State budget negotiations continue, two weeks after General Assembly adjourned

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Two weeks after the regular session of the General Assembly ended, we’re still waiting for a compromise on the state budget.

Lawmakers left Richmond earlier this month without passing a new two-year spending plan, and negotiators have been working behind the scenes to strike a deal.

What’s most unusual, says Virginia Tech professor and WDBJ7 political analyst Bob Denton, is the silence surrounding those talks.

“I find it interesting that perhaps a lot is going on behind the scenes, and the Governor has said he’d rather have a good budget than to rush it, but it’s the silence, not the public debate about the budget, that I find highly unusual,” Denton said.

What we’re seeing, Denton said, is a dance between Democrats and Republicans who want to say they prevailed on their budget priorities.

But he remains optimistic we will see a compromise, perhaps by early April.