2021 Legislative Accomplishments
I have been honored to be a part of a historic class of legislators for the 2021 regular and special sessions. We have accomplished so much together this year, and it has been an honor to serve you.
Education
During the 2021 Legislative Session, we made historic investments in our students, educators, and public schools. We instituted a 5% teacher pay raise and support staff, provided funding for more school counselors to reach a 1:325 student-counselor ratio, administered supplemental funding for local programming to address learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and established parameters for schools to reopen for the 2021-2022 academic year. Our schools have been chronically underfunded for decades, and have never fully recovered from the cuts made during the Great Recession. I’m proud that our legislature has committed to fully funding our schools to ensure all students have access to a quality education and support resources.
Voting Rights
Virginia has transformed from one of the hardest states to vote to one of the easiest. During the 2020 Session, we implemented no-excuse absentee voting, allowing all Virginians the option to vote early in person or through a mailed absentee ballot. We also enacted automatic voter registration for anyone who receives a Virginia driver’s license, implemented same-day voter registration, established Election Day as a state holiday, and expanded the forms of acceptable voting ID to include certain non-photo IDs. This year we continued this critical work by passing the Virginia Voting Rights Act which requires all local elections administrators to receive public feedback or advance approval from the attorney general for changes like moving voting precincts or elections registrars’ offices and allows voters and the attorney general to sue over voter suppression. It expressly prohibits any racial discrimination or intimidation related to voting.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, states across the country struggled to adapt to the changes in voting brought by the pandemic. During our 2020 Special Session, we passed legislation to fund pre-paid return postage on all absentee ballots, establish drop boxes at designated voting locations, and established a “curing” process for Virginians to correct errors on their ballots. This year we codified these changes by passing HB1888, an absentee voting omnibus bill to institute prepaid postage on envelopes to return absentee ballots, authority for local electoral boards and registrars to designate drop-off locations, and codified the process for allowing absentee-by-mail voters to “cure” certain errors in order to make their ballot countable. While other areas of the country have seen limitations on the right to vote, Virginia has emerged as a national leader in voting and election administration.
Rebuilding a Stronger Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic led to economic uncertainty and job loss for millions of Virginians. During the 2021 legislative sessions we took significant action to offer relief to struggling businesses, establish job training programs to encourage workers to enter high-demand fields, and fund improvements to infrastructure that will generate job growth. We provided an additional $25 million for Rebuild VA, a program started by Governor Northam to help Virginia businesses meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the pandemic not occurred, and to recover with the resources to offset the additional costs of operating a small business in the post-pandemic environment. We also allowed Virginia businesses who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that were forgiven by the federal government, or who received support from Rebuild VA, to deduct up to $100,000 on their 2020 tax returns.
We implemented the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Program (HB2204) which requires the Virginia Community College System to establish the G3 Program to provide financial assistance to certain low-income and middle-income Virginia students who are enrolled in an educational program at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education that leads to employment in certain high-demand fields such as health care, I.T., and early childhood education. The economic recession from the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted working mothers and families as parents have struggled to cover the costs and burden of child care. Which is why I was proud to be a chief co-patron of HB2206, which raises the income eligibility for Virginia’s Child Care Subsidy Program so that families making 85% of the state median income are eligibly to receive direct support to offset the costs of child care.
Criminal Justice Reform
We made history this year when Virginia became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. Throughout our history, the Commonwealth has executed more than 1,300 people, including 113 since the Supreme Court reinstated the use of capital punishment in 1976. Over time, the use of the death penalty has declined, as Virginia has not issued a death sentence since 2011. I was proud to join a bipartisan group of legislators to put an end to this cruel practice which has proven to not deter violent crime.
We also passed HB2113, which establishes a framework for automatic expungement. This legislation would allow those with certain non-violent felony and misdemeanor convictions and charges in Virginia to have their records expunged. Even a conviction for a minor offense can create a barrier in a person’s life keeping them from getting a job, finding housing, and obtaining government assistance later in life, affecting families for generations. Automatic expungement does not require applicants to file a court petition and pay legal fees, making it a more equitable approach since it does not favor those with greater resources and connections. This legislation will allow Virginians who have served their punishment and have become upstanding members of society the opportunity for a clean slate to move forward from past mistakes.
Sponsored Legislation
This year House members were only able to introduce seven pieces of legislation, I am proud to report that all seven of my bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. See below for a brief description, and click the bill number to see the full text.
HB1943 — Prohibits the Charitable Gaming Board from promulgating regulations that prohibit the use of multiple video monitors on an electronic pull-tab device.
HB1976 — Broadens the responsibility of the Virginia Healthcare Workforce Development Authority (VHDWA), which was established by the General Assembly to facilitate the development of a statewide health professions pipeline.
HB2061 — Requires any health care provider in the Commonwealth that administers vaccines to participate in the Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS) and report patient immunizations to the VIIS, reducing the risk of over/under vaccination.
HB2062 — Prohibits third-party food delivery platforms, such as GrubHub, Doordash, and UberEats, from arranging for the delivery of an order from a restaurant without first obtaining an agreement with the restaurant. This legislation gives more control to small restaurant owners and allows them to choose their delivery partners.
HB2070 — Clarifies that Community Service Boards may enter into contracts with private providers to expand access and capacity of mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services.
HB2092 — Requires background checks and central registry searches for contract staff providing direct care services for all DBHDS licensed services.
HB2148 — Establishes a permit-by-rule process under the Department of Environmental Quality for small renewable energy storage projects.
HB1979 (Chief Co-Patron) — Establishes an electric vehicle rebate program that would provide a purchaser or lessee of a new or used electric vehicle a $2,500 rebate applied toward payment for the purchase, and a purchaser or lessee with an annual household income that does not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level would be entitled to an additional $2,000 rebate for a new electric vehicle and $500 for a used electric vehicle beginning in the taxable year 2022.
HB2203 (Chief Co-Patron) — Establishes the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program (VAFA) to allow Virginia farmers and food producers to donate, sell, or otherwise provide agriculture products to charitable food assistance organizations. The bill also creates the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Fund to provide funds for these organizations to reimburse farmers for any costs associated with harvesting, processing, packaging, or transporting any donated food. This bill will help support our struggling farmers and food producers while providing Virginia-grown products to our charitable organizations.
HB2204 (Chief Co-Patron) — Establishes the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund and requires the Virginia Community College System to establish the G3 Program to provide financial assistance to certain low-income and middle-income Virginia students who are enrolled in an educational program at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education that leads to employment in certain high-demand fields such as health care, I.T., and early childhood education.
HB2206 (Chief Co-Patron) — Increases income eligibility for child care assistance to $89,000 for a family of four and allows families to be eligible when looking for work. Currently, the enhanced eligibility will be in effect through July 31, 2021. The bill also eliminates the child support enforcement requirement permanently. The value of assistance depends on locality, age of the child, and type of provider but it is a significant level of support.
Resolutions
This year I was fortunate to carry several resolutions to recognize businesses or individuals in our community and commend them for their great work. This year I recognized the 50th Anniversary of the Little Oil Company, the Henrico County Public Schools Nutrition Team for their work feeding students throughout the pandemic, and CrossOver Healthcare Ministry for their tireless work and service for uninsured and medically underserved patients. The 73rd district is an incredible community and I am so glad to be able to recognize the hard work of those who live, work, and attend schools here.
See a full list of my bills and resolutions online here.
Committee Assignments
House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources
Health Welfare and Institutions — Chair of Behavioral Health Subcommittee