House, Senate name teams to negotiate state budget

With just two weeks left of the legislative session (we hope!), most of the attention turns to the handful of powerful lawmakers who negotiate a version of the two-year state budget that can be agreed upon by their colleagues in the House and Senate.

Today, as expected, Speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford) officially named Republicans Chris Jones of Suffolk and Steve Landes of Augusta as the House's newest budget conferees.

The two will join veterans Lacey Putney (I-Bedford), Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), Beverly Sherwood (R-Frederick) and Johnny S. Joannou (D-Portsmouth). Jones and Landes replaced delegates who did not return to the House this year -- Clarke Hogan (R-Halifax) and Phil Hamilton (R-Newport News).

The Senate kept the same conferees who served the last two years. As we told you earlier this week, Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Colgan had considered not serving as a conferee, but will do so another year.

The other Senate conferees are: Ed Houck (D-Spotsylvania), Richard Saslaw, (D-Fairfax), Janet Howell (D-Fairfax), William Wampler (R-Bristol) and Walter Stosch (R-Henrico).