Dear Friend,
The Governor has finalized his actions on the bills that the General Assembly sent to his desk. The legislature will meet tomorrow, April 2, to respond. Below is an update on pending legislation and other community news.
Reconvened Session
The General Assembly will convene for both a special session as well as the reconvened session. During the reconvened session, the legislature will receive actions from the Governor and respond to them. Other matters of business are not included in the scope of a reconvened session. Therefore, the General Assembly will also convene a special session on April 2 to see to the election of judges among other items. You can watch the reconvened and special sessions live on Wednesday, 12pm, at this link.
The Governor received 537 House bills and 379 Senate Bills. Of the 916 bills sent to his desk, he signed 605 bills, amended 159, and vetoed 158 bills. For vetoed legislation, the General Assembly can override the veto with a 2/3rds vote. For with Amendments from the Governor, the General Assembly can either accept the amendments, or reject them by a simple majority vote. As a final measure, the Governor can then either approve the legislation as it originally came to him or veto it.
The budget, the most consequential piece of legislation passed by the General Assembly, received 8 item vetoes and a record 205 amendments. The General Assembly’s $1.1 billion economic relief package was left in tact, as well as bonuses for state employees including teachers and educational support staff. However, the General Assembly budget included a provision requiring the Governor to propose a new budget should there be major reductions in funding. He removed this provision and instead cut $300 million from the budget and proposed it be deposited into the “rainy day fund,” with anticipation of federal funding disruptions. You can read more about the Governor’s budget amendments in this article from The Virginia Mercury as well as this one from The Richmond Times-Dispatch. You can find the Governor’s item vetoes and amendments here.
The Governor signed many bills into law. You can find a complete list of signed legislation here. You can find a complete list of vetoed legislation here. Finally, find legislation that received an amendment from the Governor, here. You may enjoy the below further reading on the Governor’s actions:
A “scorecard report” of how Richmond area legislators fared in the session (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
Coverage on the vetoed legislation as well as a recap of some of the approved legislation (The Virginia Mercury).
Governor’s vetoes of bills he deemed “bad for business” (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
Maternal health legislation that was signed (The Virginia Mercury).
Veto of legislation that would have established a regulated cannabis marketplace (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
Artificial Intelligence consumer protection legislation that was vetoed (The Virginia Mercury).
I had 11 bills pass this session, 7 of which were signed and 4 were amended. My signed legislation includes:
Creating an alternative path to licensure for architects through apprenticeships.
Ensuring everyone who serves as a FOIA Officer for a public body receives training.
Streamlining technology contracts for localities and public bodies.
Making changes to support the Enterprise Zone grant program, including creating a workgroup to guide further changes and enhancements.
As well as several bills that made technical and clarifying changes to the code governing topics such as exchange student tuition, community land trusts, and substitute judge compensation rates.
My 4 pieces of amended legislation include:
Granting localities the authority to create ordinances for streamlined and tailored ordinances for tax-exempt non-profits (including faith communities) to develop affordable housing. The Governor amended the legislation to convene a workgroup tasked with creating strategies and guidance for localities to engage such non-profits in affordable housing ordinances.
Establishing a consistent model of education in prison facilities, of which the Governor delayed the enactment by a year.
Establishing a Board of Directors for Richard Bland College (currently governed by William & Mary’s Board), which the Governor removed the one year delayed effective date (up to July 1, 2025, from July 1, 2026).
Making several changes to VCU Health System’s Governance in-line with JLARC’s recommendations on the topic. The Governor made changes on the size and make-up of the board among other changes.
Resources for Federal Workers
Virginia is home to over 150,000 federal employees. The significant reorganization of the Federal Government and the sweeping down-sizing of the federal workforce has already impacted many in our state and community. Recently let-go federal workers who are seeking unemployment may find this webpage from the Virginia Employment Commission helpful as well as this factsheet from the U.S. Department of Labor on the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program.
For finding new jobs, the Office of Personnel Management maintains this website for their reemployment and transition programs. Additionally the “Virginia Has Jobs,” webpage can assist in searches for both public and private employment.
As President Trump’s federal restructuring and reduction in funding continues, Virginia is working to be prepared. The House Committee on The Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions will meet on April 8 in Alexandria. More information here.
