"More than six months overdue, Virginia legislators finally passed a budget Wednesday — with $1.1 billion in tax relief, including one-time rebates to taxpayers, bolstering education funding and boosting money for mental health resources in the state.

'This is a bipartisan, bicameral compromise,' said House Appropriations Committee chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, the lead House budget negotiator.

Getting past a $1 billion impasse between versions of the budget from a Republican-led House of Delegates and Democratic majority state Senate took time because 'the negotiations have been very intense and very extended,' said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, Senate Finance Committee co-chair.

But the end result reflected both sides’ priorities and 'represented unprecedented investments in education, natural resources and mental health. It’s a win-win,' she said.

The budget also includes $190 million more for state colleges and universities, including more than $62 million for undergraduate financial aid and $75 million aimed at reining in tuition costs,'" reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Photo: House Minority Leader Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, left, and House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, speak during the special session on the budget Wednesday at the state Capitol.
Mike Kropf, TIMES-DISPATCH