Somewhere in the governor’s office, a small army of lawyers and policy aides has a bigger reading assignment than they probably ever had in school: Review the 757 bills that the General Assembly has sent to Gov. Abigail Spanberger and offer their advice on whether these bills should be signed, vetoed or revised.
All this needs to be done by April 13, by the way. No pressure, right?
Spanberger and her staff get a small, unintentional break: They don’t have the budget to review because the legislature hasn’t passed one yet. That will be dealt with in a special session April 23, just after the regularly scheduled “veto” session on April 22, where the legislature reconvenes to deal with whatever it is the governor has done with the bills she hasn’t signed.
We published a lengthy list of the key bills the legislature dealt with — but even that hefty compendium didn’t include some things the General Assembly did. Here’s a catch-up of some other noteworthy actions — some of which are bills, some are measures that fit into other categories.
1. The Democratic-controlled legislature made a former Republican speaker of the House a judge
In Virginia, judges are elected by the General Assembly (except in certain cases where there are short-term vacancies to be filled). Legislators regard this as an important prerogative. You might think that with one-party control, this would mean the General Assembly is installing only Democratic judges. Not so. Judicial nominations bubble up through local bar associations and local delegations, which means this year, even a Democratic-controlled legislature elected some Republicans as judges.
The most notable one this year was the selection of former House Speaker Todd Gilbert of Shenandoah County as a general district court judge. (Gilbert’s had quite a year — from House minority leader to an interim U.S. attorney with a nomination for the full-time post, then back to a private lawyer after the Trump administration forced him out, a gig as an assistant prosecutor in Page County and now a judgeship). Another former Republican legislator, Jonathan “Jed” Arnold of Smyth County, was named a juvenile and domestic relations judge. A third Republican, Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance, was named a circuit court judge.
Others in our region who were named circuit court judges:
- Greg Haymore, in Pittsylvania County
- Gerald Mabe, currently a general district judge in Wythe County
- Calvin Spencer, currently a general district judge in Lunenburg County
- Stephanie Vipperman, currently a general district judge in Patrick County
- Frank Wright, in Campbell County
Others named as general district court judges:
- Lisa Francisco, in Halifax County
- Dawn Futrell, in Henry County
- Robin Kegley, in Bland County
- Jason Morgan, in Roanoke
- Joshua Newberry, in Dickenson County
Named as juvenile and domestic relations judges:
- Timothy Fisk, in Pittsylvania County
- Elizabeth Goodwin, in Nelson County
2. School construction commission will stay in business
Much of the business of the legislature takes place out of session in the form of commissions that study and recommend certain things. One of the more significant ones in recent years has been the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, a panel of particular interest to rural areas that often have trouble paying for such things. Many commissions are set up with sunset clauses, and this particular one was set to expire July 1. HB 544, by Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, makes the commission permanent.
3. New commissions created
The legislature created three new commissions. HB 285, by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax County, creates the Distributed Energy Resources Task Force “to advance the Commonwealth’s transition toward integrated distributed energy resource markets.” HB 1118, by Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William County, creates the Virginia Boys and Men Advisory Commission to advise on “education inequity, economic opportunities, disparity in health outcomes, and the impact of social media use, as such issues relate to boys and men in the Commonwealth.” SJ 111, by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, creates the Booker T. Washington Commemorative Commission. More on that later.
The General Assembly also moved to change the name of one important commission. The Commission on Electric Utility Regulation had been set up to provide a way to study energy-related legislation so legislators weren’t dealing with major policy decisions in short committee hearings during the session. This panel also quickly became known by its acronym, CEUR, pronounced, yes, “sewer.” SB 515 by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, changes that to the Energy Commission of Virginia.
4. Capitol Square could get a statue of Booker T. Washington
About that Booker T. Washington Commemorative Commission: The state Senate has had a commission studying whether and how to commission a bust of the civil rights leader, who was born in Franklin County. That’s now been expanded into a full House-Senate panel with an expanded goal: “to study and recommend an appropriate statue to be located on Capitol Square.”
I wrote earlier about a bill moving through the legislature to remove three Confederate statues from Capitol Square. That measure got absorbed into the Senate version of the budget, which has yet to pass, although that provision is probably safe. Earlier, I had a column in which I asked readers who they thought should have statues on Capitol Square; Booker T. Washington was one I recommended. You can still weigh in here.
