RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday called for spending $411 million of federal coronavirus relief money on clean water projects, continuing his gradual rollout of funding plans, while Republican members of the House of Delegates complained about being shut out of the process.
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The General Assembly is set to convene Aug. 2 in a special session to consider how to allocate some $4.3 billion in federal relief dedicated to Virginia under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Northam has been announcing commitments for chunks of the money on an almost daily basis, including $250 million for school ventilation systems (which localities would have to match with their own federal relief funds, bringing the total to $500 million); $700 million for rural broadband; and $353 million for small business relief.
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The legislature will have to approve those plans at the special session, but each announcement has been coordinated with the Democratic leaders who control the General Assembly.
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Last week, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Del. Luke Torian (D-Prince William) notified delegates that lawmakers would not be allowed to submit amendments to the governor’s spending proposals.
“It simply would be impossible to thoroughly evaluate those items in what is expected to be a short and expeditious Special Session,” Torian wrote. He added that the Senate is applying the same rules for the session, which is scheduled to last two weeks.
“The only input on how these billions of dollars will be spent will be from a select few Democrats,” House Minority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) told reporters Tuesday morning in a video news conference. “It’s sort of telling that this is all being set up to be a rubber stamp for the governor’s plans.”
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Torian responded in a written statement that the spending does not affect the state’s general fund and is simply a one-time emergency effort. “Our priority is expediency in getting relief funds where they’re needed,” he said, praising Northam for “open collaboration” in making plans to spend the federal money and noting that “many agreed-upon allocations are already public.”
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All lawmakers will still be able to submit floor amendments, or proposed changes that go straight to the full legislative body instead of being debated in the committee process. Republicans argue that that is a haphazard approach that does not give full consideration to ideas, while Democrats say the other side is being obstructionist.
Gilbert said House Republicans intend to release a list of their own spending priorities in the coming days.
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Northam’s proposal Tuesday morning calls for using federal relief funds to improve water systems around the state. It includes $186.5 million for wastewater treatment projects; $100 million to update water systems in “small and disadvantaged communities”; and $125 million for sewer overflow projects in Richmond, Alexandria and Lynchburg.
“In addition to modernizing water and sewer infrastructure across the Commonwealth, these investments will go a long way towards restoring the health of our waterways and reducing pollution in our communities,” Northam said in a statement.
State Health and Human Resources Secretary Daniel Carey said the coronavirus pandemic “highlighted the importance of ensuring all Virginians have access to basic necessities — safe housing, quality health care, food security, and reliable utilities. Investing in our water systems will help advance health equity and ensure a robust economic recovery.”