Our mission, at the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation. We are available to educate policy makers about the potential impact of legislative proposals.
On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the House and Senate money committees will announce their proposed amendments to Virginia’s two-year budget and amendments to the budget that is currently in place.
The legislature adopts a two-year budget, during even-numbered years. The Governor proposes a budget bill, usually in December preceding the session (some governors have done it even earlier than that). The money committees then hear testimony from various agencies about the expenditures needed for their operation. The committees also receive budget briefings from their own staff, which may be more impartial than agency presentations.
This year, the presentations were made during the meetings, early in the session, of Senate Finance and its subcommittees and House Appropriations and its subcommittees. All of these presentations are public and can be found online at: https://lis.virginia.gov
With a very early deadline each session, members of the Senate and the House can propose amendments to the Governor’s budget. Some members are afforded the opportunity to argue their amendments before the money committee, but most proposed amendments do not get a public review.
The House Committee on Appropriations will announce an overview of their amendments to the budget bills on Sunday, February 22, at 1:00. The Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations also will announce a general overview of their package of amendments on Sunday afternoon, with a specific time yet to be announced.
After those general announcements on Sunday, the details of the proposed amendments will be available to the public, probably by Tuesday the 24th.
Then, on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, the two bodies will debate the various proposals. Each house must complete their work on the proposals by the end of session on Thursday, February 26th.
dLCV will post a list of some of the amendments worth watching as soon as they become available!