"The Virginia General Assembly passed a two-year state budget Wednesday that both cuts taxes and increases spending, a rare combination that drew extensive bipartisan support in both the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House of Delegates.

'It’s been a long haul, but I think the result is a fiscally sound, bipartisan budget we can all be proud of,' House Appropriations Chairman Barry D. Knight (R-Virginia Beach) said in a floor speech, praising fellow budget negotiators on both sides of the aisle.

Along with the tax cuts, the budget would provide 5 percent pay raises for teachers and state employees over each of the next two years, as well as additional money for law enforcement and higher education. Its commitment of $19.2 billion to public education is the most the state has ever budgeted for that purpose, even when adjusted for inflation, according to Knight," The Washington Post.

Photo: Virginia Del. Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth), seen in January. Scott was elected House minority leader on Wednesday. (Steve Helber/AP)