5. New studies ordered
In its closing days, the legislature wrangled over how many studies it should authorize. Locke told the Virginia Mercury that the number of proposed studies had become “ridiculous.” I’ll confess I love a good study, and not just because it’s often column fodder. Nothing wrong with a few facts and figures, although there are legitimate concerns about how many studies can be produced.
Among those set in motion this session:
- SJ 23 by Sen. Laschrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, authorizes the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study whether Virginia should create a secretary of rural affairs. That’s something I’ve written about before.
- HJ 32 by Del. Amy Laufer, D-Albemarle County, would have JLARC study the use of artificial intelligence in higher education.
- SJ 26 by Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax County, would have JLARC study ”the potential impacts of expanded discretionary parole eligibility.”
- SB 658, by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, would have the Department of Elections study “the implementation of back-end, opt-out automatic voter registration.”
6. We get some new days, weeks and months
I wish maybe we could get an extra Saturday or an extra May, but that’s not how things work. Instead, we get some new days commemorating various things and new weeks and months to call awareness to others. You can add these to your calendar.
- March 14 will be Black Midwives Day (SJ 56, by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton).
- The day of the spring equinox will be recognized as Nowruz, the Persian New Year (HJ77, by Del. Atoosa Reaser, D-Loudoun County).
- April 13 will be the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Lynching (HJ 87, by Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Henrico County). This is a good time to call attention to our recent story about how the Department of Historic Resources is accepting nominations for historical markers related to lynchings.
- The first Thursday in May will be the National Day of Prayer (SJ 59, by Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County).
- May 9 will be Long QT Syndrome Awareness Day (HJ 89, by Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry County).
- May 21 will be Eliza Kortright Monroe Hay Day, after one of President James Monroe’s daughters who served as unofficial first lady during part of her father’s presidency (HJ 47 by Del. Anne Tata, R-Virginia Beach).
- Aug. 1 will be Internet Safety and Online Predator Awareness Day (HJ 36, by Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg).
Our new weeks:
- Third week of October: Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week (HJ 25, by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News)
Our new months will include:
- April: Myocarditis Awareness Month (HJ 33, by Del. Cliff Hayes Jr., D-Chesapeake)
- August: Immunization Awareness Month (HJ 24, by Price)
- August: Make-A-Will Month (HJ 23, also by Price)
- September: Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month (HJ 78, by Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond)
7. “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” is officially retired
Those of a certain age remember the contentious debates Virginia legislators once had over our state song, which for many years was “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny.” Early in his legislative career, Doug Wilder — later the state’s governor — called attention to the lyrics of the song, which extolled the days of slavery. After that, the song was basically shelved. There were moves made to change the lyrics, but that was deemed unsatisfactory. In 1997, the General Assembly made the song the state song emeritus and, in 2015, picked two other state songs: a reworking of the traditional “Oh, Shenandoah” became “Our Great Virginia” and “Sweet Virginia Breeze” by Steve Bassett and Robbin Thompson became the state’s official popular song.
This year, SB 801 by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria (who departed in mid-session to join the administration), dropped “Old Virginny” entirely.
I hate to bring this up, but I’ve never heard any of our state songs — not “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” or its two replacements — played at any official gathering, which makes me wonder why we even have them. That brings us to this:
8. We won’t get any new official state emblems
We’re now in the portion of our program where we look at things the legislature didn’t do.
Little bluestem will not be the official state grass. The pawpaw will not be the official state fruit. The brown-belted bumblebee will not be the official state native pollinator. Shelter pets will not be the official state pet. And peanuts will definitely not be the state snack. Some of these measures passed the state Senate, but the House Rules Committee deferred action on all of them. Or, perhaps we might say, the committee told the bumblebee bill (and all its companions) to buzz off.
9. Columbus Day won’t get changed to Indigenous People’s Day
Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond, introduced HB 858, which would have made the change. That bill was continued. Columbus gets at least one more day in Virginia.
10. We’ll keep changing our clocks twice a year
There’s always a legislative dispute over what time it is — or should be. The state Senate voted 24-16 to ignore Daylight Saving Time and make Eastern Standard Time permanent year-round. You can thank or blame state Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County, for his SB 541, depending on your point of view. The House Rules Committee put that bill off until next year.
Meanwhile, Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, introduced his annual bill to do just the opposite: make Daylight Saving Time our year-round time, if Congress allows. His bill met its usual fate, of being continued, as well.
As to the ultimate fate of both these bills, I suppose we might say … time will tell.
Want more politics and analysis? Sign up for West of the Capital, our weekly political newsletter that goes out on Fridays. Sign up here: