Friends,
The General Assembly session is now at full steam. Committees are considering long dockets of legislation submitted by the Senators and bills are beginning to come to the floor for consideration by the full Senate. This also was the last week to file any remaining bills for consideration by the General Assembly
As part of our effort to keep Virginians safer, we considered bills proposed by my fellow Republican colleagues in the Senate in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. Simply put, Republicans want to take firm action and stop the illegal sale of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs that often lead to deaths from overdoses. These deaths are tragic and result in the heartbreaking grief of families and loved ones who go through is indescribable pain. It is so important that we do everything we can to prevent these deaths and hold accountable those who played in a role in these tragedies accountable. Republicans supported legislation to crack down on those who play a role in deaths due to dangerous illegal drugs. Under the Republican bill, an individual illegally providing drugs that are responsible for the death of the user could be charged with second degree murder—even if no money was involved. My Republican colleagues and I think it is just common sense that with the number of deaths due to substances like fentanyl increasing, it is time to hold the people who provide these drugs that result in death accountable for their actions. Most Democrats on the Courts of Justice committee refused to support this common-sense measure and the bill died on a party-line 8-7 vote.
On other matters, a few years ago, Democrats passed a law requires that Virginia’s rules related to auto emissions and electric vehicle mandates mirror those set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). This means that California bureaucrats—who work and live 2,500 miles from here, and are not even elected by Californians, never mind Virginians—are setting rules Virginians are forced to live by whether they are right for us or not.
Because of this, Virginians are on course to phase out sales of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035--the same schedule California has set for itself. Whatever CARB decides for California automatically becomes wrong. It doesn’t matter that companies like Ford are cutting electric vehicle production because sales are below expectations. It doesn’t matter that battery life is lousy in cold weather here. It doesn’t matter that it will cost billions to upgrade the electric grid to give us the capacity to charge all these cars. Because of the bill passed by the Democrats a few years back, Californians make our rules, not Virginians. My Republican colleagues and I want to change that. A bill was put forward to return control over these rules to Virginia, co-sponsored by every Republican in the State Senate. Even with all that support, Democrats used their majority on the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee to kill the bill. Sadly, that leaves Californians in charge of telling Virginia what our auto emission standards should be.
I'm proud to share that Senate Bill 212, the Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act, which I strongly advocated for, successfully reported out of committee this week. This comprehensive bill will provide much-needed support and resources to our state's small businesses and will allow them to participate in the gaming industry that has been created by the law passed a few years back regarding gaming in Virginia. This bill establishes a tax and regulatory framework for skill game regulation, creates a dedicated funding source for small business development, our local governments, and school modernization. Also, my bills regarding the banning of cell phone use by students in our public schools during school hours, creating a return to offering vocational technical education training in our public schools, and expanding the ability of the New College Institute to engage in needed workforce training in our region that will create a tech-talent workforce pipeline that will attract new businesses to our area all advanced to the Senate floor for final consideration by the Senate. I anticipate that each of these bills will cross over to the House of Delegates for consideration soon.
With the deadline to file new legislation proposals occurring this past Friday, I submitted the following proposals:
Senate Bill 684, the Online Children's Safety Protection Act. This vital legislation aims to protect our children online by requiring specific safeguards from tech companies and empowering the Attorney General to hold them accountable. In today's digital age, children deserve robust protections against harmful content and predatory practices.
Senate Joint Resolution 48, designating March 31st as FIRST Robotics Day in Virginia. This resolution honors the incredible work of FIRST Robotics, an organization that inspires young minds to pursue STEM careers through robotics competitions. Recognizing their contributions will showcase the importance of these programs and encourage further support for them.
As always, I want to encourage you to watch the General Assembly session. You are welcome to visit us in person in Richmond and view the proceedings from the gallery. But you can also stream each day’s session here. Session begins typically at noon each weekday except Friday when it generally starts at 10:00 AM. Always check these times as they can change when needed. You may also be interested to know that committee meetings are also streamed. A list of upcoming meetings with links to streaming are here.
As always, I want to hear your views, opinions, suggestions, and questions as it relates to legislation or state government. You can email my office at [email protected]. And if you are in Richmond, please come by my office at the General Assembly building. I am in Room 514. While my schedule is often hectic and subject to change, I would love to say hello to you if I can.
The coming weeks promise to be even more action-packed, with committee hearings on key bills and potential floor votes on critical legislation. I am committed to representing your interests on every issue, from education and healthcare to economic development and infrastructure. As always, your feedback is invaluable. Please don't hesitate to stay in touch and let me know your concerns. Thank you for the privilege of serving the 7th Senate District. It is an honor to represent you in Richmond.
I’ll be in touch next week with another update from the General Assembly. Have a wonderful week!
