OVER THE HALFWAY MARKThe 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly is now past the halfway mark, also known as Crossover — the deadline for the Senate and House to complete consideration of bills introduced in their respective chambers.
Out of 737 pieces of legislation introduced in our chamber, the Virginia Senate passed 452 bills which are now being considered in the House. From my own legislative package, 19 bills have now passed the Senate and are being considered in the other chamber. In the coming weeks, they will receive a hearing and a vote and hopefully make their way to Governor Youngkin’s desk for his signature. As a rule, if a bill reaches the governor’s desk prior to the final week of a legislative session, the governor is required to act upon that bill within seven days. For bills that reach his desk after that window of time, the governor has thirty days within which to review and act. Because the vast majority of bills do not pass until the final week of session, the “seven day bill” rule usually applies to a very small number of bills. Thanks to broad support from both legislative chambers, several of my bills could reach Governor Youngkin’s desk prior to the end of session — and could become seven day bills that he would be required to sign, amend, or veto prior to the final day of session on March 9th. That could include bills to protect Virginians from gun violence, reform our criminal justice system, and to ensure the right to marry for two consenting Virginia adults. SB101 — which would codify the right to marry in Virginia for two consenting adults — should be one of my first bills to reach Governor Youngkin’s desk this year. I find it encouraging that the bill, and its House cognate HB174 carried by Delegate Rozia Henson, passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support in both legislative chambers. I sincerely hope that Governor Youngkin will sign this important bill that would create state-level protections for all Virginians regardless of who they love. Another bill I expect to pass the General Assembly soon is SB362. This bill would provide more options for first-time nonviolent drug offenders so that individuals are treated with a rehabilitative model for a first offense. SB362 was unanimously supported in the Senate. I hope to see its full passage in the coming days in the House and ultimately its signing into law by Governor Youngkin. I also expect Governor Youngkin will soon receive two of my gun violence prevention bills that would prohibit ghost guns in the Commonwealth (SB100), and ban the open-carry of semi-automatic assault weapons in public places (SB99). Even though these bills were advanced on party-line votes, I hope that the governor will listen to the voices of Virginians on this important public safety issue and sign these bills into law. I am also looking forward to the following bills progressing into law in the coming weeks: Banning Unfair Service Agreements (SB576): This bill would prohibit real estate service agreements that take advantage of unwitting property owners by binding them to a particular real estate company or realtor for an extended period of time. Prohibit Junk Rental Fees (SB422): This legislation would protect renters from having to pay the most commonly-charged junk fees by making lease provisions unlawful that charge extra fees for maintenance requests. Metro Study (SJ28): This bill would establish a Joint Subcommittee to study and make recommendations to achieve long-term, sustainable, and dedicated funding, and cost-containment controls and strategies, to ensure the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and Northern Virginia regional bus systems can meet the future needs of the region and the Commonwealth. Election Officials Security (SB364): This legislation would make it a Class 5 felony, punishable by 1-10 years imprisonment or a $2,500 fine, for any person to attempt to bribe, intimidate, threaten, coerce, or otherwise willfully and intentionally hinder or prevent, or attempt to hinder or prevent an election official from carrying out their duty to administer an election. VEC Reform Bills (SB381 & SB382): These bills would make needed reforms to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). SB381 would create protections for claimants when their former employer is not responsive to the VEC for information about the claimant's case. SB382 would establish a statute of limitations on collection of non-fraudulent overpayments, and require that the VEC cease collection efforts on overpayments upon death or bankruptcy. I look forward to updating you further on these and other bills from my 2024 legislative package as we move closer to the end of the legislative session. It is my continued honor to serve the residents of the 39th Senate District. Comments are closed.
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