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You are here: Home / Archives for Virginia General Assembly 2019

Major Accomplishments in Richmond This Week!

April 5, 2019 by Creigh Deeds

The General Assembly returned to Richmond on April 3 for our 2019 reconvened session to consider gubernatorial vetoes and amendments. The governor has 30 days from the adjournment of the regular session to sign, veto, or offer amendments to legislation. The authority of Virginia’s governor to amend legislation is atypical compared to the president and many other governors. This power provides an opportunity to impact policy in a significant way. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: driver's license suspension, judicial appointments, mental health policy and funding, Virginia gas tax, Virginia transportation funding

2019 Post Session Update

March 7, 2019 by Creigh Deeds

The 2019 Regular Session of the General Assembly is now over. For the books, we adjourned one day late due to the length of discussions over the budget. A budget agreement was not reached until the morning of February 23. We amended the rules several years ago to require posting of the budget 48 hours before the vote. Even with the extra day, we did not comply with the rules. The budget work during the short session consists solely of amending the two year budget we adopted the prior year. However, there is good reason to allow an intentional “waiting period” before a final vote is taken. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: Higher Education funding, K-12 funding, mental health policy and funding, Parental leave, State employee compensation, Virginia budget

Looking Forward

February 23, 2019 by Creigh Deeds

The last week of the 2019 General Assembly Session is drawing to a close. Conference committees are trying rapidly to come to agreement and produce a final compromise. The budget conferees just reached agreement, and the details should be available soon. I will provide an update on the budget in the coming days.

I’ve been using some time this past week to meet with various shareholders to make certain that the work of the Joint Subcommittee on Mental Health is planned out for the next nine months or so. I carried legislation (SJ 301) this year that passed both the House and the Senate extending the work of the Subcommittee through 2021. What I have found is that despite our best intentions to complete the work in timely manner, the work goes on. Transforming mental health care into a true system is monumental work. The slow progress is frustrating but ultimately rewarding. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: mental health policy and funding

Judges

February 15, 2019 by Creigh Deeds

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…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: judicial appointments, K-12 funding, mental health policy and funding, Senate procedures, Virginia budget, Virginia transportation funding

This Week in Richmond

February 8, 2019 by Creigh Deeds

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…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2019 Tagged With: gambling, K-12 funding, legislative redistricting, mental health policy and funding, Virginia transportation funding, Virginia transportation policy

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2020 Virginia General Assembly

The Special Session Continues

September 14, 2020

We knew back in April that we would need to return to Richmond for a special session to address budgetary issues. The pandemic dramatically reduced the amount of revenue flowing into Virginia’s tax coffers. We experienced a $2.7 billion budget shortfall and have seen nearly every aspect of state government impacted by the pandemic. Budgetary matters, for the most part have yet to be considered. The first few weeks of this special session has been consumed by other issues, such as the eviction crisis and utility bills, and by criminal justice reform. [Read More…]

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