Whenever I’m invited to speak, I usually give a standard talk about why journalists are important. I start by describing how many journalists were around decades ago to cover state government, and how there are fewer journalists around today to cover a state government that’s much bigger — which means there are fewer people asking about a state budget that’s more than 11 times the size it was when I first got into the business.
That’s the point where conservatives, in particular, start to really pay attention: Wait, who’s asking questions about how our tax dollars are used then?
If that gets your attention, too, feel free to become a Cardinal member to help support independent journalism in Virginia to make sure there are people asking questions about what state government is doing. That pitch aside, there’s always something that gets overlooked in the General Assembly. With a thousand or more bills, that’s inevitable. On Monday, I listed what I felt were the top 10 things the legislature did (or didn’t do) this year. Today, here’s a list of the 25 most overlooked bills, with emphasis on ones from legislators from Southwest and Southside. Most of these, while important, were also so non-controversial that they passed either unanimously or by wide, bipartisan margins. I’ve noted the ones that were closer. These aren’t necessarily in order of importance, but I have tried to group certain types of bills together, such as all the school-related and health-related bills.
1. Surveillance technology must be reported
Our special report “Everyone’s Watching: State of Surveillance” documented just how widespread surveillance technology is these days. The General Assembly took up at least two surveillance bills. The one that got the most attention (and which made Monday’s list of the 10 most important bills) dealt with how long data is kept and where law enforcement can put cameras. HB 2725 by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, got a lot less attention — and sailed through unanimously. It’s important in another way, though: It requires law enforcement agencies to report annually what surveillance technologies they’re using.
2. Localities could require parking lots have solar panels
One of the issues that has widened the fissure between rural and urban areas in this year’s session has been solar energy. The Clean Economy Act requires more renewable energy, which for the most part means more solar — but the rural areas where solar projects have been going are increasingly pushing back, and rejecting, solar proposals. Their main objection is that fields of solar panels turn pretty rural landscapes into ugly industrial ones. Whenever we write about solar energy, one thing I’m regularly asked by readers is why urban areas can’t find ways to take on solar, as well. I recently wrote a column about rooftop solar, and how that’s simply not practical as a way to generate lots of utility-scale energy. You know what could be, though? Big parking lots. Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax County, sponsored HB 2037, which allows localities to require developers to put canopies of solar panels over parking lots of a certain size — specifically, “nonresidential surface parking areas with 100 parking spaces or more.” This would, in effect, allow urban areas to create their own solar farms without taking any actual farmland.
This bill attracted some Republican support in the House, where it passed 64-32, but got through the Senate on a party-line 21-18 vote. I’ll be curious what Gov. Glenn Youngkin makes of this bill. Does this fit his “all of the above” energy strategy, or does it constitute a “burdensome regulation” on developers? It’s easy to see him coming down on the latter, but I also suspect that seeing urban areas doing more to develop their own solar would help ease some of the fury in rural areas where people feel they are being asked to shoulder the entire solar load.
3. Children’s access to social media would be restricted
State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County, is a teacher so has more interaction with kids than most of us. He told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that “they’re spending their whole day online, they’re losing their attention span. They’re losing their academic success. They’re not hanging out with their family and friends. They’re seeing things … particularly with girls seeing these things that are just grinding down on them.” In response, his SB 854 would require social media apps to set up a system to limit the access of children under 16 to 1 hour per day per app, unless their parents approve.
4. School boards directed to take up ‘cyberbullying’
Even though we’re decades into the internet era, technology (and the ways people use it or abuse it) is causing legislators to write new laws. One of those this year is SB 908, by state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County. It directs local school boards to adopt some sort of policy against cyberbullying. Of note: This bill requires schools to “address instances that occur outside of school property between students enrolled in the school division.” This bill also passed unanimously.
5. Schools directed to offer autism training
Another Stanley bill, SB 1293 directs school boards to offer optional training to all school employees whose duties involve “regular contact” with students with autism. Taking such a class would count toward any instructor’s license renewal. This also passed unanimously.
6. School boards directed to enact cellphone policies
Youngkin has issued an executive order directing the Department of Education and other state agencies to develop model cellphone policies for schools. Executive orders, though, can come and go with administrations. HB 1961 by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, and SB 738, by state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax County, would write into law a directive for each school board to develop cellphone policies. Rasoul says this bill gives school boards more flexibility than Youngkin’s executive order does. It also prohibits schools from suspending or expelling a student simply for a violation of the cellphone policy. This bill was more controversial in the Senate, where it passed on a party-line vote, than in the House, where it passed 73-23.
7. General Assembly’s investigative arm will study book removals from public schools
By October, we should have a report on which public schools have removed books from their libraries since July 1, 2020, what the books were, along with why it was removed and who was involved. That should make for some interesting reading. HJ 440 by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax County, and SJ 251 by state Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to carry out this study. Technically, this isn’t a bill, it’s a resolution that gives an order to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the legislature’s so-called “watchdog agency.” That means the governor has no say in whether this happens. The bill passed, so it will.
