Dear Friend,
The fifth week of Session has come to a close. Below is an update on some of the past week’s work in the legislature.
The Fifth Week of Session
This past week marked an important milestone for the 2024 Session. Tuesday was Crossover, the last day each body has to act on its own legislation. After Crossover, each chamber can only act on legislation from the other body. In the wake of Crossover, the legislative landscape evolves. Policy proposals that are unique to one chamber (meaning there were not identical House & Senate Bills) restart the legislative process in the other chamber. Proposals that exist in both a House and Senate bill often meet smooth sailing as long as the bills are identical. If each chamber has a competing proposal, then crossover marks a rigorous and collaborative process to hopefully arrive at a bi-cameral solution. When this is not possible, bills will be sent to a conference; a small workgroup of legislators tasked with a last effort to arrive at a piece of legislation that both chambers can agree.
The House has taken action on a wide array of issues this session. This past week, several bills of interest met their final action in each chamber. HB1514, would establish a necessary State Authority for the financing and development of a Northern Virginia Arena. The House passed this bill, but with a healthy dose of skepticism over the project’s potential return on investment. The House bill contains an enactment clause; meaning the General Assembly would have to pass this bill again next year before any state commitment is finalized. You can read more about the Arena bill here. Another topic of interest has been the regulation and licensure of skill games. The Senate passed a loose set of regulations while the House version includes higher tax rates, local authority to block these games, among other guardrails. You can read more about the competing bills here. Of course, in the preceding weeks, bills have been passed on issues such as gun safety, criminal justice, marijuana, the minimum wage, abortion protections, and much more. Nineteen of my 29 bills have passed the House. This article from The Virginia Mercury provides an inventory of where legislation stands on various topics after Crossover.
Appropriations Committee Reports
After Crossover, budget considerations in the General Assembly heat up. Today, Sunday, House and Senate Budget Committees will each meet to release their committee reports. Each report reflects the budget recommendations from the subcommittees of each chamber’s budget committee. I chair the Higher Education subcommittee in House Appropriations. You can watch the House Appropriations committee report at 1pm today (Sunday, February 18) at this link. Committee reports will be posted online here. You can find the member introduced budget amendments that are being considered (including my own) at this link.
The state budget is a bill, albeit the most important bill, and as such it is heard on the House Floor. After today’s reports, members will have a few days to review and propose further amendments. Then, on Thursday, the House members will vote on the House budget. Uncontested items in the budget are voted on in a block. Contested portions of the budget as well as amendments brought forward on the floor, are considered individually. Following the budget bills passing each chamber, the two bodies will review each other’s budgets and a conference will be established of members from each chamber’s budget committee to arrive at a consensus budget bill. All this must be done by Tuesday, March 5.
I am hopeful that today’s committee reports reflect a House budget bill that dutifully acknowledges the fiscal constraints Virginia will face in the next biennium, including an ending of federal pandemic relief funds as well as a looming recession, and prudently steps forward with meaningful investments in our Public K-12 education system and shores up our healthcare ecosystem with judicious investments in vital services. Next to these glaring funding needs, our state budget can also support transformational education opportunities for all Virginians, crucial investments in our environment and infrastructure, as well as many other initiatives to improve the lives of Virginians.
During each day’s Session, members of the General Assembly can rise on the floor to give recognition to visitors watching from the gallery. Last Monday, I had the privilege of introducing the Reverend Ben Campbell of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church who gave the morning invocation. On Valentine’s Day, I recognized the work of VCU’s Pauley Heart Center during the 4th morning hour for personal privilege. In addition, at the League of Women Voters weekly morning roundtable, I discussed my affordable housing bills.
During the past week of Session, my staff and I met various representative individuals and groups including:
Senior Connections
AARP Advocates
Richmond Bar Association
Virginia Tech Corp of Cadets
Service Employees International Union
Virginia Personal Care Providers
Dominion Energy Employees
League of Women Voters
Planned Parenthood Advocates
Athletic Trainers
Wildlife Network
Virginia Agribusiness Council
Virginia Farm Bureau
Virginia21 Advocates
George Mason University Leadership
George Mason Student Advocates
Arlington City
Ladies Professional Golf Association & Solheim Cup Representatives
Students for Equity and Reform in Virginia
Virginia Housing Alliance
Equifax
Richmond Public Schools Interfaith Advisory Council
Virginia Association of Recovery Residences
Virginia Food Industry Association
It is my goal to keep my constituents informed of the work happening at the General Assembly. There are several websites which provide troves of helpful information. Livestreams and past recordings of Session, as well as committee meetings can all be found at this link. Legislation, as well as meeting calendars and committee information can be found here. A searchable database of legislation can be found here.
If you have legislative priorities, questions or concerns to share with me, email me at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org or call my office at 804-698-1078.
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 804-698-1078 if I can be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Betsy