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161st Virginia General Assembly

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161st Virginia General Assembly
←160th 162nd→
Overview
TermJanuary 8, 2020 – March 2021
Senate of Virginia
Members40
President of the SenateLt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D)
Senate Majority LeaderDick Saslaw (D)
Senate Minority LeaderTommy Norment (R)
Party control
  •   Democratic (21)
  •   Republican (19)
Virginia House of Delegates
Members100
Speaker of the HouseEileen Filler-Corn (D)
House Majority LeaderCharniele Herring (D)
House Minority LeaderTodd Gilbert (R)
Party control
Sessions
1stJanuary 8, 2020 – March 12, 2020
2ndJanuary 13, 2021 – February 8, 2021
Special sessions
1stAugust 18, 2020 – November 9, 2020
2ndFebruary 10, 2021 – March 1, 2021

The 161st Virginia General Assembly, consisting of members who were elected in both the House election and Senate election in 2019, convened on January 8, 2020. It was the first time Democrats held both houses of the General Assembly and the governorship since the 147th General Assembly in 1993.

A special session was called by Governor Ralph Northam for August 18, 2020 to make budget cuts and pass bills for criminal justice reform, racial justice, affordable housing and COVID-19 protections. The special session ended on November 9, 2020. After a shorter 30-day session occurred from January to February 2021, Northam called for another special session which lasted until March. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Capitol was closed to the public and sessions were re-located to alternative buildings.

Membership

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Main articles: 2019 Virginia House of Delegates election and 2019 Virginia Senate election

On November 9, 2019, Eileen Filler-Corn was nominated by the Democratic majority caucus for Speaker of the House of Delegates, and upon election by the House on January 8, she became the first woman and first Jew to be elected Speaker. Concurrently, Charniele Herring was elected as Majority Leader, making her the first woman and first African-American to serve as Majority Leader.

In addition, Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Senate. Incumbent Danica Roem became the first transgender legislator to be re-elected to office in U.S. history.

In total, the 161st General Assembly has the highest number of women elected to both bodies, with 30 in the House and 11 in the Senate.

Speaker Filler-Corn selected Del. Luke Torian to be the first African-American House Appropriations Chair in state history. This was the first time that an African-American delegate was selected to chair a House committee since William P. Robinson Jr. (D-Norfolk) chaired the Transportation Committee in 1998 and was co-chairman of the panel in 1998, according to House Clerk G. Paul Nardo.[1]

Leadership

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Senate

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Committee chairs and ranking members

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The Senate of Virginia has 10 Standing Committees and a Committee on Rules.[2]

Committee Chair Ranking Minority Member
Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Chap Petersen Emmett Hanger
Commerce and Labor Dick Saslaw Tommy Norment
Judiciary John S. Edwards Tommy Norment
Education and Health Louise Lucas Stephen Newman
Finance and Appropriations Janet Howell Tommy Norment
General Laws and Technology George Barker Frank Ruff
Local Government Lynwood Lewis Emmett Hanger
Privileges and Elections Creigh Deeds Jill Vogel
Rehabilitation and Social Services Barbara Favola Emmett Hanger
Rules Mamie Locke Tommy Norment
Transportation Dave Marsden Stephen Newman

House of Delegates

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Committee chairs and ranking members

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The House has 14 standing committees.[3]