See this story by the Capital News Service for more details.
8. School boards would have to cover unpaid lunch debts
Some students can’t pay for lunch and run up debts. What happens to those? SB 1017 by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County, would direct school boards to pay those out of certain funds (as opposed to having individual schools cover them).
9. Some driver’s ed classes could go online
Well, not the actual driving part. However, SB 1124, by state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax County, would allow the classroom portion to be taught online.
10. Health care projects in medical deserts get expedited review
Virginia operates under a “Certificate of Public Need” system, under which health care providers have to get state approval for certain things — the goal is to prevent rival health care systems from engaging in an “arms race” to acquire duplicative technology that winds up driving up the cost to patients. Whether that system works is a question for another day, but it definitely doesn’t work well in regions where there are no health care providers. SB 1203, by Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County, and HB 2119 by Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, would create an expedited review process in regions that are deemed to be a “medical desert” with an absence of health care providers. That could be important someday for a lot of rural areas across the state. These bills passed unanimously and now head to the governor. (It’s not unusual for duplicate bills to be introduced; it’s a fail-safe measure in case something happens to one bill).
11. A Women’s Health Commission established
This year saw a package of bills informally known as the “momnibus” that aimed at improving maternal health. Perhaps the overarching bill in that package creates a standing Women’s Health Commission to make regular recommendations on women’s health. This measure was sponsored by Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William County, and state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth. (HB 2617 and SB 1120).
12. Insurance companies would have to pay the full cost of breast exams
HB 1828 by Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, bans insurance companies from making women pay a co-pay, deductible or other cost sharing for diagnostic breast examinations and supplemental breast examinations.
See this story by the Capital News Service for more details.
13. The state tries to find ways to create more dentists
The nation is facing a shortage of dentists, and Virginia is listed in the top 10 states most in need. This is going to be a constant theme in many fields in the years to come as the baby boomer generation retires — be it from dentistry or other things — and there aren’t enough people to take their place. This is a direct effect of demographics, and a declining birth rate, but that’s a subject for another day. The subject here is dentists, and we saw multiple attempts this session to address that.
The one that got the most attention was a pitch by Stanley and Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry County, to persuade Virginia Commonwealth University to expand its dental program to “Southern Virginia,” by which they probably meant Martinsville, a city they both represent. That failed, but two other measures moved forward.
State Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, the only dentist in the General Assembly, was involved in both of them. SB 1475 directs the state Board of Dentistry “to assess expedited pathways for licensure for dentists and dental hygienists,” including using “qualified internationally trained dentists to practice dental hygiene under the supervision of a licensed dentist.” His other bill was aimed at creating more dental instructors. He and Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico County, patroned companion bills (SB 1360 and HB 1899) that would repeal the expiration date of a previously enacted law that allows qualified international dental instructors. All those bills passed unanimously. And now, a gentle reminder to floss regularly.
14. And also more career and technical education teachers
What did I just say about difficulty filling jobs? Here’s another example. Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, and Del. Bonita Anthony, D-Norfolk, sponsored companion bills (SB 879 and HB 2018), which help expand the pool of people qualified to teach career and technical education. Specifically, it allows those with a high school diploma (or its equivalent) and an industry-recognized credential, certification or license to be approved for a provisional license to teach the relevant career and technical education subject. These bills also passed unanimously.
15. Probation could be shortened for good behavior
Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick County, sponsored several bills aimed at reforming the state’s parole board and probation system. Williams’ HB 2252, along with its companion bill, SB 936 by Sen. Christie New Craig, R-Chesapeake, revises how courts can reduce a defendant’s supervised probationary period if they meet certain criteria, among them completing an education program, getting a job, obtains housing, qualifies for health insurance and being in compliance with mental health or substance abuse treatment programs.
16. Sextortion would become a felony
I did not count on mild-mannered Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, to introduce a bill that contains words that could make me blush, but these are the times we live in. His HB 1998, which passed both chambers unanimously and now goes to the governor, would make it a felony for someone “to maliciously threaten eviction, loss of housing, property damage, or any financial loss with the intent to cause the complaining witness to engage in,” well, a long list of sexual acts. Walker said his bill was prompted by a case in Lynchburg that the commonwealth’s attorney told him could have been prosecuted if there had been a code section that allowed it. “This bill will hopefully close some loopholes that have allowed bad actors to escape prosecution,” Walker said. “Courts needed another tool in their toolbox for prosecuting these type of cases.”
