Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs Virginia budget with tax cuts, spending hikes - The Washington Post

RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) invited several hundred supporters to a suburban Richmond grocery store Tuesday to watch him ceremonially sign the state’s two-year budget, touting its rare combination of $4 billion in tax cuts and increased spending for education and law enforcement.

“This is big,” Youngkin said to hoots and cheers beneath a campaign-style banner that read “Getting it done together.” “It’s not everything that I wanted, so we’re going to go back in and get the rest” next year, he said. “But it is a big step in the right direction.”

His action comes just 10 days before the June 30 deadline to get a budget in place for the next fiscal year — a relatively close call caused by protracted negotiations for a compromise between the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democratic-controlled state Senate.

Youngkin scored a few wins in the budget deal, suffered some losses and ultimately decided to take what he could get — including an increase in the state’s standard income tax deduction and a reduction in the tax on groceries.