Retirements and election losses have cost the House of Delegates’ Appropriations Committee a century and a half of budget-writing experience, outgoing chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, told the panel’s annual retreat Tuesday.
And, as he himself prepares to leave office after losing his House seat to Democrat Clinton Jenkins, Jones said “there’s going to need to be a lot of holding up your colleagues.”
Pausing briefly to remind the committee that it had over the past few years remade the state budget into a structurally balanced spending plan, he said his colleagues needed to remember that they are stewards of the state’s triple-A bond rating (the highest grade given for creditworthiness) and for Virginia’s reputation for fiscal soundness. (By structurally balanced, Jones means there aren’t big hidden obligations, such as pension needs, or overoptimistic forecasts about revenue to pose a risk of eventual budget shortfalls. In fact, for the first time in many years, he added, it looks as if revenue going forward will be more than enough to cover mandatory and high priority spending.)
Jones also shared a two-part politics lesson of the kind that isn’t usually taught in poli-sci classes.
The first part: governors (and, for that matter, legislators who don’t serve on budget committees) are going to want to spend money because they want, naturally enough, to accomplish big things. That’s perfectly understandable — in a way, it’s the job.
The second part is what that means for member of the Appropriations Committee, in their role as budget-balancers and stewards of the state’s money:
“You’re saying no 10 times for every time you say yes.”
It makes for a tough job, but as Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, replied of Jones, “I don’t know anyone who works harder … he loves this commonwealth as much as anyone I’ve ever known.”
Shad Plank is the Daily Press blog that tracks Virginia politics. It takes its name from the traditional Shad Planking political get-together, though hopefully it is tastier than the roasted fish featured at that Sussex County event. To contact Dave Ress with tips or questions, call 757-247-4535 or email dress@dailypress.com.
