December 15, 2022 – Richmond, VA
Governor Youngkin Releases Proposed Budget Amendments
Dylan D. Bishop, VGEA Lobbyist
This morning the Governor presented his proposed amendments to the Commonwealth’s current budget which remains effective through June 30, 2024 — the end of fiscal year 2024 (FY24).
Much of the existing budget language, such as the 5% raise for state employees effective June 10 of next year, remains in place.
In addition, the Governor has proposed both one-time and performance-based bonuses for state employees. His proposal did not include additional pay raises in light of the chilling economic forecast for FY24.
Below I will outline the relevant provisions for state employees and retirees, but first, a quick note on process.
The Budget Process – A Quick Refresher
The Commonwealth’s biennial (2-year) budget was officially adopted in June 2022. However, things change, and the Governor is permitted to offer amendments to the second year of the budget in order to address unanticipated revenues, expenses, emergencies, etc. In other words, the Governor overlays his proposed tweaks to the second year of the existing budget. We’ll refer to that as the “Governor’s budget.”
The Governor’s budget is then used as the starting point which the House of Delegates and Senate, independently, will tweak further to reflect their own unique priorities and interests. Hence, during session, there will be two competing proposals: a House budget and Senate budget. By the end of the session, the House and Senate will reconcile their respective budget proposals into one “General Assembly budget.”
After this reconciliation, the Governor has one last chance to suggest changes to the General Assembly budget, but any such changes only become effective if the General Assembly consents to them.
With the aforementioned process in mind, please note that we are very early in the process and there is much lobbying to be done.
Relevant Budget Items
Please see below for a summary of the budget items most relevant to the VGEA and its members.
Pay Raises
Already baked into the existing budget.
- Full-time and classified state employees shall receive a 5% pay raise effective June 10, 2023, but only if they attained a rating of “Contributor” or higher on their latest performance evaluation.
- Wage employees’ base rates of pay may be increased by up to five percent after June 10, 2023; however, the cost of such increases for wage employees shall be borne by existing funds appropriated to each agency.
- State-supported local employees shall receive a 5% pay raise effective July 1, 2023.
- Adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants at Virginia two-year and four-year public colleges and higher education institutions shall receive a 5% raise effective June 10, 2023.
Bonuses
The Governor’s proposed amendments.
- Full-time and classified state employees, except elected officials, who were employed on or before August 10, 2023, and remained employed until at least November 10, 2023, shall receive a one-time bonus payment of $1,500 on December 1, 2023, but only if they attained a rating of “Contributor” or higher on their latest performance evaluation and have no active written notices under the Standards of Conduct within the preceding twelve-month period.
- Up to $100,000,000 year from the general fund shall be used to provide a one-time bonus payment up to 10.0 percent of base pay on December 1, 2023 to classified employees of the Executive Branch and other full-time employees of the Commonwealth, except elected officials, who were employed on or before August 10, 2023, remained employed until at least November 10, 2023, and have attained an equivalent rating of at least “Extraordinary Contributor” on their performance evaluation and have no active written notices under the Standards of Conduct within the preceding twelve-month period. Any amount in this paragraph that remains unspent at the end of the fiscal year shall be reappropriated in the next fiscal year to fund future employee bonus payments.
For More Information
If you’re interested in additional detail, the actual text of the budget language on employee compensation and benefits may be found here:
https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/item/2023/1/SB800/Introduced/1/483.
Note that italicized text indicates new, proposed language.
Share your thoughts, comments, and ideas with the VGEA team at vgea.org/contact, at info@vgea.org, or on our new members-only Facebook group: VGEA Member Cohort.