Hello from cold and icy Richmond! I hope you all are staying safe and warm back in the district, and I have enjoyed seeing all of the photos of the beautiful snowfall in Mount Vernon.
As I write this column this morning, I have already chaired my first meeting of the Campaign Finance subcommittee of Privileges & Elections bright and early at 7 a.m., and I presented my first bill of the session in a 7:30 a.m. Agriculture subcommittee meeting which passed unanimously. This bill directs the Department of Energy to produce a report that quantifies the potential benefits of using solar energy for residential, commercial, and government building rooftops, parking lots, and brownfields across the Commonwealth. Having reliable and current data on Virginia will help us to understand solar’s full potential. Its next stop will be the full committee.
Indeed, this week is one of the busiest of the legislative session, as we work with constituents, stakeholders, state agency staff, and our fellow legislators to finalize and perfect bill language ahead of the “non-prefiled” bill introduction deadline this upcoming Friday. House members can introduce a maximum of five non-prefiled bills. Our earlier deadline last Wednesday was for “pre-filed” bills of which House members had no limit. We also had a critical budget amendment deadline last Friday, when General Assembly members must submit all of their requests for funding amendments to Governor Youngkin’s proposed budget. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I had dozens of requests brought to me on diverse matters impacting the Commonwealth.
As I mentioned in my newsletter last week, I am honored to have the opportunity to once again serve in the majority in the House of Delegates, and to continue our work on issues that are not just important to my constituents but to all Virginians, including empowering workers, protecting voting rights, public safety, public education funding, affordable housing, protecting our mobile home park residents, funding for transportation including METRO, non-discrimination protections, preserving the environment, and so much more.
As a member of the majority party, I now have many more responsibilities, just as the age-old adage says. I once again was appointed to serve as the Chair of the Transportation and Public Safety subcommittee on Appropriations, and the ABC and Gaming subcommittee of the General Laws Committee.
New for this year, I have an additional third subcommittee chairmanship for the Campaign Finance subcommittee of Privileges and Elections. In addition to serving on Appropriations, General Laws, and Privileges and Elections, I now serve as a member of Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources (ACNR). This will be my first session serving on ACNR, and I look forward to the opportunity to have a bigger voice on environmental issues that face our Commonwealth, and especially our community. I also serve on a number of subcommittees within these four committees. In total, I will serve on four standing committees, chair three subcommittees, and serve on seven subcommittees, which is the most I have sat on to date during my four terms.
Between these important committee meetings and preparing to present my 24 pieces of legislation, my staff and I take dozens of meetings daily with constituents as well as stakeholders and advocates to learn more about other bills introduced by my colleagues.
It will certainly be a very busy session!