The 2021 Reconvened Session, commonly known as the veto session, occurred on April 7, 2021. Typically a one day affair, the session has been known to go long into the evening or the early hours of the following day. With the reduced bill limits this year, the legislature only sent about 550 bills to the Governor for consideration. In turn, he did not veto any bills and only amended 37, including the budget. [Read more…]
Sine Die
In this most unusual year, the General Assembly adjourned sine die in the most unusual way. We adopted a procedural resolution to extend the 30-day session to the usual 46 days by having a special session the last couple of weeks. We finished our work late on Saturday, February 27, but we did not adjourn sine die until March 1. [Read more…]
2021 Session, Week 3
Marijuana, Bikes, and More
This most unusual of legislative sessions is going quickly. We are nearing the crossover, the deadline for the Senate to act on senate bills and the House of Delegates to act on house bills. It’s crunch time as the Senate completes work on bills and get them to the House for consideration. I want to report on some of the more significant actions.
As I’ve written in the space before, one of the big policies under consideration is the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. [Read more…]
2021 Session — Week 1
The 2021 Session of the General Assembly got off to an interesting start. The pandemic has pushed us into a corner. On January 1st, we lost a member of the Senate. Senator Ben Chafin was a good man who cared about the people he represented and the issues he fought for. He will be missed. His death from complications of COVID-19 brought home the real consequences of this novel coronavirus. While the vaccines have been developed and everyone is tired of social distancing and wearing facemasks, we must remain careful. Until a sufficient number of people are vaccinated, we will not have this disease under control. [Read more…]