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Friday, April 21, 2023
2023 Reconvened Session
The reconvened session, when gubernatorial amendments and vetoes are considered, was held last Wednesday, April 19. The day was mostly uneventful as both the House and Senate worked through the governor’s three vetoes and dozens of amendments. It takes the support of both chambers to overturn a gubernatorial veto and to approve amendments to a bill. As with most years, many of those amendments are technical or clarifying.
One of the major pieces of legislation from the 2023 Session, carried by Sen. Dick Saslaw (SB 1265) and Del. Terry Kilgore (HB 1770), related to energy policy. I did not support the bills as introduced due to my consistent concerns about the impact of legislative changes on consumers. However, in the closing days of the session, a compromise was reached that would limit the amount of over-earnings Dominion is able to keep and provide for the SCC to review charges every two years instead of three, among other things. The legislature approved the governor's 17 amendments to the bills, most of which were grammatical. The amendments clarify the intent of the bill and ensure Dominion comes back under the regulatory authority of the State Corporation Commission.
The governor also amended legislation that restricts the amount of THC in hemp products. During the session, I voted against the bill because of concerns from the hemp industry, and small business owners in particular. Many weeks ago, I started hearing from constituents, including parents of children with intractable epilepsy, who use products that would be banned under the bill. The parents had fought for years to access over-the-counter products that helped keep their children's seizures under control. The governor offered amendments to address those concerns. Last week, we attempted unsuccessfully to refer the bill back to committee. When that effort failed, I supported the governor's amendments to fix this problem the bill itself created.
Deeds Legislation
Of the 16 bills I introduced that went to the governor's desk, he signed 13 and amended three. The Senate defeated all of the amendments I requested to be rejected along a party-line vote.
The first of those bills was requested by Albemarle County to reduce the minimum parcel size requirement for economic development grants from 100 acres to 50 acres. The governor's new language restricted the bill to localities that do not have a 100 acre parcel available. The amendment would have reduced the flexibility localities have under the bill, so I asked that the amendments be rejected.
When white nationalists were charged after the violent attack on Charlottesville in August 2017, the personal information of magistrates who had written the warrants was spread online by fellow white nationalists. The second bill of mine that Gov. Youngkin amended arose from those circumstances and sought to protect the personal information of judicial officers. The governor hijacked my bill and inserted language from other legislation (SB 1224 and HB 2015) that had failed during the 2023 Session. SB 1224 and HB 2015 sought to create a separate offense for picketing at the home of judicial officers. In large part, those bills were in response to the picketing of the home of a United States Supreme Court justice in the wake of the leaking of the Dobbs decision that would later overturn Roe v. Wade. The anti-picketing bills were defeated in the Judiciary Committee. I asked the Senate not to accept the amendment to my bill, and the Senate agreed.
The third bill that was amended by the governor related to medical marijuana. Growers have to be licensed by the Board of Pharmacy. This bill would have allowed a grower to have a growing area in a locality in which it is not headquartered. A grower from Washington County wanted to place a facility and bring about 50, well-paying jobs to Alleghany County. The governor offered a clarifying amendment, which we accepted. The governor also put a reenactment clause on the bill, which would have required the General Assembly to pass the bill a second time for it to become law. Because I wasn't willing to wait a year for an economic development project important to Alleghany County, I successfully sought rejection of that amendment by the Senate.
When amendments are rejected, the legislation goes back to the governor. So those bills, and others, now head for a second time to the governor’s desk.
Budget Negotiations
One thing that was not discussed was the budget. It is now almost eight weeks overdue. The hangup remains the same. The governor and the House of Delegates insist on $1 billion in tax cuts, above and beyond the over $4 billion we approved in 2022. The Senate wants to invest those dollars in K-12 education, behavioral health, and higher education. We put more than $500 million in new dollars into public education, including to partially lift the support cap and raise teacher pay over the national average for the first time. We injected another $170 million in our behavioral health system, in large part to increase community capacity. We added another $150 million for operating expenses for our colleges and universities and $100 million for financial aid to reduce the cost of attendance and make higher education more accessible to people.
Politics is about the possible, not the perfect. People have to reach a compromise eventually. However, what I have heard people say, and I predicted they would, is that we will not reach an agreement until June. Every entity that relies on state funding needs us to resolve our disagreement sooner rather than later. For example, local governments are working on finalizing their budgets this month. With uncertainty surrounding the state budget, much of local budgeting ends up being contingent. This is not an acceptable way to do business. We have to do better. As a budget conferee, I am pushing for a quicker resolution. The amount of time we have during the session to adopt a budget is not the issue – this is pure politics. An agreement must, and will, be reached. It makes no sense to prolong this unnecessarily.
Medicaid Unwinding
Finally, I just wanted to make sure you were aware of something. During the national public health emergency resulting from COVID, states were required to maintain Medicaid members on their rolls. With the end of the public health crisis, the state will begin reviewing members' eligibility for continued coverage. It is vital that everyone is aware of this change and knows where to go for assistance.
It continues to be an honor to represent you in the Senate of Virginia. If you have questions or comments, please contact me at (434) 296-5491 or [email protected].
