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The 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly convenes today. With divided government in Richmond, we are optimistic that the narrow Democratic majorities in the state Senate and House of Delegates will be able to work cooperatively with their Republican colleagues in each chamber and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Although the Democrats retained control of the state Senate and recaptured control of the House of Delegates in the November elections, their margins of victory were slim enough so that there was clearly no mandate for governing in a partisan fashion. Youngkin was unable to persuade the electorate to give the GOP majorities in either chamber so he too should strive for moderation and bipartisanship.
In the proposed budget that he recently unveiled, Youngkin is pushing for an overhaul of the state’s tax system. In particular, he wants to lower income tax rates, increase the sales tax and impose new taxes on digital activities. He also made a call for doing away with the car tax.
Although we have reservations about a couple of those proposals, we do agree that wholesale changes to the state’s system of taxation is in order. Virginia needs to change with the times and it would be wise to review all of the state’s taxes and make changes where warranted. We don’t especially like the idea of raising the sales tax because it would have the greatest impact on those who can least afford it. Also, the only way we could support eliminating the car tax would be if an alternative source of revenue could be found for localities that depend so heavily on this tax.
Still, we welcome the call for change and hope that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can find common ground for the overall good of the commonwealth and its citizens. We encourage our readers to offer input to their legislators. We thought it would be a good idea to let everyone know how they can do this.
Representing the Rockbridge area in reconfigured districts that went into effect in the new year are Del. Ellen Campbell of the 36th District, Del. Terry Austin of the 37th district and state Sen. Chris Head of the 3rd District.
Campbell represents northern Rockbridge County, part of Augusta County and the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Her email address is DelECampbell@ house.virginia.gov and her phone number at the capitol is (804) 698-1036. Her legislative assistant is Jarrett Harlow and her administrative assistant during the session is Ann Vazquez.
Austin represents southern Rockbridge County, the cities of Buena Vista, Lexington and Covington and the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt and Craig. His email address is [email protected]. gov and his phone number at the capitol is (804) 698-1037. His legislative assistant is Matthew Miller and his administrative assistant during the session is Rosann Meagher.
Head represents all of Rockbridge County, Buena Vista, Lexington, Alleghany County, Botetourt County, Craig County, Covington, Staunton, Waynesboro, parts of Augusta and Roanoke counties and a sliver of Bedford County. His email address is [email protected] and his phone number at the capitol is (804) 698-7503.
