Session 2024 Resources

Our state budget shows who and what we value and is a critical tool to advance policies that will meaningfully dismantle barriers for people of color and families with low incomes across the state.  And there are two sides to these important budget decisions: how we raise money and how we spend it. 

Below, you will find some overview resources on budget and tax issues that elected officials and advocates are discussing this session. Since the state budget touches everything we care about, you’ll find issue-specific budget information throughout the other sections.

Every student in Virginia, no matter who they are or where they come from, deserves the opportunity to attend a high-quality public school, where they can feel supported and thrive. Unfortunately, Virginia is far from doing what it can and must to create those high-quality schools. The state must fully fund our schools to remove barriers to a high-quality education, providing adequate resources so that schools can hire the staff and provide the programs our students need.

We are the economy, and our economy will only do well when we have the resources to thrive, such as strong wages, the ability to care for our children, a voice on the job, and good tax policy that supports families struggling the most. We’ve made critical progress in the past, and together, we can build on our recent accomplishments to advance policies that create greater economic opportunity and allow families to thrive.

Whether we’re Black, white or brown, living in a small town or a big city, we want our families to be whole and our communities to be vibrant. To support safe and healthy families and communities, we must remove barriers to good health and invest in the programs and services our communities prioritize. Virginia made great progress in connecting people to health care in the last few years. State policymakers can protect Virginia’s progress by supporting outreach efforts to connect people to health care and updating backward eligibility rules that currently force many families to choose between paying the rent or getting care for their sick or injured child.

Courts impose excessive fines and fees that many people simply cannot afford to pay, which locks people into cycles of inescapable debt. This is done with unparalleled intensity in Black communities. Under current law, people can be on the hook for court debt for up to 60 years, essentially a lifetime sentence. Further, fines and fees imposed on youth often leave families, parents, and guardians on the hook for these payments. Among the many ways we can reform the criminal legal system, key opportunities include reducing the time that court debt can be collected, eliminating fines and fees for youth altogether, and encouraging more fair avenues for accountability.