The latest word out of Capitol Square is that budget negotiations might grind on for some time past Saturday's scheduled sine die adjournment. One of the key sticking points remains the possible expansion of pre-kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds.
Regardless of the outcome, the negotiations are in a way the final post script to the 2005 gubernatorial campaign.
I still recall the first time I spoke with Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine about his pre-K vision. It was during the 2005 campaign, and the then-lieutenant governor did a phone interview in the campaign SUV headed to another event.
He explained his big picture vision of both pre-K and a health insurance credit for small business, variations of which showed up in his 2008 budget document. When I pushed him on the expense of those two ideas, he gave an answer that rings just as true today as it did in 2005.
"Well, Garren, I will be candid, I haven't completely figured out how to finance them yet," he said.
Three years on, Kaine finds himself in a tough spot. Virginia governors only get four years in the Executive Mansion. And since the commonwealth operates on a two-year budget, any legacy building that requires serious financial power has to be done in year three of the term.
But a popped housing bubble has the governor over a barrel. State revenue growth has slowed to a crawl, and short-term history doesn't look fondly on executives who preside over slowing economies, popped bubbles or outright recessions. Just ask former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore.
Even with the state's financial troubles, Kaine found a way to pay for the program, reallocating lottery dollars that were paying for school construction to basic education aid. That freed up a few million dollars in the budget to send more kids to preschool. But there's a snag: Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell has opined that moving lottery funds into the General Fund is unconstitutional.
If lottery dollars are held separately in a different fund, Kaine's move to pay for pre-K would appear as a hole in the state's education spending, even if the bottom line numbers remain the same. It's a campaign ad waiting to be written. And lest anyone forget, the gubernatorial campaign in Virginia will seriously crank up in just over a year.
It's not much of a stretch to think that Kaine's legacy might come down to the negotiations ongoing on in Capitol Square this weekend.
No pressure.
Regardless of the outcome, the negotiations are in a way the final post script to the 2005 gubernatorial campaign.
I still recall the first time I spoke with Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine about his pre-K vision. It was during the 2005 campaign, and the then-lieutenant governor did a phone interview in the campaign SUV headed to another event.
He explained his big picture vision of both pre-K and a health insurance credit for small business, variations of which showed up in his 2008 budget document. When I pushed him on the expense of those two ideas, he gave an answer that rings just as true today as it did in 2005.
"Well, Garren, I will be candid, I haven't completely figured out how to finance them yet," he said.
Three years on, Kaine finds himself in a tough spot. Virginia governors only get four years in the Executive Mansion. And since the commonwealth operates on a two-year budget, any legacy building that requires serious financial power has to be done in year three of the term.
But a popped housing bubble has the governor over a barrel. State revenue growth has slowed to a crawl, and short-term history doesn't look fondly on executives who preside over slowing economies, popped bubbles or outright recessions. Just ask former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore.
Even with the state's financial troubles, Kaine found a way to pay for the program, reallocating lottery dollars that were paying for school construction to basic education aid. That freed up a few million dollars in the budget to send more kids to preschool. But there's a snag: Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell has opined that moving lottery funds into the General Fund is unconstitutional.
If lottery dollars are held separately in a different fund, Kaine's move to pay for pre-K would appear as a hole in the state's education spending, even if the bottom line numbers remain the same. It's a campaign ad waiting to be written. And lest anyone forget, the gubernatorial campaign in Virginia will seriously crank up in just over a year.
It's not much of a stretch to think that Kaine's legacy might come down to the negotiations ongoing on in Capitol Square this weekend.
No pressure.
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