Letter from Chairman Callahan (R) to Senator Chichester (r)
Some details the Richmond Times Dispatch didn't cover. This was written shortly before the ignoble walkout by the Senate conferees.
Letter from Chairman Callahan to Senator Chichester.
June1, 2006
The Honorable John H. Chichester, Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
Room 626, General Assembly Building
Dear John,
At your request, and in exchange for separating transportation taxes from the budget, the House conferees agreed to remove all debt proposals from our budget. We have done so in all of our proposals. Our approach to capital has been guided by the following: First, we have used cash to pay for capital projects. Second, we have given priority to projects that have been justified by the State Council on Higher Education, projects that have been in the six-year plan for two cycles and projects that have been previously planned. Third, consistent with your position regarding the use of debt, we have not provided funding to either plan, design or conduct architectural and engineering studies for which no funding plan has been identified that is adequate, sustainable and reliable.
In our most recent proposal to you, the House conferees have agreed to provide nearly $900 million in cash for variety of capital projects. This represents a change of nearly $300 million in cash from our original capital proposal contained in House Bill 5002.
More importantly however, our proposal focuses funding for the projects that will have an immediate impact on core services in higher education and mental health. Specifically our proposal provides double the funding for mental health projects including the construction of a replacement facility for Eastern State Hospital. By contrast, your proposal would merely provide planning money with no guarantee of future commitment. This course of action will only hamper our efforts to transform our mental health system.
In the area of higher education, the House has proposed to provide nearly $65 million more in funding for the Community College System to meet the projected enrollment needs. I think you would agree based on enrollment projections, the Community College System will need to absorb nearly two-thirds of the state’s new students through 2012. To meet the immediate needs of the Community College System, the House proposal fully and immediately funds five academic buildings at five of our fastest growing community colleges located in Northern Virginia, Tidewater, Richmond metropolitan area and the Shenandoah Valley. In total these five projects will accommodate approximately 5,000 new students. By contrast, the Senate proposal provides no new facilities, only planning without any commitment to the actual construction.
Perhaps more disconcerting to the House conferees is your position to spend nearly $12.5 million in planning at the seat of government for new office buildings with a construction value of nearly $400 million. Clearly this represents a misplaced priority given the needs in higher education and mental health.
In an effort to resolve the capital budget, you offered that we move to the capital budget proposal put forth by Governor Warner in House Bill 30 as introduced. We are willing to move to this position in return to moving to Governor Warner’s trasportation proposal. Adoption of these two proposals will allow us to complete the negotiation of these two items this afternoon and to to immediately begin to resolve the remaining differences.
As I indicated in our meeting with the Governor, I remain steadfast in my belief that we can complete our work by June 9th.
Sincerely,
Vincent F. Callahan, Jr.
Chairman
Letter from Chairman Callahan to Senator Chichester.
June1, 2006
The Honorable John H. Chichester, Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
Room 626, General Assembly Building
Dear John,
At your request, and in exchange for separating transportation taxes from the budget, the House conferees agreed to remove all debt proposals from our budget. We have done so in all of our proposals. Our approach to capital has been guided by the following: First, we have used cash to pay for capital projects. Second, we have given priority to projects that have been justified by the State Council on Higher Education, projects that have been in the six-year plan for two cycles and projects that have been previously planned. Third, consistent with your position regarding the use of debt, we have not provided funding to either plan, design or conduct architectural and engineering studies for which no funding plan has been identified that is adequate, sustainable and reliable.
In our most recent proposal to you, the House conferees have agreed to provide nearly $900 million in cash for variety of capital projects. This represents a change of nearly $300 million in cash from our original capital proposal contained in House Bill 5002.
More importantly however, our proposal focuses funding for the projects that will have an immediate impact on core services in higher education and mental health. Specifically our proposal provides double the funding for mental health projects including the construction of a replacement facility for Eastern State Hospital. By contrast, your proposal would merely provide planning money with no guarantee of future commitment. This course of action will only hamper our efforts to transform our mental health system.
In the area of higher education, the House has proposed to provide nearly $65 million more in funding for the Community College System to meet the projected enrollment needs. I think you would agree based on enrollment projections, the Community College System will need to absorb nearly two-thirds of the state’s new students through 2012. To meet the immediate needs of the Community College System, the House proposal fully and immediately funds five academic buildings at five of our fastest growing community colleges located in Northern Virginia, Tidewater, Richmond metropolitan area and the Shenandoah Valley. In total these five projects will accommodate approximately 5,000 new students. By contrast, the Senate proposal provides no new facilities, only planning without any commitment to the actual construction.
Perhaps more disconcerting to the House conferees is your position to spend nearly $12.5 million in planning at the seat of government for new office buildings with a construction value of nearly $400 million. Clearly this represents a misplaced priority given the needs in higher education and mental health.
In an effort to resolve the capital budget, you offered that we move to the capital budget proposal put forth by Governor Warner in House Bill 30 as introduced. We are willing to move to this position in return to moving to Governor Warner’s trasportation proposal. Adoption of these two proposals will allow us to complete the negotiation of these two items this afternoon and to to immediately begin to resolve the remaining differences.
As I indicated in our meeting with the Governor, I remain steadfast in my belief that we can complete our work by June 9th.
Sincerely,
Vincent F. Callahan, Jr.
Chairman
posted by f mcdonald at 10:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home