Dear Friend,
The General Assembly adjourned “sine die” on Saturday, March 12…without a budget and some legislation left undecided in conference committees. Below are updates on my bills that passed, important legislation from the session, where the budget stands, and other community news.
My Bills That Passed
HB632: Addressing Excessive Noise from Loud Mufflers
Constituents in my district, across the Richmond area, and many other parts of the Commonwealth have contacted me with their concerns about loud mufflers impacting the peace and safety of their neighborhoods. HB632 passed the General Assembly after extensive input from community members, law enforcement, motorcyclists, automobile dealers, and antique car enthusiasts. The final form of the bill is narrowly defined so that it only pertains to the enforcement of loud exhaust systems. It does not expand the enforcement of any other secondary offense (or “pre-textual stops”). It also does not impact a homeowner’s ability to work on their car in their driveway or hinder any personal property rights.
HB641: Cash Fares for Disabled Riders: Allows someone with a disability who does not have a bank account to pay a TNC provider, like Uzurv, in cash.
HB642: Healthcare Coverage for Service Members: Allows certain service members to have state healthcare coverage when they are on active duty during a state of emergency and there is a gap in their private health coverage.
HB644: Department of General Services; surplus property: Authorizes the Department of General Services to determine boundary lines of surplus properties and work with land owners to make adjustments. The bill also allows DGS to accept easements that facilitate adjustments upon approval of the Governor.
HB649: Language Acquisition for Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children: Establishes an advisory board, an annual report, and resources to assist parents/guardians of children (ages 0-5) who are deaf or hard of hearing.
HB1194: Affordable Housing through Economic Development Authorities: Authorizes Industrial and Economic Development Authorities to distribute grants for affordable housing in areas where there are also housing authorities.
Important Legislation
There were 3,143 bills introduced this session and 1,767 passed both the House and Senate. The Governor has the opportunity to sign or veto the bills and the General Assembly will approve any actions during the “Reconvene Session” on April 27. The Times-Dispatch article, “30 Reasons Why the Virginia General Assembly Session Mattered” covers many important bills that passed and failed.
Tax Relief: SB12 allows localities to return surplus personal property tax revenues to taxpayers.
K-12: HB346 allows colleges and universities to open “lab schools” - this bill passed both Chambers but the details are still being worked out in a conference committee. A vote on the bill will take place whenever the General Assembly convenes to vote on the budget.
HB127 prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, and other factors at governor’s schools.
HB1068 and SB570, which would have banned the teaching of “divisive concepts,” failed to pass.
Conference committees are still working out the details of HB563 that would create a fund for grants to school boards in order to finance school construction and modernization as well as changing the Literary Fund (SB471) to make more money available to local school divisions.
SB656 requires parental notification about sexually explicit materials in schools.
Health Care: There were a number of bills related to banning abortion after 20 weeks. None of these bills passed the General Assembly.
Cannabis: Several bills to accelerate the retail cannabis market as well as legislation to recalibrate the sentences of people incarcerated due to marijuana-related convictions failed to pass. However, SB591 passed which prohibits certain shapes (human, animal, vehicle or fruit) of marijuana and hemp products and limits the quantity of THC in such products. Additionally, HB933 relates to pharmaceutical processors and makes technical amendments to the medical cannabis code to improve processes for patients and processors.
Casinos: SB203 which would have authorized Petersburg to vote on a casino and barred Richmond from another vote failed to pass. However, the Senate budget blocks Richmond from a second referendum until a study of an alternative site in Petersburg is completed.
Charitable Gaming: HB763 and SB403 adds electronic gaming as charitable gaming and specifies who is eligible to conduct electronic gaming. The bills give oversight and enforcement authority over all charitable gaming gross receipts to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). Only fraternal, veterans organizations, and qualified higher education institutions are eligible to have electronic gaming machines. Here is a comparison of the current law and the change in the bills.
Facial Recognition: SB741 defines “facial recognition technology” and requires the Divison of Purchases and Supply to determine the appropriate facial recognition technology for law enforcement use as well as describes certain criteria that must be met. Additionally, the bill provides that local law enforcement, campus police, and state police may use facial recognition technology for authorized use. The Virginia State Police will create a model policy regarding the technology no later than January 1, 2023, and the Department of Criminal Justice Services will analyze and report on the usage of the technology.
The State Budget
While the General Assembly adjourned after 60 days, there was no agreement on the budget. This means that sometime over the next month or so, the General Assembly will convene to vote on the budget as well as any other outstanding legislation. The special session on the budget will be at the call of Governor Youngkin, presumably whenever the budget conferees reach consensus.
You can review what is in the House and Senate budgets here. Additionally, the Commonwealth Institute has a side-by-side comparison of the Introduced, House, and Senate budgets here.
The main points of concern amongst the budget conferees relate to planned tax cuts: Eliminating the grocery tax and increasing the standard deduction on individual income tax. The Times-Dispatch has more coverage of the budget negotiations here.
Fox Elementary Update
Superintendent Kamras recommends that Fox Elementary School should be renovated instead of demolished and rebuilt. Since the school was built in 1911, it could qualify for historical tax credits that may cover up to a quarter of the total renovation cost. The insurance company will also cover the cost of renovating. The Richmond School Board will make the final decision.
In the meantime, Fox students will have in-person classes at First Baptist Church beginning on March 21. Clark Springs Elementary School is expected to be ready for the students in mid to late April.
Virginia Housing’s New Website
Virginia Housing celebrates its 50th anniversary of making homes more affordable and attainable for Virginians. As part of their celebration, they have released a new website. The website is mobile-friendly and has helpful information for renters, homeowners, businesses, and community partners including:
Home Education (free classes)
Homeownership Programs
Rental Programs
Assistance Grants
Mortgage Credit Certificates
Programs for Veterans & Members of the U.S. Military
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program
REACH Virginia
Visit the new website and learn more at VirginiaHousing.com.
Community Events & News
Grace Concert Series: On Saturday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. Grace Baptist Church (4200 Dover Road) presents “The Music of Terezin.” The performance honors the lives of composers and musicians lost to the Holocaust and features works by Isle Weber, Gideon Klein, and Simon Sargan. This event is free and open to the public, and donations will be accepted to support the Virginia Holocaust Museum. More information is available at www.rvagrace.org.
Spring Fan Park Clean Up: On Saturday, March 26 starting at 9 a.m., the Fan District Association will host a park clean up - rain or shine. Bring gloves, rakes, wheelbarrows, small shovels, and any other yard equipment to help. If you have questions, please email parks@fandistrict.org. You can sign up to volunteer here.
William Fox Art Auction: Friday, March 18 from 6:30 - 10 p.m. at Hardywood Brewery
Museum District Association Mother’s Day House & Garden Tour: Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 1 at museumdistrict.org.
Byrd Theatre: The Byrd is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. There are many classic and newer movies playing this spring. Full schedule here.
Thank You
It is an honor to serve in the House of Delegates. Please never hesitate to contact me at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org or 804-698-1069 if I can be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Betsy