We are finalizing our proceedings for the 2024 General Assembly session. This past week, the House has worked diligently to review all Senate bills that we received at crossover.
My Legislation
House Bills 711 and 713, which I patroned during this legislative session, passed the Senate unanimously this week and are headed to the governor’s desk for his signature. These pieces of legislation support Capital Improvement projects at specific higher education institutions, and require the development and implementation of campus safety and emergency preparedness training for students.
My other legislation (HB712 and HB715) has been moved to conference after the House of Delegates rejected the Senate amendments. A conference occurs when members from both chambers discuss their differences in legislation and work together to resolve such disagreements. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and House to reach a compromise on these pieces of legislation.
Budget Update
This week, the House of Delegates and the Senate budget staff have been working diligently to compare our two budgets. This can be a confusing time in the General Assembly session, so I would like to provide some clarification of the process during the final week of session.
The House and Senate never craft identical budgets and never vote to pass the other chamber’s budget before conforming it to match their own. So, how does Virginia always end up with one unified budget? That negotiation happens in a “conference committee,” where House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee members come together to consolidate divergent spending plans.
This session’s conference committee members are: Myself, Vice Chair Sickles, Delegate Betsy Carr, Delegate David Bulova, Delegate Terry Austin, Delegate Rob Bloxom, President Pro Tem L. Louise Lucas, Senator Creigh Deeds, Senator Mamie Locke, Senator Jennifer Boysko, Senator Ryan McDougle, and Senator Todd Pillion.
The 12 of us will spend the next few days working out the differences between our budget bills, and once a budget is agreed upon we will report our final budget to the full House and Senate on Thursday, March 7th for approval.
Constituent Corner
Throughout this week, my team and I were pleased to meet with advocates from James Madison University, Virginia Realtors, The Arc of Virginia, Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, OmniRide, and Virginia Commonwealth University, among many others. I sincerely hope that during our final week in Richmond, you have the opportunity to visit with my team and me.
2024 Presidential Primary
The Presidential Primary election day is this upcoming Tuesday, March 5th, from 6 AM to 7 PM. This is a primary election for both the Republican and Democratic party nominees for President. At your polling locations, you will have the opportunity to choose one of the primary ballots and make your selection. If you would like to confirm your designated voting location, please click here.
If you have any questions or comments about the General Assembly Session, please get in touch with my office at info@delegatetorian.com or 703-785-2224.