17. Those who use Nazi swastika to intimidate people could be convicted of a felony
Both Del. Chris Obenshain, R-Montgomery County, and Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax County, had similar versions of this bill — Obenshain’s grew out of an incident at Virginia Tech where a swastika was painted on the floors of some students. Because the House is controlled by Democrats, Obenshain’s bill was cast aside while Simon’s (HB 2783) went forward, but both did the same thing. The bill ran into one complication along the way: The swastika predates Nazi Germany by centuries. A version of the swastika is prominent in many eastern religions; when they heard about the bill, members of the state’s Indian-American community flooded legislators’ inboxes with protests. The bill was tweaked to specify that the measure deals with “a Hakenkreuz, hooked cross, or Nazi symbol or emblem, sometimes referred to as the Nazi swastika” and “does not include the swastika symbol of peace and prosperity used by Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, or Native American religions.”
18. Juveniles would no longer be handcuffed in court
Minors appearing as defendants during a delinquency hearing would no longer be handcuffed or restrained in any other way unless there’s a finding that such measures are necessary to protect people from harm. SB 1255 by Sen. Lamont Bagby and HB 2222 by Del. Rae Cousins, both D-Richmond, would ban “handcuffs, chains, irons, straightjackets, and electronic restraint devices” from being used on juvenile defendants in court.
19. People with “non-apparent disabilities” could have that marked on their driver’s license
Virginia drivers are currently allowed to list on their driver’s licenses whether they are hearing impaired, have a traumatic brain injury, are an insulin-dependent diabetic, are autistic or have an intellectual disability. HB 2116 by Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax County, would allow drivers to add one more option: a “non-apparent disability” that might make it difficult to communicate with a law enforcement officer if they’re stopped. The bill describes these as “a physical, sensory, mental, or emotional impairment that substantially limits one or more activities of daily living and that may not be visible or otherwise apparent.”
20. Local election boards would be directed to certify elections
Back in the fall, two of the three members of the Waynesboro Electoral Board went to court, saying they would refuse to certify the city’s election results unless they were allowed to hand-count ballots, something state law doesn’t provide for. Five voters filed a countersuit, and shortly before the election, a judge ordered them to do so. HB 2277 by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, would avoid that by declaring the role of local election officials is “ministerial,” meaning they’re just there to administer the law, not make policy choices. This bill passed on party-line votes, so don’t be surprised if the governor vetoes this.
21. Invasive plants would now come with a warning sign
The next time you go shopping for a nandina or wisteria, you may be advised to think twice. The General Assembly passed a bill requiring retailers who sell 39 different kinds of invasive plants to post signs “in a conspicuous manner” that warn about how bad those particular species are and encourage consumers “to ask about alternatives.”
If you want to brush up on your botany, you can read the scientific names of all these species in HB 1941 by Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax County, and SB 1166 by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Falls Church.
22. Sports tourism grant program established
Salem figured out long ago that sports can be a tourism draw; the city is a regular site for sports events, the biggest of which are often the least famous — summer softball, baseball and soccer tournaments that draw youth teams from all over. Other communities are now learning how to cash in on this, as well. SB 927 by Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County, and HB 1901 by Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico County, would create the Virginia Sports Tourism Fund, under the Virginia Tourism Authority, that can be used to develop and attract more sports tourism events.
23. Million-dollar lottery winners would no longer be identified
If you’re lucky enough to win $1 million or more in the Virginia Lottery, there might be signs — the new Lamborghini in the driveway, for instance, or your endless supply of eggs — but there won’t be a story in the news media. HB 1799 by Del. Scott Wyatt, R-Hanover County, would ban the lottery from disclosing the names of those who win $1 million or more. This is intended to protect the privacy and perhaps safety of those who win big time. The current threshold for non-disclosure is $10 million; this bill would lower that. Of course, if you win that much and want to tell the world, that’s up to you, but the state won’t be doing it.
24. Farmers would get more money for livestock killed by dogs
If you live in the country, you’ve probably encountered roaming dogs. Sometimes Fido, whether feral or not, gets hungry and goes after the local farmer’s livestock or poultry. Well, maybe Fido in the suburbs, but Fang out in the country. Regardless of the name or lack thereof, the dog usually comes out the winner in those encounters. SB 1000 by Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County, would raise the compensation to farmers from $750 to $1,000 per animal and from $10 to $25 per fowl. Or, put another way, one dead cow now equals 40 dead chickens.
25. Surry County might get a bridge across the James River. Or, at least, a study.
Surry County feels disconnected from the economic growth happening on the other side of the James River. Some think a bridge would help. SJ 263 by state Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, would direct the Virginia Department of Transportation to study such a structure, connecting either to Charles City County or James City County. Either way, the resolution says the bridge “is desperately needed to support new growth in Surry County.”
There’s likely to be a hefty price tag attached to this. Last year, just the engineering study was estimated at $1.6 million. That’s likely why the measure says this proposed bridge “requires a statewide approach to planning and funding.” Of note: The localities involved in this proposed bridge would all score poorly under the new funding formula adopted by the Trump administration, which gives preference to localities with high marriage and birth rates. For more on that, see my previous column, which pointed out that the formula would wind up punishing many localities that voted most strongly for Trump.
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