Growls

The headline of Chelyen Davis’s report on the state budget in today’s Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reads: “House, Senate to begin state budget dance.” It reports that “the General Assembly money committees will meet in Richmond today to unveil two competing budget proposals.” While you may think that all 140 members of the General Assembly have a say in the budget, that’s not so, according to Ms. Davis.

Here’s how the dance is likely choreographed. “Each house will pass the budget put forth by its own committee, and in a complicated procedural process, each will reject the other house’s budget and they’ll put the whole thing into a conference committee. That conference committee, typically made up of four or five senators and four or five delegates – all members of the money committees, all long-serving and well-versed in state finances – will begin meeting in the evenings, with members from both sides pairing off to go over specific areas of the budget and find common ground. Ideally, the conferees will reach a compromise within the last week of the session . . . “

So much for accountability and transparency!