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The Virginia General Assembly’s 2024 session kicked off at noon on Wednesday, January 10. Following the 2023 election, there are a lot of new faces in the Senate; 19 of the 40 senators are Republicans, putting the GOP in the minority. However, we look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with our counterparts across the aisle on areas where we can agree.
 
This year we are all working out of a new General Assembly building! Our new office is room 512, located on the 5^th floor overlooking the Capitol Building. With any new project, some building kinks are still being worked out. Still, we hope the new building will provide a better experience for constituents to meet with legislators and their staff while improving efficiency for our ongoing work.

NEWS FROM THE FLOOR
As with every session, the first day included a lot of formalities, but we still hit the ground running. We were sworn into office, adopted the rules we operate under, and received our committee assignments. This year, I will continue serving on Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources; and Privileges & Elections Committees. I am most excited to join the Transportation Committee. 
 
This year, we have Luke Davis who is interning in our office. Luke is from Richlands Va, our hometown. Luke is a hard-working young man; he has a bright future in politics and comes from a great family. He helped our office with gathering information for some of our bills that will help SWVA!
 

STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH
 
Governor Glenn Youngkin addressed a joint Session of the Senate and House and delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth speech which was held in the Capitol. In his remarks, the Governor discussed his administration’s accomplishments and laid out his vision for Virginia in the coming years.
 
Some of the Governor’s agenda includes legislation to keep Virginians safer from violent crime and destructive street drugs, a proposal to allow students to earn career credentials while completing their high school diplomas, and improvements to our mental health care system, to name a few. I look forward to working with the Governor to improve our schools, make our neighborhoods safer, and ensure every Virginian has the skills and the opportunity to obtain a good job.

This year, The General Assembly is in regular session, scheduled to last 60 days. The Session should be in full swing next week. Committees will all be meeting, and legislation should begin to come to the floor for consideration by the full Senate. Please let me know where you stand on legislation impacting you. You can reach us at our email [email protected] or call (804) 698-7505.

To get up-to-date information, please follow us on our Facebook page, Senator Travis Hackworth. Stay tuned, stay sharp, and help us make our corner of the world a better place to live, work and raise a family! 

Until next week,

Senator Travis Hackworth
Virginia State Senator, District 5