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Dear Friend,
This week, we completed the work of the 2024 General Assembly and adjourned sine die on Saturday, March 9, with a solid budget in hand and legislation that provides good support for Virginians.
This week’s newsletter provides updates about budget agreements, my legislation, and also highlights the last few days of session. Thank you for reading and staying informed.
Virginia Senate and House of Delegates Agree to Budget
The budget conferees from the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates reached agreement last week and presented the joint budget of the General Assembly. On Saturday, this budget was passed by both Chambers. Here are some highlights of the budget as presented by the legislative branch:
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Three percent salary increases for teachers for each year of the biennium
Restoration of the state’s share of the grocery tax to hold localities harmless
Significant increase in funding for at-risk students (based on JLARC recommendations)
Increased support for English language teachers and tiered staffing ratios based on student proficiency levels
Continuation of the child care subsidy program to protect slots that were endangered by the expiration of the federal pandemic relief funds
Restoration of the local composite index cap for the Virginia Preschool Initiative after its removal from the introduced budget
Restoration of Pell Initiative funding in the second year, after its removal from the introduced budget, to support access to higher education
Funding for the state’s Medicaid program and community-based behavioral health services
Addition of 3440 developmental disability waiver slots
Additional aid to localities with police departments “599” programs
Additional aid to community violence reduction organizations
Funding for “make ready” assistance for at-risk broadband infrastructure projects
Three percent salary increase for state employees and state-supported local employees for each year of the biennium
Funding of $25 million over the biennium for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund
Funding of $300,000 to continue support for the Eviction Diversion program
These are just a few highlights from the budget (HB30), as it passed out of both Chambers. This budget has been presented to the Governor. Youngkin has made it clear that he is not at all happy with the conference report [[link removed]] , and he has called it “backwards” in press statements, public comments, and on social media. The budget, as passed by the Senate and the House, emphasizes education, mental health, health care for the underserved, working families, and much more. It also fills serious gaps and corrects errors presented in the administration’s introduced budget. It removes a $2 billion giveaway for arena funding in Northern Virginia, the cost of which would be borne by Virginia’s taxpayers and at the expense of our children’s education.
The General Assembly has presented a prudent and strong budget to the Governor. We now await his actions.
My Successful Budget Amendments
In early January, after receiving the Governor’s introduced budget and in collaboration with the localities, constituencies, and constituents that I represent, my office submitted 74 individual budget amendments to fill much-need areas. The conference report released last week includes several of these budget amendments, totaling $854,673,596. A few of these critical items are the following:
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$80,600,000 across the biennium to implement staffing standards for English Learner students based on student proficiency level
$6,000,000 across the biennium to support our Soil and Water Conservation District offices across the Commonwealth
$5,000,000 across the biennium to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, which provides funds to community-based organizations partnering with school divisions to create quality before-school, after-school and summer learning programs for school-age children attending high-poverty, low-performing schools
$4,000,000 across the biennium to facilitate and improve language access at the state agencies
$3,000,000 across the biennium for our Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which provide comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health services to uninsured Virginians
$1,000,000 in one-time funding to the Virginia Enterprise Zone grant program through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for rooftop solar or solar canopies for parking lots
Final Status of My Bills
In addition to the passage of a strong budget, the General Assembly completed its work on legislative matters. Overall, twelve of my introduced bills successfully passed both Chambers and have now been delivered to the Governor’s desk.
Bills that Passed Both Chambers:
Both of the following two bills were incorporated into the omnibus bill, SB105 [[link removed]] , which is now the primary driver of the large budget allocations for our public schools. These two bills emerge from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report that highlights the crisis points in Virginia’s education system. SB227 and SB228 help to bring us closer to meeting the standards of quality (SOQ) funding levels, increasing teacher pay, and addressing the needs of special education and English Language students.
SB 227 Public school funding; places several parameters on SOQ funding calculations performed by DOE
SB 228 Public schools; funding for English language learner students and children with disabilities
Other bills that successfully passed both Chambers include the following:
SB 232 Manufactured home parks; resident rights
SB 235 Sexually explicit content; policies on parental notification of instructional material
SB 236 Aggregated, nonconfidential case data; requests for reports of academic research
SB 237 Contraception; establishes right to obtain, applicability, enforcement.
SB 238 Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices
SB 239 Social Work Licensure Compact; authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to Compact
SB 250 Remote ultrasound procedures and fetal non-stress tests; DMAS to modify state plan for assistance.
SB 272 English language learner expenditures, etc.; DOE to develop and implement data collection process.