Richmond People’s Budget Voting
Richmond’s Inaugural participatory budget is open for voting. As a refresher, the “Richmond People’s Budget,” is a new initiative to allow for Richmonders to propose and vote on projects in the neighborhoods in which they live, work and play. Voting is open through April 15. Visit this webpage for more information.
VCU Center on Aging
VCU’s Center on Aging is a statewide agency created by the General Assembly in 1978 to protect and improve the quality of life for older Virginians. Since their founding, the work of the Center on Aging has only become vastly more important: due to demographic phenomena such as declining birth rates and our median age becoming increasingly older, we must ensure we have the infrastructure and resources to care for our greying population. The Center on Aging is based in VCU’s College of Health Professions, and confers a Master’s degree in Gerontology. Additionally, they provide critical research and publications on topics such as elder abuse, social security, dementia and much more. They also award grants for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia research and Geriatric Education and Training.
America: Made in Virginia—Celebrating Our Nation’s Founding
I was honored to join two special events celebrating the upcoming 250th Anniversary of our Nation’s founding.
Virginia Public Media welcomed documentarian Ken Burns for a special viewing and panel discussion of his upcoming documentary “The American Revolution.” The documentary will be released in Fall of this year.
Additionally, I joined the Virginia Museum of History & Culture for the opening of their “Give Me Liberty: Virginia & the Forging of a Nation” exhibit, which highlights Virginia’s leadership in the American Revolution and its influence in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. You can learn more about the exhibit here.
The VA250 Commission is coordinating the Commonwealth’s celebration. You can learn more at their website.
Celebrating Community Groups
In the past few weeks I have had the honor of joining several community groups and organizations for special events.
I joined the Capital Trees Foundation for their 15th annual celebration. Capital Trees began as a collaboration of several garden clubs to create and improve green spaces. Visit their webpage for more information.
Additionally, I attended a leadership forum at the SPAN Center, the Capital Area Agency on Aging. The SPAN Center provides resources and creates a community for older Virginians and Virginians with disabilities. You can learn more about their work here.
I joined David Berdish of VCU’s Business School, who created the inaugural Circular Supply Chain Summit. The two day summit brought business and economic leaders, government procurement officials, supply chain academics, and other experts together to share ideas on supporting sustainable and circular economies. This is a burgeoning movement supported by Virginia’s only university with a program in supply chain management.
The Virginia Derby Day is an annual horse race held at Colonial Downs in New Kent. This year, the Derby was named a qualifier for the Kentucky Derby. American Promise won in front 8 thousand spectators, and will race at Churchill Downs, May 3.
I joined the Richmond Planet Foundation for a kickoff of the John Mitchell, Jr. Project, an exciting new initiative to highlight the monumental work of John Mitchell, Jr, the prominent editor and journalist of The Richmond Planet, as well as a civil rights activist, businessman, politician and banker. The Foundation has partnered with playwright Kristen Adele Calhoun to bring a play to Richmond’s Firehouse Theater on the life and legacy of Mr. Mitchell. Learn more about John Mitchell here.
Frida Kahlo at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The VMFA will open “Frida: Beyond the Myth” on April 5. The VMFA is one of only two venues in the U.S. and the only on the East Coast, that will host this exhibit of Frida Kahlo’s paintings and provide an opportunity to understand the life and story of Frida, beyond much of the mythology of her life and work. You can read more about the exhibit in this press release from the VMFA and you can purchase tickets here.
Additionally, on opening day, the Museum will host “FridaFest,” 1-7pm, as an outdoor, all-ages event with food, beverage, music and more to celebrate the exhibit’s opening. Learn more here.
Richmond City Budget Process
The Mayor has proposed a new $3 billion budget to City Council, beginning the City’s budget setting process. April will include public hearings before amendments are proposed by City Council and eventually a budget is adopted in May. You can find the Mayor’s proposals here, as well as background on the process here.
Zoning Advisory Council
The City is undergoing a zoning code refresh, which you can read about here. As part of this work, the City has convened a Code Refresh Zoning Advisory Council and working groups who will assist the council. If you would like to participate in these working groups, visit this link. Additionally, if you were unable to participate in any of the recent zoning open houses, you can fill out this survey to share your thoughts. For all things Richmond 300, visit this link.
Thank You
It is an honor to serve in the House of Delegates. Please never hesitate to contact me at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org or 804-698-1078 if I can be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Betsy