2022 Legislative Accomplishments
As a result of the 2021 election, the General Assembly reconvened in January 2022 under a divided government, with Democrats holding a majority in the Senate, while Republicans took back control of the House of Delegates and Governor's Mansion. We were unable to reach an agreement on our biennial budget within the 60-day deadline of the Regular Session, so the Governor called a Special Session to allow more time for negotiations on the budget and a few remaining pieces of legislation. After months of deliberation, lawmakers came to a final agreement on the budget that was signed by Governor Youngkin in June. Please read below for more information on our historic budget as well as information on my introduced legislation.
Tax Relief
After months of negotiation between House and Senate budget conferees, the two chambers have come to an agreement on a budget that includes almost $4 billion in tax relief — the largest tax relief in Virginia history. Thanks to strong fiscal stewardship throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia ended FY 2021 with a historic surplus of $2.6 billion. While we are constitutionally required to deposit half of all surplus funds into a rainy day fund, our economic prosperity has allowed us to give money back to Virginians in several ways:
Increase in Standard Deduction — The budget increases the standard deduction to $8,000 for individuals and $16,000 for couples. The current standard deduction for Virginia taxpayers is $4,500 for individuals and $9,000 for a couple.
Eliminate State Sales Tax on Grocery and Hygiene Products — Effective January 1st, 2023, Virginia will no longer impose a 1.5 percent tax on groceries and certain hygiene products. Localities will still be able to levy a 1 percent tax on groceries to support local revenues.
One Time Tax Rebates — The budget will provide one-time tax rebates of $250 per person and $500 per couple, at a cost of $1 billion to the Commonwealth.
Refundability of Earned Income Tax Credit — The budget makes 15 percent of the earned income tax credit refundable. A refundable tax credit allows low-income families to receive a larger tax refund. In the past, Virginia's EITC was not refundable, meaning that the credit amount is limited by an individual’s tax liability.
Education
The 2023-2024 biennium budget boosts education spending to the largest level in Virginia history with $3.2 billion in direct aid. The General Assembly also passed several reforms to improve the quality of our instruction and protect our higher education students from hazing.
Teacher Pay Raise — Our budget will provide a 10% salary increase for teachers and instructional support positions — 5% in 2023 and another 5% in 2024. The budget also $125 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide a one-time $1,000 bonus to teacher and support positions on December 1, 2022.
Virginia Literacy Act — The General Assembly passed HB319/SB616, also known as the Virginia Literacy Act, to improve the quality of our early student reading instruction. The bill will require teacher training programs and school divisions to revise and align their literacy methodologies to the latest, evidence-based reading instruction, intervention, and assessment practices, consistent with the science of reading. Schools will also partner with parents by providing them with evidence-based instructional materials that they can use at home to help their children succeed. The budget also includes $62.6 million in funding to provide one reading specialist for every 550 students in kindergarten through third grade.
Preventing Hazing on College Campuses — HB525/SB439 mandates institutions of higher education follow certain policies to prevent hazing on campuses. The bill requires that: colleges provide a hazing prevention curriculum and have advisers train students in person; colleges publish their student organizations’ violations of the code of conduct online and requires colleges to report information about their student organizations to the Piazza Center for Fraternity Sorority Research and Reform at Pennsylvania State University.
Early Childhood Education — Investing in early childhood education is one of the most strategic investments we can make to support working families, reduce educational inequality, and strengthen our future workforce. I’m proud to have spoken out on the House floor when this funding was in jeopardy. Our final budget includes $46.9 million to implement several early childhood initiatives, including expanded services for three-year-olds, expanded mixed delivery, and early childhood workforce recruitment and retention grants.
Public Safety
Law Enforcement/ Criminal Justice Pay Increase — The budget includes a total of $263.9 million to increase law enforcement salaries including $85.7 million to increase the salaries of sheriff’s deputies sales and regional jail officers; $47 million in state aid for local police departments (599 funds); and $46.5 million to the Virginia State Police to increase starting salaries and combat wage compression.
