Ticking Clock

The clock is ticking as the General Assembly moves rapidly towards adjournment. Legislators and staff are putting in long hours in committee and on the floor to complete business by “Sine Die,” the final adjournment of the 2023 legislative session.  With only 46 days scheduled to complete our business, there is little time remaining to find agreement on a budget, nominate and approve judges, and review the remainder of the over 1,800 pieces of legislation introduced this year.  With both bodies having reported an amended budget, a small group of senior legislators, known as budget conferees, from the Senate and House money committees are hard at work on producing a compromise budget that both bodies are comfortable signing off on and sending to the Governor. It may seem improbable to produce such a document when the two proposals have a $1 billion gap in proposed spending. At a micro level, the budgets are also in disagreement on close to 100 substantive policy decisions and smaller alterations to state agency and program funding. Despite these wide differences, compromise, like the late-night coffee the conferees are consuming, is already brewing. 

Before our scheduled adjournment on Saturday February 25th, the General Assembly must also take up the nomination and appointment of a number of judges from across the Commonwealth. The process by which Virginia selects its judges – from general district to the Supreme Court is fairly unique. Virginia is one of only two states where the legislature elects judges. The Governor can only weigh in on the process during the interim between sessions, when he can make short term appointments to unfilled seats, pending the approval of the legislature. This year we are tasked to fill seats in all five levels of Virginia’s courts, and, fairly unusually, to appoint two judges to the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The SCC is the independent regulatory authority that oversees utilities, insurance, and businesses in Virginia. There are currently two vacancies on the three member panel, one of which has been empty for a full year after House Republicans removed an exceptionally qualified judge from the commission for purely partisan reasons. Leaving the Commission shorthanded for this long reduces consumers' safeguards against unfair business practices. To help alleviate these concerns, Delegate Kathy Byron (R-Bedford) and Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) have introduced legislation to streamline the process of appointing these important judges. The extended debate this session about the role of the SCC in reviewing energy rates and the enactment of clean energy underscores how necessary it is that we take action and fill these positions as soon as possible. 

The last major agenda item is to finish business on all remaining bills. A portion of the still outstanding legislation must have passed both chambers, but with different amendments offered by each body which can sometimes substantially change the underlying policy.  To rectify these differences, these bills will be placed in committees of conference – small groups of legislators who are tasked with ironing out the differences outside of the normal chamber and committee process.

So far, nine of my bills have passed the House. My SB 1091, which would allow condominium owners to apply for joint grants to complete flood mitigation projects, has now passed both chambers and is heading to the Governor’s desk for his signature. SB1087 which establishes the nation’s strongest privacy protections for your genetic data collected by ancestry.com and 23andme passed out unanimously. I was also glad to pass legislation providing living organ donors 60 days of unpaid leave to recover from this life saving procedure, and institute studies to address the rampant and frustrating vehicle noise we have seen across our region, as well as review how to license and regulate vaporized nicotine stores. 

However, I was disappointed that my two bills designed to help promote safety and reduce gun violence, were defeated in the House of Delegates and that my SJ 242, which would have provided voters with an opportunity to vote to repeal Virginia’s constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage, was defeated in subcommittee in the House of Delegates. While I am disheartened that those important pieces of legislation did not pass, I will continue to fight in the future to ensure Virginia has a constitution that reflects its values. 

I look forward to the challenge, and it is my continued honor to serve the 30th District.