Update: Lawmakers Pass 2019 Budget Adjustment Bill, Funds Reclass For Corrections & Public Safety Members & Keeps Woodside Open

After being held up for weeks by disagreement on a water quality money issue, VSEA Policy Analyst Adam Norton reports from the State House that lawmakers passed the 2019 budget adjustment bill this afternoon.

Norton reports that there are three items included in the budget adjustment bill that are very important to VSEA DOC, DPS and Woodside members, which are:

1. Funding a one-grade-up reclassification of Corrections Officers 1 and 2, who recently prevailed in a class-action request for reclassification. Norton estimates the reclassifications to total approximately $2 million;

2. Funding a one-grade-up reclassification for State Trooper sergeants, lieutenants and captains, who were also successful in a recent reclassification effort. Norton estimates their reclassification will total approximately $1.8 million; and

3. Adding an additional $2.7 million to the beleaguered Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center’s budget to keep the facility operating through June 2019.