Senate Democrats will agree to more than doubling the amount of money put into the reserve fund, a proposal that Youngkin is pushing for in case of an economic downturn from the moves being made by the White House.
With the amendments still uploading Tuesday morning, Surovell said he has not had time to review them all yet. However, he criticized the governor's methods for offering so many amendments during the short session without any conversations with legislators.
“16 years I've served in the period of time between the end of session and when the budget amendments drop, what will often happen is the governor's office will call and say, ‘Hey, we're thinking about making some amendments. We have some concerns we might veto. Can we have a conversation about trying to reach an accommodation, reach a compromise here on the bill,’ and there's dialog about it,” Surovell said during a press call. “This office has never operated like that. The first time a member finds out they have a problem with the bill is usually when the veto drops, or when the amendment drops.”
Youngkin signed 599 bills into law, amended 159 bills, and vetoed 158 bills. The governor returned the budget with 205 amendments and eight item vetoes.
Surovell also criticised the governor for not communicating with legislators during session to look for compromises.