Rob Bloxom with the final Capitol Report for 2025

Hi, this is Rob Bloxom with the final Capitol Report from the 2025 Virginia General Assembly Session.

The Governor has completed his work on final vetoes and line-item vetoes of the budget. He had thirty days after our one-day veto session to take this action. We returned the budget to him in the same form we had originally passed, rejecting his proposed amendments. He had pared-down almost all our projects to create a $300 million cushion due to uncertainty at the federal level, which raises a significant risk to our state revenues. He also reinserted certain programs he felt strongly about, but the majority party maintained its position and rejected those as well—including the $300 million in project reductions.

The Governor ultimately returned the budget with line-item vetoes. He felt that the prudent course of action was to retain extra cash due to the elevated risk to our revenues. As a result, he removed all higher education capital projects, building a total cushion of $900 million. Since these projects were still in the planning stages, the lack of immediate appropriation should not delay their progress. We may bond the money next year or use the $900 million we have just put in the bank if revenues remain on track.

As for my budget requests, the Eastern Shore did very well. We received the full amount I requested for repairs to the Hare Valley School, $1.3 million. This should go a long way toward rebuilding the complex with a new roof, new windows, and a new HVAC system. This complex provides many valuable services to the community, such as the Area Agency on Aging’s day programs for seniors, Meals on Wheels, and the Head Start program.

I also secured $6.4 million in state support for detailed engineering and cost estimates to bring natural gas service to Northern Accomack County. Some have labeled this “corporate welfare,” but I disagree. A Virginia Economic Development Study showed that the gallon usage from Perdue, Tyson’s, and Virginia Space will not, on its own, cover the installation cost of a pipeline. There is a mathematical equation that determines the break-even number of gallons needed to make the pipeline self-sustaining. Virginia will need to front the cost of the difference, what I call the “Delta”, between current usage and what is needed. However, an agreement will need to be put in place that as new users come online and more gallons are shipped through the pipeline, Virginia will recoup its investment.

The COCA (Cost of Competing Adjustment) funding for teachers remained in the budget. This supplement helps us compete with the higher teacher salaries offered in Maryland and represents a $1.75 million appropriation.

The final appropriation included in the budget was $8 million to rejuvenate the old ferry dock on the backside of Wallops Island. This may not be enough to fully fund the project, but Rocket Lab has committed additional funds to help complete it. The dock is located on NASA land leased by Virginia Space and will be used by any of its tenants to bring heavy payloads to Wallops Island.

Thank you for the opportunity to represent the 100th District in the House of Delegates. It was an honor to be chosen by the majority party as a budget conferee for the fourth consecutive year. I am also pleased to report that four of my pieces of legislation were successfully passed this session. More information on those bills can be found at https://lis.virginia.gov.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at delrbloxom@house.virginia.gov or by phone at (757) 824-3456.