One week is all that remains between now and adjournment sine die of the 2020 Session. We are scheduled to adjourn on Saturday, March 7 by midnight. We have accomplished a lot this session, and I guess history will judge the effectiveness of our work. [Read more…]
Session Update – January 24, 2020
The second full week of the 2020 Session of the General Assembly began with a huge gun rights rally at the Capitol. Officials estimated 22,000 people were in attendance. The majority of the attendees were outside of the fence and many of them were armed. The rally was without incident.
The day was fairly gloomy for those of us who had work in or around the Capitol. Because of the large number of people expected and credible threats, the Governor declared a state of emergency. [Read more…]
Session Update — January 17, 2020
The first full work week of the 2020 General Assembly, the week beginning January 13, has fulfilled its promise of being hectic, frustrating and productive.
The 2020 Session has of course seen new majorities. In the Senate, where Democrats and Republicans have traded the majority several times over the past 12 years, work proceeds. Redistricting and demographic change meant that this Democratic majority is significantly different than past ones. [Read more…]
Major Accomplishments in Richmond This Week!
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…]
2019 Post Session Update
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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