Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates are celebrating what they're calling a very successful General Assembly session so far.
The party, which outweighs Democrats in the House 67-32, pushed through a variety of legislation before approved bills "crossed over" to the Senate last week. They range from anti-union bills to components of the governor's education reform package.
But some of the biggest issues lie ahead for lawmakers, namely transportation funding and Medicaid expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Senate lawmakers approved a budget amendment last week setting up the expansion of Medicaid if certain reforms are enacted first. House Republicans rejected similar language in their version of the budget, but will discuss the provision as details are finalized in conference committee. Del. Chris Jones says Medicaid reform is a must.
"It's universal that we need to have reforms first, and what is our pathway to get to expansion, if in fact we do it, is what's going to be the issue at hand," Jones said.
House lawmakers also set aside $31 million in the budget for school security, including more funding for school resource officers.