Gun Violence Prevention — The budget includes $13 million for the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to reduce gun violence. The Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund will receive $4 million per year, to distribute grants to local governments, community groups, and hospitals for “evidence-informed” gun violence reduction efforts. Those funds could also be used to support suicide prevention and “safe firearm removal practices” to get guns away from people who aren’t allowed to have them, such as Virginians subjected to red flag orders. The Operation Ceasefire Grant Fund will receive $2.5 million per year to make funding available for anti-crime strategies targeting the small number of people, often gang members, most likely to shoot someone or become a shooting victim.
Health Care
Increasing Medicaid Reimbursement Rates — Our budget includes $700 million to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for providers of dental care services for people with developmental disabilities, personal care, and nursing facilities.
Mental Health Care — The budget allocates $33.8 million to increase funds for permanent supportive housing for people with serious mental illnesses and $19.6 million to update our state-run mental health facilities.
Realtors Health Association — Allows Virginia Realtors to form an association health plan, which would include a single risk pool of the self-employed and employees of real estate brokerage firms who are members of the association (HB768/SB335).
Sponsored Legislation
This year I introduced 12 pieces of legislation with a focus on improving our Commonwealth’s water quality, protecting our localities from the impacts of climate change, incentivizing the development of more affordable housing units, and establishing greater consumer protections for seniors living in continuing care communities, and much more. You can see the full version of all my introduced legislation online here and see below for a snapshot of my bills that will become law on July 1st, 2022.
HB388 — This bill will require the directors of our state-run mental health facilities to establish a permanent process for individuals to receive virtual visits from their loved ones. This process was initially established as a temporary option during the COVID-19 pandemic and my bill will make this a permanent option for individuals receiving care.
HB400 — This bill adds the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program to the list of federal laws whose restrictions shall be considered in determining the fair market value of real property that is operated as affordable rental housing. The RAD program was created by the government in 2012 to maintain the viability and long-term affordability of affordable housing units.
HB402 — Expands access to a tax credit that encourages the development of affordable housing units in affluent neighborhoods. This credit was originally only applicable to certain regions of Virginia, but my legislation makes this a statewide incentive for affordable housing development.
Bipartisan Legislative Initiatives
Following the 2021 election, the General Assembly convened in January under a newly divided government, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats maintaining a slim majority in the Senate. Much of my work this session was focused on legislation that was the result of bipartisan efforts with my Republican colleagues. Please see below for a brief overview of some of my bipartisan legislative initiatives:
Mental Health Care for Veterans — In the past 20 years, rates of death by suicide among veterans have increased dramatically. To help combat this trend, I worked with Delegate Anne Tata (R-Virginia Beach) to pass HB1203 to create a new position of Suicide Prevention Coordinator in the Department of Veterans Services. The bill was a recommendation from the Joint Legislative Council of Veterans Service Organizations (JLCVSO) and will build upon the Department’s work to develop effective protocols for suicide risk screening and delivery of life-saving services.
Improving the Virginia Employment Commission — Over the past two years, I have assisted hundreds of constituents in navigating challenges related to unemployment benefits. The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) was unprepared to handle the dramatic increase in unemployment claims and new pandemic-related employment benefits created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in significant bureaucratic challenges for many Virginians in need. I am proud to have worked with Delegate Kathy Byron (R-Lynchburg) and Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond) to pass HB270 which makes several administrative reforms to the VEC, adds greater legislative oversight for the Commission, and establishes an Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman to assist individuals applying for benefits.
Addressing our Healthcare Workforce Shortage — For many years, Virginia and the United States as a whole have faced a growing shortage of healthcare providers. This issue has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which about 1 in 5 healthcare workers have left their profession. To help combat this concerning trend, I worked with Delegate Keith Hodges (R-Urbanna), Delegate Terry Austin (R-Buchanan), and Delegate Chris Head (R-Roanoke) on HB191, on legislation to establish a position of Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development to streamline educational requirements for healthcare professionals and address regulatory barriers to entering and staying in health professions. While the bill was continued to the 2022 Special Session, we were able to secure $65,000 each year in the budget for the Governor to fund the Health Workforce Advisor position.
Resolutions
This year I was proud to introduce several resolutions honoring the lives and accomplishments of members of our community. I carried resolutions to celebrate the Glen Allen Boys Cross Country and Volleyball Teams for winning the State Championship, commending Disco Sports for 50 years in business, and honoring the lives of several community members we lost this year. You can see a full list of all of my resolutions online here.
Committee Assignments
House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources