Senator Creigh Deeds

Proudly Serving the People of Virginia's 25th District

You are here: Home / Archives for Creigh Deeds

Judges

by

Only one week remains of the 2019 Session the General Assembly. Bills are being heard and meeting their fates at an ever quicker pace. Multiple meetings are scheduled at the same time. Legislators, staff, interested citizens, and lobbyists are all running around trying to protect their turf or see that their interests are being met.

This past week, any legislation dealing with revenues had to be considered by both houses and put into conference if the two chambers had any disagreement over the language of the bills. Conference committees generally are made up of three senators and three delegates. The most significant conference committee appointed every year is on the budget. Seven members of each chamber achieve that coveted assignment. Unlike past years, broad agreement exists already on key elements of the budget. Over $900 million of the surplus will be returned to citizens over the biennium through larger tax returns and in a one-time payment later this year.

Even with the rebates, this budget invests considerable new money into a number of priorities. The budget will include a 5% pay increase for teachers and significant expenditures on mental health services. The full funding of the earned income tax credit, as the Governor proposed, is no longer under consideration. That proposal would have helped those who struggle the most financially. [Read more…]

Share

This Week in Richmond

by

A lot of turmoil has embroiled many of the top officials in Richmond over the past week. Amidst the uncertainty and onslaught of national media, we must focus on the work at hand. We only have until February 23 to act on hundreds of bills and finalize the budget. With crossover behind us, I can report on a number of controversial topics.

Interstate 81

We came into the 2019 session with bold ideas to fix Interstate 81. As I’ve said before, I-81 is the economic lifeline of western Virginia. Due in large part to the high volume of truck traffic, drivers cannot rely upon traveling on I-81 in a timely manner. Traffic is often stopped, sometimes for long periods of time, due to accidents. Last year the General Assembly directed the Commonwealth Transportation Board to develop a plan (Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Plan) to address the problems. While a plan was developed, consensus was not reached. As a result, multiple approaches developed and were put forward by legislators in the corridor. [Read more…]

Share

Almost to Crossover

by

The 2019 Session has almost reached crossover, the point at which the Senate and House can only consider legislation introduced in the other chamber. While the date falls just past the midpoint of each session, it is considered halftime. The big issues remain unresolved.

Hundreds of bills have been discussed and have met their fates. For example, the ERA does not appear that it will pass although there was talk of resurrecting the legislation in the House. Many of the Governor’s gun safety proposals were rejected in both the House and the Senate. While many more conversations remain on the transportation bills, many of the big issues seem unresolved. The budget remains in the state of flux. [Read more…]

Share

A Busy Week in the Senate

by

We are rapidly moving through the 2019 short session. One of the main sticking points is disagreement over how to use the budget surplus. The parties are in a stalemate over routine tax conformity questions and larger policy issues.

Every year, one of the first pieces of legislation to pass is a tax conformity bill that brings our definitions in line with the federal government as it relates to taxes. Unless we pass legislation soon, Virginians may need to delay the filing of their tax returns. Of course, the federal government is shut down, so we do not know when tax returns can get processed or refunds issued. If we don’t conform to federal policy, we will make the process of filing state returns nearly impossible and drive up the cost of doing so. Therefore, I join with many of my colleagues to urge conformity as soon as possible. The Virginia Association of Certified Public Accountants put together a helpful frequently asked questions about this matter.

Much attention has been paid in recent years to the way districts are drawn in Virginia. Many, including me, blame many of the problems in government to the polarization that partisan redistricting produces. This is the primary reason I have pushed redistricting reform for many years. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee had three distinct approaches to consider this year. [Read more…]

Share

You Win Some, You Lose Some

by

The first full week of the General Assembly is now under our belts. A few significant bills have reached the floor, but most are awaiting action in committee. The committees are running full bore. Visitors from around the Commonwealth fill the halls trying to meet their legislators and talk about issues of concern to them, but often legislators are running from commitment to commitment. The constitutional limit on the session does not allow for breaks.

Under Virginia’s Constitution, the General Assembly meets for 60 days in even-numbered years and 30 days in odd years. The sessions can be extended by a 2/3 vote of the General Assembly; traditionally the short session is extended to 46 days. The daily count includes weekends, holidays, snow days and every day until we adjourn. In Virginia, odd years are election years, which can drive the introduction of more bills. While we do not typically work on weekends, we do not stop for holidays or bad weather. This can present real challenges during these winter months. Some legislators may have difficulty getting back to Richmond from their districts, or even getting to the Capitol from within the city limits.

The legislature could address this in a number of ways. We could work on weekends, which is not unprecedented. Back in the ’90s, House of Delegates committees met frequently on weekends. Occasionally we held floor sessions on Sundays. This approach would cause some people discomfort but would not require constitutional change, unlike other alternatives. We could simply write into the Constitution that the weekends do not count, which would extend the session out a few weeks. Or we could just extend the session to 60 days every year. Every odd year, we try to cram 60 days’ worth of work into 46 days.

This past week saw the Senate pass legislation on a 26-14 vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The bill now moves to the House of Delegates for consideration. All along, I felt this bill would pass the Senate if it came to floor. The real test will be in the House of Delegates. The primary effort will be to get it out of committee, as I expect it has the support of a majority of delegates. [Read more…]

Share