General Assembly Adopts Budget
The General Assembly approved compromise conference reports on the FY 2020 “caboose” and 2020-2022 biennium budgets on Thursday, March 12. Conferees struck an agreement on the budgets late on Saturday, March 7, and legislators agreed to return on March 12 in order to allow time for members to review the conference report prior to voting […]
Revenue fairness bills headed to the Governor’s desk
HB 785 (Watts and Kilgore) and SB 588 (Hanger and Favola) passed the General Assembly on Sunday, March 8, and are headed to the Governor for final action. The bills, which incorporated related measures by Delegate Krizek and Senators Lewis, Locke, and Mason, are now identical after a compromise was negotiated in a conference committee. […]
Collective bargaining legislation conference report
Legislation changing provisions of the Code related to collective bargaining for public employers and employees came out of conference committee and passed the House and Senate with language preserving local option for local public employers. HB 582 (Guzman)/SB 939 (Saslaw) were substituted in conference committee with language that preserves the prohibition on striking by public […]
Key transportation legislation updates
Signature legislation supported by Governor Ralph Northam to make major changes to the state’s transportation funding system survived conference committee and was approved by both the House and Senate. HB 1414 (Filler-Corn)/SB 890 (Saslaw) were filed by the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader of the Senate and would generate an estimated $700 million […]
Split precincts bill passes with amendments
SB 740 (Obenshain and Barker) seeks to address the issue of split precincts, in which one polling place serves voters in more than one state House or Senate or congressional district. As reported in an earlier edition of Capitol Contact, similar legislation has been considered and passed by the Senate in the last several years. […]
Virginia Food Access and Investment Fund finally approved and funded by General Assembly
After years of effort, the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund (VFAIF) has finally been approved and funded by the General Assembly. The VFAIF is designed to provide funding for the construction, rehabilitation, equipment upgrades, or expansion of grocery stores, small food retailers, and innovative food retail projects in underserved communities. The effort is a refreshed and […]
Minimum wage legislation conference report
The House and Senate have agreed on the details of legislation to raise the minimum wage for workers in Virginia from the current rate of $7.25 per hour to $9.50 per hour beginning on January 1, 2021. The conference report for HB 395 (Ward)/SB 7 (Saslaw) represents a compromise between the House and Senate, a […]
Redistricting Constitutional amendment and criteria bills pass
After intense debate on the House floor, SJ 18 (Barker), the Constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan commission to draw district lines, passed by a vote of 54-46 in the waning days of the session. The amendment had already passed the Senate in mid-February by a large margin. House members also considered, but ultimately rejected, a […]
General Assembly green lights marijuana decriminalization
The General Assembly has officially voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. After two months of amendments, hearings, and floor debate, Senator Adam Ebbin’s SB 2 finally passed both the Senate and House of Delegates on March 8, and will now be sent to Governor Ralph Northam for consideration. Under current law […]
School support staff health insurance credit bill headed to Governor’s desk
Legislation requiring school divisions to provide a health insurance credit (HIC) of $1.50 per year of service to all retired members of local school divisions (other than teachers) with at least 15 years of credible service will now be acted upon by Governor Ralph Northam. HB 1513 (McQuinn) requires school divisions to provide a health […]
Bill expanding municipal net metering for solar installations is limited to Fairfax County
HB 572 (Keam) and SB 710 (McClellan) as introduced would have allowed any locality to install up to a 5 megawatt (MW) solar, or wind, electric generating facility, and use all the electricity generated to credit any metered accounts of the locality regardless of whether such accounts serve building or facilities “… located at the […]
Preclearance bill fails to emerge from conference committee
HB 761 (VanValkenburg) will not move forward in 2020 after a conference committee failed to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The bill would have established a state-level preclearance process to replace the federal preclearance that was previously required under the Voting Rights Act. For affected localities (any County or […]
Earned sick leave bill fails to pass
Legislation requiring public and private employers with 15 or more employees to provide employees with earned paid sick time failed to pass the Senate. SB 481 (Favola) would have required that employees accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a minimum of 40 hours […]
Local governments granted authority to remove Confederate monuments
Legislation granting local governments the authority to remove, relocate, or alter Confederate monuments owned by the locality has passed the General Assembly and will be signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam. HB 1537 (McQuinn) provides that a locality may remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover any monument or memorial for war veterans located in its […]
General Assembly okays bills granting greater authority to localities for control of firearms
The General Assembly has approved legislation pertaining to expanded control of firearms by local governments. SB 35 (Surovell)/HB 421 (Price) authorizes any locality to adopt an ordinance to prohibit the possession or carrying of firearms, ammunition, or components in: Any building, or part thereof, owned or used by such locality for governmental purposes; In any […]
School Modernization Legislation Overview
Many localities continue to face significant challenges raising local funding necessary to undertake school construction and renovation projects. Numerous factors impact the educational achievement of K-12 students, including the state of the facilities in which they are taught. Concern over the physical condition of schools in Virginia is not a recent development and several bills […]