Week 6: House Bills Come to the Senate

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Dear Friend,

We have just completed crossover week. That means each chamber sends bills that passed their respective bodies over to the other chamber. With Republicans in control of the House and Democrats in control of the Senate, lawmakers seemed to exercise some moderation in what passed their respective chambers.

However, each standing committee in the Senate is seeing some bills aimed at undoing the progress we made in the 2020 and 2021 sessions. Fortunately, the Democratic majorities are holding the line. If anyone ever needs examples of why elections matter, I encourage you to examine Virginia’s 2022 legislative session. I do want to give a “shout out” to those of you who are paying attention and bolstering the Democratic “brick wall” in the Senate.

Tax and Spend Issues - Fissure Between Lawmakers & the Governor - This weekend, the House and Senate money committees will release their proposed budgets. Based on committee deliberations, I am expecting that many of Governor Youngkin’s proposed tax cut proposals will be folded into a study. Appropriators understand that there are social costs associated with tax cuts and fairness must be a cornerstone of any tax relief proposal. I will keep you updated on this important topic.

Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) - The VEC is a program that definitely needs more funding and improved management to better serve Virginians. Based on a study from the Joint Legislative Review and Audit Committee (JLARC), lawmakers will be given the opportunity to make significant improvement in the operations of the VEC. During the special session, we appropriated dollars for the VEC to hire additional staff and upgrade computer systems. A bill sponsored by Senator McPike (Democrat from Prince William County) will now require the VEC to calculate and report important metrics to the General Assembly and to develop an employment insurance Resiliency Plan to address any future spikes in employment.

Removal of Worker Protections - Youngkin’s Day 1 Agenda - Legislation from the Governor’s office includes bills freezing a scheduled minimum wage increase. The minimum wage in Virginia is now $11.00 per hour. But proposals from Governor Youngkin would remove the scheduled wage increases that the General Assembly passed in the 2020 session in order to reach a minimum wage rate of $15 per hour by January 1, 2026.

In some parts of the state, the need for workers is so great, especially for essential workers, that we may finally see some structural improvements in the workplace. It is my hope that employers will realize that employees need to make a living wage, be afforded paid sick days and other benefits, and conduct their business in a safe work environment.

With the help of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Northern Virginia Aging Network (NVAN) and the Virginia Interfaith Council, I managed to pass a paid sick day bill for agency directed home care workers. The bill has the infamous clause on it, which means it will only take effect if funds are appropriated. I am hopeful that lawmakers will recognize that these essential workers should have up to 5 paid sick days per year. This expense can be covered through our Medicaid Managed Care reimbursement program, and I suspect that the cost is not as high as some agencies are claiming. My proposal is the right thing to do both for the employees and for the vulnerable folks being served by these workers. Moreover, such a benefit will help agencies recruit much needed workers.

Another of Governor Youngkin’s workforce related proposals reverses the laws we passed in 2020 that allow localities to implement local collective bargaining ordinances. I like to remind the Governor that Virginia was still ranked the best place to do business by CNBC for the second year in a row after we passed minimum wages proposals and the collective bargaining option.

Efforts to Reverse Criminal Justice Reform - Several House bills are coming before my committee that would reverse progress we made in reforming the parole system and establishing a rehabilitative sentence crediting program. The fact is the Criminal Justice Reform package that the Democrats passed during the 2021 special sessions incorporated evidence-based strategies for effective rehabilitation and reduced recidivism. The Democrats on the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, a committee that I chair, are committed to protecting the progress we have made.

My Environmental Bills cross over to the House - Our environmental friends have helped me pass legislative proposals in the Senate that would require new public buildings, including schools, to be energy efficient and built with solar ready roofs. The benefits to our environment are obvious but the argument that garnered bi-partisan support was the fact that the upfront costs associated with building energy efficient buildings is recovered in about 10 years and the maintenance costs thereafter are a cost savings. This fact coupled with the fact that the average age of our school buildings is 50 years old and this life cycle will not likely change with a new building, it is a savings to taxpayers to build an energy efficient building. I am truly grateful for the progress I have made to date with these important proposals but, unfortunately, my bills face an uphill battle in the House.

Helping our Sheriffs & Health Care Providers - Progress on Transfer of Custody Legislation - I am leading a bi-partisan effort to fix a problem that the sheriffs and health care providers strongly believe needs to be fixed. The proposed solution is crafting authorizing language and identifying a funding stream for an alternative transportation option (rather than using law enforcement) to transport individuals under a Temporary Detention Order (TDO) to a health care provider. Magistrates could ask alternative transportation providers to transport a patient under a TDO when a Community Services Board believes that such a patient would be an appropriate candidate for this service. In these cases, our sheriffs and police would be relieved of their transport and custody responsibilities, which can sometimes take days if a psych bed is not readily available, thereby, freeing up law enforcement to engage in more pressing public safety responsibilities. It is important to remember that a patient transported to a hospital by a uniform officer is a traumatic experience for that individual and for those patients waiting in a hospital emergency room for a medical evaluation or a psych bed. As a society, we need to ensure that our health care settings are welcoming places, the presence of uniform officers detracts from that message. Governor Youngkin’s team is working with us on this important initiative. I will keep you posted on progress.

Football Stadium - I have received many very passionate emails asking that the state not appropriate any dollars to support the building of a stadium for the Commanders in Northern Virginia. I will not allocate any public dollars to this effort. It is important to note that there are many steps and many decision points related to the siting and approval process, so more analysis will be done and more opportunities will be available for you to voice your concerns.

In summary - It is an honor and privilege to represent you in Richmond. Rest assured, I will continue to fight for our Democratic values. Please do not hesitate to contact my office regarding legislative updates or other matters.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,