With the regular 2014 Virginia General Assembly session wrapping up on Saturday, local lawmakers still had not passed the state’s budget, all due to two words that became an overarching theme during the Gazette-Journal’s annual visit with local legislators in Richmond last Thursday … Medicaid expansion.

Del. Keith Hodges (R-Urbanna) said it was a “major disappointment” that the state’s budget process was being held up because legislation intended to bolster Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was being linked to passage of the overall budget.

He added that when a piece of legislation is included in the budget process, it becomes more of a memorandum than a piece of legislation and is also not discussed by the majority of legislators. “To move forward with such an important piece of legislation, it needs to go through the process,” Hodges said.

He also said it’s not fair to delay the budget because so many organizati...