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RICHMOND, VA—The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) is pleased to see key investments and equity initiatives in Governor Northam’s proposed biennial budget. These key investments, which help further promote racial equity and effectively address discriminatory barriers, are initiatives that VLBC and its members have advocated for in the past and continue to strongly support.

These investments are critical to the VLBC mission to improve the economic, educational, political, and social conditions of African Americans and underrepresented groups in Virginia. Education, affordable housing, environmental justice, healthcare, and criminal justice reform are areas where proper funding, especially funding with an equity-based focus, has been inadequate for many years.

“The Governor’s proposed budget is one of the strongest gubernatorial proposals in recent memory within the Commonwealth of Virginia, but at the same time there is still much that remains to be done,” said Chairman Delegate Lamont Bagby (D-74th, Henrico). “I look forward to working with my colleagues to protect our priorities and further pursue and promote equitable policies in Virginia.”

For the 2020 General Assembly Session, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus will continue to advocate for the following equity-based budget items that are included in the Governor’s proposed biennial budget. These include funding requests that VLBC communicated to the Governor prior to the 2019 Reconvened Session and ahead of the 2020 General Assembly Session.

From the Governor’s Proposed Budget—VLBC Requested Funding to:

  • Address homelessness, expand the supply of affordable housing, reduce eviction rates, and provide permanent supportive housing for populations with special needs
    • Increase funding for the Housing Trust Fund and funding to establish an Eviction Prevention and Diversion Pilot Program
  • Combat maternal and infant mortality and reduce the racial disparity in Virginia’s maternal mortality rate
  • Increase funding for Virginia’s public Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • Increase the At-Risk Add-On to support high-needs students
  • Increase access to higher education for low-income students
  • Hire additional school counselors
  • Increase teacher pay
  • Fund additional public defenders
  • Implement gun violence prevention legislation
  • Provide alternative incarceration and re-entry services by expanding pretrial, local probation, and supporting pre-release and post-incarceration services
  • Boost violence intervention and prevention programs
  • Increase food security across Virginia
  • Promote Environmental Justice
  • Strategically source small, woman, and minority-owned (SWaM) business participation on large dollar Commonwealth contracts
  • Improve historical equity and the History curriculum for public school education to tell the full and true story of African Americans in Virginia. Black history is American history.

On the education front, VLBC is especially supportive of the following specific funding decisions that we have previously advocated for:

  • Support for K-12 student attendance at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, including the center’s traveling exhibits ($2.5 million)
  • Resources for students from across Virginia to visit the American Civil War Museum in order for them to further learn the truth about the American Civil War and Virginia’s role in it ($2 million)
  • Efforts to digitize, expand, and increase access to Virginia’s historical highway marker program ($300,000)
  • Funding for historic African American sites in Virginia, such as Freedom House, Monticello, Montpelier, and Maymont (Over $7 million)
  • Resources for the Slavery and Freedom Heritage site in Richmond ($1 million)
  • The removal of $83,570 of funding (per year) from the United Daughters of the Confederacy’s maintenance of confederate cemeteries
  • The creation of an African American Cemeteries fund ($83,570 per year)

“As we review the budget, VLBC will work through the appropriations process to fund additional budget priorities, such as fighting to further address our long-deferred K-12 funding needs, environmen tal justice, criminal justice reform, economic opportunity, access to healthcare, voting rights, and expanding access to legal aid,” said VLBC member and incoming House Appropriations Committee Chair Delegate Luke Torian (D-52nd, Prince William County).

“We look forward to a final budget that further provides equity to communities of color, communities experiencing poverty, and all Virginians,” said VLBC Vice Chair Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-9th, Richmond).

“While there is still work to do, the Governor delivered a strong fiscally responsible budget focused on important priorities,” said VLBC Chairman Del. Lamont Bagby.

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