2022 General Assembly - My Legislation

Greetings from Richmond! This past Wednesday the 2022 General Assembly roared to life. That evening, Governor Northam provided his State of the Commonwealth address, where I was thrilled to get a shout out for my work on increasing opportunities for outdoor recreation. And, on Saturday, Glenn Youngkin will be sworn in as the 74th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. While hard to believe, I have now been around long enough to be part of the escort ceremony – so look for pictures on of me in an English morning suit!

In addition to a new administration, the House is now back under Republican leadership. I am pleased to have been re-appointed to the committees on Appropriations, General Laws, and Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources. Sadly, the shift means that I will no longer be serving on Education. I will continue to be a strong advocate for public education through my bills and budget amendments!

2022 Budget Priorities
 
Many of my priorities are already in the proposed budget. While the outgoing Governor introduces the budget, the General Assembly can amend it in any way it likes. There is an old saying “The Governor proposes, the General Assembly disposes.” My goal is to make sure we “dispose” as little as possible! 
 
There are a lot of important investments in the budget. This includes funding for a 10% pay raise for teachers, mental health, services for people with disabilities, water quality, school construction/modernization, affordable housing, and higher education – just to name a few. Click here for a great overview of the 2022 budget. While we go into session with a healthy surplus, it is important to ensure that our budget remains structurally balanced – that is, not committing to long-term programs with short-term funding. I am also mindful that many of our essential state services haven’t yet recovered from drastic cuts we made during the 2008 Great Recession. Ensuring that we meet our existing commitments needs to be a priority.
 
While there is a lot to love, I have filed several budget amendments! Here are two that I want to highlight:
 

• Removing Cap on Education Support Staff. Support personnel such as nurses, social workers, psychologists, and custodians play an essential role in our children’s education. However, Virginia artificially capped the number of support staff that the state would pay for as part of Great Recession budget cuts more than a decade ago. Even though the budget picture has greatly improved and Virginia’s school age population continues to grow, the cap has remained in place – meaning that positions either go unfilled or localities pay 100% of the cost. It is way past time for Virginia to remove the cap and pay its fair share.
• Short-Term Rental Assistance. Virginia has been a model for helping tenants who have suffered financially as a result of COVID to stay in their homes while also protecting landlords from revenue loss. While federal funding is expected to run out by next July, there has been widespread agreement among housing providers that some form of this program should continue. This budget amendment creates a short-term rental assistance program designed to keep people in their homes when faced with a temporary disruption in income – a win/win for tenants and landlords.

 
My Legislative Agenda
 
Thank you to the many constituents who have written about their legislative priorities or have suggest bills. This year I have introduced over 20 bills. Click here for the full list of bills. See below for highlights.
 

• SOL Reform (HB433). A frustration that I often hear from parents, teachers, and students is that they want educational accountability, but that our current SOLs foster rote memorization and teaching to the test. While some testing is dictated by federal law, my bill will allow for the use of performance-based testing where the student can apply skills and knowledge learned in class to real-world situations.
• Climate Change/Flood Resiliency (HB516). Virginia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. While we have moved aggressively to plan for coastal flooding, there is no state-wide plan for inland flooding that has become increasingly devastating. This bill codifies the existing Virginia Coastal Resiliency Master Plan and requires the development of a Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan. I have also introduced a bill (HB520) to require localities to consider climate resiliency during their comprehensive planning process.
• Campaign Finance Reform (HB492). Virginia is the Wild West when it comes to campaign finance rules, with no limits on campaign contributions. In addition, when candidates file their disclosure reports, there is no review for accuracy or completeness by the Department of Elections. While I would love to have contribution limits, at least we should be able to rely on the accuracy of campaign finance reports. This bill sets up a system for conducting random audits of these reports.
• Public Meetings for State Projects (HB437). Development on state property is exempt from local zoning and planning requirements. However, it is still important for the local community to be able to provide input into these projects. This bill will require state agencies proposing construction projects to hold a public hearing at the request of localities. 
• Cocktails to Go (HB426). This bill extends cocktails to go for two more years while we study whether this can be done permanently. One thing that cocktails to go has exposed is that third party delivery services are terrible about enforcing laws to prevent under-age drinking. This is not just a cocktails to go issue, but also applies to deliveries of wine and beer. In response, the bill establishes a licensing system for third party deliveries and creates new enforcement mechanisms.
• Invasive Plants (HB491). Invasive plant species can ruin ecosystems and costs millions of dollars to remove. Kudzu is a great example of a plant that was purposefully introduced and quickly grew out of control. Unfortunately, many of the plants on Virginia’s invasive species list continue to be sold at local nurseries. This bill makes it easier to ban particularly invasive species and increases public education on the benefits of native plants.
• Dog “One-Bite” Rule (HB467). This one falls under the category of “really?” In Virginia, dog owners are immune from any civil liability if it is the dog’s first bite – not matter how much damage the bite does. While I love our furry friends, a victim of a dog attack shouldn’t have to pay for medical bills if they are attacked by someone’s pet. This was brought to me by a constituent who actually had to pay out of pocket as a result of a dog bite.
• Tree Conservation (TBD). Trees are an important part of our quality of life – providing shade and benefits for water and air quality. This bill strengthens the ability of our local governments to require tree conservation and replacement during the development process.

​So far, 1,170 bills have been filed - with more on the way! While there are lots of good bills, I am also tracking bills that give me great cause for concern. One example is a suite of bills that would roll back progress on improving access to the ballot box -- including making it harder to vote absentee. See here and here. More to come in future updates.

​I love hearing from constituents during session!  Click here if you are interested in looking through all bills filed to-date by category. It is an honor to serve you!