Dear Friend, This week, we completed the work of the 2024 General Assembly and adjourned sine die on Saturday, March 9, with a solid budget in hand and legislation that provides good support for Virginians.
This week’s newsletter provides updates about budget agreements, my legislation, and also highlights the last few days of session. Thank you for reading and staying informed. |
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Virginia Senate and House of Delegates Agree to Budget The budget conferees from the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates reached agreement last week and presented the joint budget of the General Assembly. On Saturday, this budget was passed by both Chambers. Here are some highlights of the budget as presented by the legislative branch:
- Three percent salary increases for teachers for each year of the biennium
- Restoration of the state’s share of the grocery tax to hold localities harmless
- Significant increase in funding for at-risk students (based on JLARC recommendations)
- Increased support for English language teachers and tiered staffing ratios based on student proficiency levels
- Continuation of the child care subsidy program to protect slots that were endangered by the expiration of the federal pandemic relief funds
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Restoration of the local composite index cap for the Virginia Preschool Initiative after its removal from the introduced budget
- Restoration of Pell Initiative funding in the second year, after its removal from the introduced budget, to support access to higher education
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Funding for the state’s Medicaid program and community-based behavioral health services
- Addition of 3440 developmental disability waiver slots
- Additional aid to localities with police departments “599” programs
- Additional aid to community violence reduction organizations
- Funding for “make ready” assistance for at-risk broadband infrastructure projects
- Three percent salary increase for state employees and state-supported local employees for each year of the biennium
- Funding of $25 million over the biennium for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund
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Funding of $300,000 to continue support for the Eviction Diversion program
These are just a few highlights from the budget (HB30), as it passed out of both Chambers. This budget has been presented to the Governor. Youngkin has made it clear that he is not at all happy with the conference report, and he has called it “backwards” in press statements, public comments, and on social media. The budget, as passed by the Senate and the House, emphasizes education, mental health, health care for the underserved, working families, and much more. It also fills serious gaps and corrects errors presented in the administration’s introduced budget. It removes a $2 billion giveaway for arena funding in Northern Virginia, the cost of which would be borne by Virginia’s taxpayers and at the expense of our children’s education.
The General Assembly has presented a prudent and strong budget to the Governor. We now await his actions. |
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My Successful Budget Amendments
In early January, after receiving the Governor’s introduced budget and in collaboration with the localities, constituencies, and constituents that I represent, my office submitted 74 individual budget amendments to fill much-need areas. The conference report released last week includes several of these budget amendments, totaling $854,673,596. A few of these critical items are the following: - $80,600,000 across the biennium to implement staffing standards for English Learner students based on student proficiency level
- $6,000,000 across the biennium to support our Soil and Water Conservation District offices across the Commonwealth
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$5,000,000 across the biennium to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, which provides funds to community-based organizations partnering with school divisions to create quality before-school, after-school and summer learning programs for school-age children attending high-poverty, low-performing schools
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$4,000,000 across the biennium to facilitate and improve language access at the state agencies
- $3,000,000 across the biennium for our Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which provide comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health services to uninsured Virginians
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$1,000,000 in one-time funding to the Virginia Enterprise Zone grant program through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for rooftop solar or solar canopies for parking lots
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Final Status of My Bills
In addition to the passage of a strong budget, the General Assembly completed its work on legislative matters. Overall, twelve of my introduced bills successfully passed both Chambers and have now been delivered to the Governor’s desk.
Bills that Passed Both Chambers:
Both of the following two bills were incorporated into the omnibus bill, SB105, which is now the primary driver of the large budget allocations for our public schools. These two bills emerge from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report that highlights the crisis points in Virginia’s education system. SB227 and SB228 help to bring us closer to meeting the standards of quality (SOQ) funding levels, increasing teacher pay, and addressing the needs of special education and English Language students.
Other bills that successfully passed both Chambers include the following: Bills Continued Forward by the House:
We were able to gain good support for SB 229 Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention, Advisory Council on; placement of Council in the Senate. However, this bill was continued forward to 2025 by the House Rules Committee. I will bring this legislation back next year. Other bills that were passed by the Senate but continued forward to 2025 by the House include the following; I will be bringing these bills back next Session: Bills Continued Forward by the Senate:
I will continue to work on these bills and plan to re-introduce them in 2025 One Bill Defeated in the House: |
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This past Monday, I joined Senate and House colleagues to highlight key Democratic priorities that were sent to the Governor for his immediate action. Two of my bills were included in the roster that required immediate action from the Governor by this past Friday: the first, a bill to stop the arbitrary banning of books from school libraries and the second, a bill to ensure access to contraceptives without burdensome co-pays.
By Friday evening, the Governor vetoed SB235. This bill draws a distinct line between parental notification and the banning of books from school libraries. In 2022, a Republican Senator passed the same legislation with strong backing from Youngkin. However, the clarifying language about prohibiting book bans was placed in an enactment clause. My bill now places that clarifying language directly into legislation itself and is meant to be a safeguard against the book banning and censorship actions that we have seen some school boards take in certain localities. Despite being an enthusiastic supporter of the original 2022 legislation and despite the fact that the language remains the same, Youngkin has decided to veto my bill.
The Governor has returned SB238, my bill safeguarding contraceptive equity, with amendments that would exempt providers on the basis of religious or ethical beliefs. I wish the Governor had read my bill carefully because the focus of the legislation is on the costs passed on to insurance customers. Federally, the case known as the “Hobby Lobby” case has already provided religious exemptions to those employers that do not wish to provide contraceptive coverage for their employees. My bill addresses those insurance plans that do provide coverage for contraceptive care, and it removes financial barriers such as co-pays that impede access to contraception. Adding a religious or ethical exemption clause is meaningless in the context of this bill.
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End of Session Happenings
As the session came to a close, we still had a steady stream of visitors at the General Assembly Building. |
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As we reached the final days of session, we were delighted to have advocates from the Richmond-area Indian American Muslim Council join us in the General Assembly Building to share messages of religious pluralism, peace, and Ramadan blessings. |
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On Friday, prior to the start of our own discussions, our Senate Pages held their Mock Session. They elected their own President and Clerk of the Senate, and the 2024 Page Class took their seats in our Chamber as duly-elected members of the Mock Session. They presented and debated bills with confidence and knowledge. We, on the other hand, served as pages during that mock session and made deliveries on their behalf. I congratulate all of the Pages for their stellar work, and I am especially proud of Tvesa who was selected by my office to represent Senate District 15.
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I thank my interns Amal, Casey, and Manuella for their fantastic work this session. They each contributed in many ways to the legislative and constituent demands of a busy session, and I know that they learned quite a bit about the work of the General Assembly and the Virginia state government. Their end-of-session video is a real treat.
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Ramadan Mubarak
As we begin the holy month of Ramadan, abstinence from food and water brings us closer to those suffering from starvation, deprivation, unbearable loss, and inhumanity. For those observing Ramadan, in Virginia and around the world, I wish you peace, comfort, and blessings. |
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Connecting With My Office
My office can be reached at the following:
Email: [email protected] Phone: 804.698.7515 If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive my office’s weekly newsletter here. — Ghazala |
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Email us: [email protected]
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