SB 276 Phase I and Phase II Utilities; SCC to study feasibility of an energy upgrade program.
SB 277 Certificate of public need; expedited review process, etc.
Bills Continued Forward by the House:
We were able to gain good support for SB 229 Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention, Advisory Council on; placement of Council in the Senate. However, this bill was continued forward to 2025 by the House Rules Committee. I will bring this legislation back next year.
Other bills that were passed by the Senate but continued forward to 2025 by the House include the following; I will be bringing these bills back next Session:
SB 234 Parking Lot Solar Development Program; established, report.
SB 280 Health care; decision-making, definitions, medical aid in dying, penalties.
SB 332 Misdemeanor; maximum term of confinement (Co-Chief Patron with Senator Saddam Salim)
Bills Continued Forward by the Senate:
I will continue to work on these bills and plan to re-introduce them in 2025
SB 230 Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs, duty to implement the Energy Policy, etc.
SB 233 Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act; construction of affordable housing
SB 251 Content manufacturing tax credit; removes sunset for the motion picture credit, redesignates credit
SB 278 Virginia Abortion Care & Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act; established, civil penalties
SB 312 Independent Living Community Ombudsman, Office of; established (Co-Chief Patron with Senator Saddam Salim)
SJ 18 Dillon Rule; joint subcommittee to study
SJ 1 Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom (first reference) (Co-Chief Patron with Senator Jennifer Boysko and multiple patrons)
One Bill Defeated in the House:
SB 231 Children; comprehensive health care coverage program for certain individuals

Seven-Day Bills
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This past Monday, I joined Senate and House colleagues to highlight key Democratic priorities that were sent to the Governor for his immediate action. Two of my bills were included in the roster that required immediate action from the Governor by this past Friday: the first, a bill to stop the arbitrary banning of books from school libraries and the second, a bill to ensure access to contraceptives without burdensome co-pays.
By Friday evening, the Governor vetoed SB235 [[link removed]] . This bill draws a distinct line between parental notification and the banning of books from school libraries. In 2022, a Republican Senator passed the same legislation with strong backing from Youngkin. However, the clarifying language about prohibiting book bans was placed in an enactment clause. My bill now places that clarifying language directly into legislation itself and is meant to be a safeguard against the book banning and censorship actions that we have seen some school boards take in certain localities. Despite being an enthusiastic supporter of the original 2022 legislation and despite the fact that the language remains the same, Youngkin has decided to veto my bill.
The Governor has returned SB238 [[link removed]] , my bill safeguarding contraceptive equity, with amendments that would exempt providers on the basis of religious or ethical beliefs. I wish the Governor had read my bill carefully because the focus of the legislation is on the costs passed on to insurance customers. Federally, the case known as the “Hobby Lobby” case has already provided religious exemptions to those employers that do not wish to provide contraceptive coverage for their employees. My bill addresses those insurance plans that do provide coverage for contraceptive care, and it removes financial barriers such as co-pays that impede access to contraception. Adding a religious or ethical exemption clause is meaningless in the context of this bill.
End of Session Happenings
As the session came to a close, we still had a steady stream of visitors at the General Assembly Building.
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As we reached the final days of session, we were delighted to have advocates from the Richmond-area Indian American Muslim Council join us in the General Assembly Building to share messages of religious pluralism, peace, and Ramadan blessings.
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On Friday, prior to the start of our own discussions, our Senate Pages held their Mock Session. They elected their own President and Clerk of the Senate, and the 2024 Page Class took their seats in our Chamber as duly-elected members of the Mock Session. They presented and debated bills with confidence and knowledge. We, on the other hand, served as pages during that mock session and made deliveries on their behalf. I congratulate all of the Pages for their stellar work, and I am especially proud of Tvesa who was selected by my office to represent Senate District 15.
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I thank my interns Amal, Casey, and Manuella for their fantastic work this session. They each contributed in many ways to the legislative and constituent demands of a busy session, and I know that they learned quite a bit about the work of the General Assembly and the Virginia state government.
Their end-of-session video [[link removed]] is a real treat.
Ramadan Mubarak
As we begin the holy month of Ramadan, abstinence from food and water brings us closer to those suffering from starvation, deprivation, unbearable loss, and inhumanity. For those observing Ramadan, in Virginia and around the world, I wish you peace, comfort, and blessings.
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Connecting With My Office
My office can be reached at the following:
Email: [email protected] [gmail.com]
Phone: 804.698.7515
If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive my office’s weekly newsletter here [[link removed]] .
— Ghazala
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