Northam Plans to Pack the Courts

Yesterday, Governor Northam presented his proposed amendments to the 2020-2022 biennial budget to the joint “money committees,” just over a month after he signed a revised budget approved during a special legislative session that lasted 84 days.  In probably a harbinger of what’s to come under a presumptive Biden-Harris administration, we learned that Northam plans to transform the judiciary by setting aside funding to add four judges to Virginia’s Court of Appeals who will be more likely to protect the Left’s radical new policies enacted during his term. 

Among the other spending measures recommend by the Governor, such as “free” 2-year college for certain students and $90 million to provide vaccines, his signature plan to grow Virginia’s economy and improve education appears to hinge on legalizing recreational marijuana and using tax revenue from the sale of it to fund early childhood education for three and four year-olds.  See the details below.

Education priorities ignore the real needs of families

Among the spending measures Northam outlined yesterday, one of the largest proposals is over $500 million for public schools to supplement the losses in funding due to the reduction in student enrollment.  While he was reluctant to give a full explanation as to why there’s been a drop in enrollment, we know it’s mostly due to parents finding alternative education - private school, PODs, or home schooling – so their child can receive in-person learning or to escape the onslaught of the leftist indoctrination of their kids.  And while the percentage of students failing is increasing in this virtual learning environment, House Minority Leader, Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock), points out that the Governor’s recommendations offer “no funding to help parents get the technology or other assistance they need to succeed.”

Northam also renewed his call for a program to give three-year-olds access to early childhood education programs, a major priority of his that’s clearly designed to move Virginia towards mandatory universal pre-K education. 

The Governor is proposing $30 million taxpayer dollars to offset financial aid increases at public colleges and universities, and renewed his “free” college program called “Get Skilled. Get a Job. Give Back.” (“G3”).  The G3 plan would make associate degrees at Virginia’s community colleges “free” for students willing to go into certain fields the government deems more valuable than others.  Last year, Del. Mark Cole (R -88, Spotsylvania) likened this same proposal to “indentured servitude for community college tuition,” and believes that while the proposal focuses on the right fields of study, it will be too expensive since “Nothing is free. Somebody somewhere is footing the bill for it.”

Legalizing marijuana to fund early childhood education?

To help pay for all of his early childhood education programs, Governor Northam wants to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, relying on yet another vice like gambling to fund the education of students in Virginia.  Yet, we know that marijuana leads to more addictions, increasingly contributes to automobile infractions, is used by more minors each year, and will further harm families during this pandemic when a record number of people are unemployed.

Aubrey Layne, the Secretary of Finance, also reported yesterday that $90 million of the projected $120 million in tax revenues had been collected through the “temporary” legalization and regulation of [so-called] “games of skill” gambling machines.  Since these games are found in many convenience stores and bars all across Virginia, which have been closed due to mandatory COVID restrictions, there simply wasn’t enough activity to reach their revenue goals. 

It was promised during the regular and special sessions by certain legislators that these “games of skill” would only be made legal through June 2021, so we will be closely monitoring the budget process to see if they will uphold that promise in light of the lower revenue totals admitted during today’s briefing.

Ethical concerns associated with vaccination and LARC proposals

Governor Northam is proposing $90 million to “ensure we have the supplies, staffing, and other infrastructure needed to vaccinate eight million Virginians” with the new COVID vaccine.  Funding to provide vaccines to 8 million Virginians (VA has about 8.5 million total), combined with Northam’s statement that “vaccines are the only way we can end this pandemic and get back to a more normal life,” appear to indicate the real possibility that his administration is preparing for mandated vaccines without religious or ethical exceptions.  This would be a major infringement upon individual liberty, as every person should have the freedom to decide for themselves and their families whether or not to receive the vaccination.

The Governor has also recommended continuing the “LARC” program which essentially funnels $2 million each year to Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics to pay for and insert intrauterine devices (IUDs).

These are just some of the priorities the Governor is hoping to spend your tax dollars on over the next two years, but like any budget we’ll be reviewing the Governor’s proposed amendments for other items such as taxpayer funded abortion.  You can also review his proposed budget amendments yourself HERE.