Virginia Announces Proposed Biennial Budget for 2010-2012

Balanced budget preserves safety net programs, maintains Triple A bond rating, maintains position as national leader through combination of cuts and revenue.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine today unveiled the 2010 caboose budget and 2010-2012 biennial budget that he will submit for consideration by the 2010 General Assembly during a speech to the Joint Money Committees.

The prepared text of his remarks follows:

'Chairman Putney, Chairman Colgan, Chairman Purkey, and Members of the General Assembly: Good Morning.

Today marks the last time I will address the members of the Joint Money Committees as Governor. On behalf of seven and a half million Virginians, I thank and commend you for your service.

When I began my service as Governor nearly four years ago, I chose a motto for my Administration: 'Virginia Leading the Way.' It has inspired everything we do. Just as Virginia was the nation's leading state in the first 50 years of our country's life, we should be the leading state in America today.

When I chose that motto, I had no idea that we would be living through the toughest national economic conditions since the 1930's. When we saw the economy start to soften in March of 2007, few believed that the depths of the recession would be so profound. And yet our goal did not change.

I stand before you today to tell you that ' despite our ongoing challenges ' we have achieved our goal. In the vitality of our economy, in our hard-earned reputation for service delivery and fiscal stewardship, and in our excellent educational outcomes, we are a national leader and there is not a single state that has achieved the level of success in recent years that we have enjoyed in the Commonwealth. While this distinction would be meaningful at any time, I believe that the fact that we have gained this leadership position in a tough time is particularly notable.

Our economy is dramatically outperforming national norms. The Virginia unemployment rate has declined since its peak in June of this year and is now nearly 4 points less than the national average ' the lowest rate among any of the nation's large states. Our median income is high. We have attracted $13.5 billion in new economic investment in the last four years affecting every corner of the Commonwealth. Five Fortune 500 companies have relocated their headquarters to Virginia. We have been recognized as the Best State for Business eight times in the last four years. We have been singled out as one of the five best states to start a new business. We have tripled the participation of small, women, and minority businesses in state procurement. And, we have a larger percentage of our workforce in technology jobs than any other state in this country.

Our efforts to run government well have been recognized again and again. We are the Best Managed State in America. We have maintained the rare Triple A bond rating with all financial agencies during this time of economic turmoil. Even in areas where we have traditionally been weak ' infant mortality, environmental stewardship, youth smoking, and the success of our foster care system ' we have made huge strides forward by focusing on performance.

Our education system is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful in the nation. We have dramatically expanded early childhood education. The students in our K-12 system perform in the top tier of American states on AP exams, SAT exams, and the National Assessment of Educational Performance. The performance of our Latino elementary school students is the best in the nation. Growth in career and technical offerings has exploded in the last four years. And our system of community colleges and universities is widely recognized as one of the two or three best in the United States.