Dear Friend,
The third week of Session has come to a close. Below is an update on some of the past week’s work in the legislature.
The Third Week of Session
This past week saw busy committee meetings. Crossover, the last day for each body to act on legislation that originates from its members, is just on the horizon, February 13. In order to get bills through subcommittees and committees in time, agendas had to be loaded full this week. Some subcommittees have had their final meetings before crossover as well. Many bills passed unanimously, reflecting the bipartisan work and wide scope of nonpartisan legislation the General Assembly works on each year. Other bills saw spirited debate and rigorous review through subcommittee, full committee, and on the House floor as well.
Bills on a variety of topics were heard this week; among them were hearings on skill games, photo speed ticketing expansions, eliminating the car tax, to-go cocktails among others. Further reading can be found in this article highlighting a variety of bills, this one on skill games, an article about paid family and sick leave, this one involving my budget amendment for state employee pay, and finally this update on Governor Youngkin’s tax proposal.
This past week several of my bills were heard and passed from committee.
HB1126 passed the Civil subcommittee of Courts of Justice unanimously. This bill would allow Federal representatives to perform rites of marriage.
HB1088 passed the K-12 subcommittee of Education and later full committee before being referred to the Appropriations committee. This bill would task the Department of Education with establishing environmental education materials for adoption by local school districts.
HB1080 passed the Transportation committee unanimously. It is a government efficiency bill, helping those whose driving privileges have been suspended but their case was purged by the court. It limits suspended licenses to a period of 10 years which reflects the period of time by which cases are purged.
HB1084 passed the Transportation committee unanimously. This bill allows temporary disabled parking placards to be issued for longer than 6 months (the current maximum allowed), with a new maximum of 12 months, as long as a healthcare provider can certify that the qualifying condition is expected to last that long.
HB1071 passed the Transportation committee. It clarifies the code to ensure localities are able to lower their speed limits to 15 without relying on VDOT for the final authority.
HB1131 passed General Laws unanimously. It removes Richmond as an eligible host city for a casino.
HB1108 passed General Laws unanimously. It provides transparency for state procurement projects that are being delivered using construction management as the procurement and delivery process.
HB1113 passed General Laws unanimously. It increases the limits on job order contracting, a type of procurement method for goods and services used most commonly by localities.
HB1082 authorizes courts to order a restricted license for those who are paying a motor vehicle-related civil judgement and as a result had their driving privileges suspended. It passed its subcommittee unanimously.
HB1077 passed its subcommittee in Transportation. This bill allows cyclists to treat certain stop signs as a yield; a practice known as the bike safety stop.
HB1100 passed the Counties, Cities, and Towns committee. It extends an optional ordinance from Planning District 8 to statewide. The ordinance, if adopted by a locality, would provide conservation of trees during new land development.
HB1455 establishes the Virginia Memory Project at the Virginia Center on Aging as the statewide registry for Dementia and Alzheimers. This bill passed its subcommittee in the Health & Human Services committee unanimously.
HB1456 passed its subcommittee in General Laws unanimously. It would require that some new government buildings, like schools, be built with infrastructure to support rooftop solar.
HB1125 passed its subcommittee in General Laws unanimously. It would establish the Virginia Business Ready Sites Permitting program at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as a concierge expediting program for major economic development projects.
HB1073 seeks to prevent predatory towing practices for wrecked or disabled vehicles. It passed its subcommittee in Transportation unanimously.
In addition, members of the General Assembly can rise on the floor to give recognition to visitors watching from the gallery. This past week I had the privilege of introducing the Virginia Business Higher Education Council.
During the past week of Session, my staff and I met various representative individuals and groups including:
AFL-CIO
Central Virginia Labor Federation
United Way
Law Enforcement Sheriffs
Virginia Business Higher Education Council
Equality Virginia
Virginia Partnership for Out of School Time
JMU Leadership
Virginia Institute for Marine Sciences
UVA Wise Leadership
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Advocates
Autism Advocates
Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Tourism Association
Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists
Rx Partnership
Richmond Association of Realtors
Daily Planet Free Clinic
Virginia Academy of Nutritionist and Dietitians
Open High School Student Advocates for Conservation
Garden Club of Virginia
Marymount University Leadership
Virginia Business Roundtable
Virginia Voices
Clinicians for Climate Change
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.
Massey Cancer Center’s Capital Square Classic
The Massey Cancer Center Capital Square Classic basketball game will be February 29. This fundraiser pits the Governor’s office against the lobbyists and the House against the Senate in two games at the Siegel Center in benefit of the Massey Cancer Center.
More information is available 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 804-698-1078 if I can be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Betsy