Committee Chair Senior Minority Member
Subcommittee
Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Kenneth R. Plum R. Lee Ware
Agriculture Wendy Gooditis
Chesapeake Alfonso H. Lopez
Natural Resources Kathy Tran
Appropriations Luke Torian M. Kirkland Cox
Capital Outlay Cliff Hayes Jr.
Commerce, Agriculture and Natural Resources David Bulova
Compensation and Central Government Roslyn Tyler
Elementary and Secondary Delores McQuinn
Health and Human Services Mark Sickles
Higher Education Betsy B. Carr
Transportation and Public Safety Paul Krizek
Communications, Technology and Innovation Cliff Hayes Jr. Kathy Byron
Communications Danica Roem
Technology and Innovation Hala Ayala
Counties Cities and Towns Kaye Kory Charles Poindexter
Ad Hoc Kathleen Murphy
Charters Danica Roem
Land Use Steve Heretick
Courts of Justice Charniele Herring Terry Kilgore
Civil Jeff Bourne
Criminal Michael P. Mullin
Judicial Joseph C. Lindsey
Education Roslyn Tyler Mark L. Cole
Post-Secondary and Higher Education Mark Keam
Pre-K-12 Lamont Bagby
SOL and SOQ Schuyler VanValkenburg
Finance Vivian E. Watts Robert D. Orrock, Sr.
Subcommittee #1 Mark Keam
Subcommittee #2 Steve Heretick
Subcommittee #3 Rip Sullivan
General Laws David Bulova Thomas C. Wright, Jr.
ABC/Gaming Paul Krizek
Housing/Consumer Protection Marcus Simon
Open Government/Procurement Betsy B. Carr
Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process Subcommittee Chris Hurst
Health, Welfare and Institutions Mark D. Sickles Robert D. Orrock, Sr.
Behavioral Health Marcia Price
Health Professions Dawn Adams
Health Patrick Hope
Social Services Elizabeth Guzman
Labor and Commerce Jeion Ward Terry Kilgore
Subcommittee #1 Lamont Bagby
Subcommittee #2 Steve Heretick
Subcommittee #3 Rip Sullivan
Privileges and Elections Joe Lindsey Robert D. Orrock, Sr.
Campaign Finance David A. Reid
Constitutional Amendments Marcus Simon
Elections Schuyler VanValkenburg
Gubernatorial Appointments Kelly Convirs-Fowler
Redistricting Marcus Simon
Public Safety Patrick Hope Thomas C. Wright, Jr.
Firearms Jeff Bourne
Public Safety Mark Levine
Rules Eileen Filler-Corn M. Kirkland Cox
Joint Rules Eileen Filler-Corn
Standards of Conduct N/A
Studies Mark Sickles
Subcommittee #2 N/A
Transportation Delores McQuinn Robert B. Bell
Motor Vehicles Jay Jones
Transportation Innovation and General Topics Karrie Delaney
Transportation Systems Betsy B. Carr
Subcommittee #4 N/A

Legislation

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Pre-filing of bills for the 2020 session began November 18, 2019. 828 bills were passed by the House by crossover day on February 12, 2020, an increase from the 603 bills passed under the Republican majority in the 2019 session.

Enacted

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  • January 27, 2020: HJ 1/SJ 1: Resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution
  • February 24, 2020: HB 35/SB 103: Restores parole eligibility to those serving 20 years of a sentence for crimes committed as a juvenile and for which they received a lengthy sentence
  • March 4, 2020: HB 245: Repeals the crime of fornication
  • March 2, 2020: HB 61: Provides that an adult sentenced for a juvenile offense can earn good conduct credit at the rate of one day for each one day served.
  • March 2, 2020: HB 386: Prohibits the performance of conversion therapy by state-licensed counselors on juveniles under 18
  • March 2, 2020: HB 587: Requiring the inclusion of space and equipment for changing babies during plans for new state government buildings
  • HB 277: Allowing currently-incarcerated individuals to earn credit towards paying off fines and fees through community work
  • HB 1490: Repealing statutory bans on same-sex marriages and civil unions.
  • HB 696: Provides that localities may prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, and education on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
  • HB 1071: Repeals the crime of profane swearing
  • HB 973/SB 600: Repeals several laws enacted from 1901 to 1960 which encoded racial segregation of students in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education in Virginia
  • HB 1514/SB 50: Protects hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists from discrimination (see also: CROWN Act)

Other legislation

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Notable bills filed include:

Equal Rights Amendment

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HJ 1, prefiled by Jennifer Carroll Foy, and SJ 1, filed by Jennifer McClellan, will make Virginia the 3rd state since 2017 and the 38th overall necessary to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (counting the five that have since voted to rescind their ratifications).[4] Both bills were given initial approval, with SJ 1 being approved 28-12 in the Senate and HJ 1 being approved 59-41 in the House, and were passed by the other chamber on January 27. All Democrats and several Republicans in both chambers voted in favor of the resolutions. However, experts and advocates have acknowledged legal uncertainty about the consequences of Virginia's potential ratification, due to the expired deadlines and the five states' purported revocations.[4]

Events

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A peaceful protest opposing gun control legislation occurred outside the Virginia State Capitol on January 20, 2020.[5]

Changes in membership

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vozzella, Laura (14 November 2019). "Incoming Va. House speaker makes top committee picks". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  2. ^ "Legislative Committees". Legislative Information System. Virginia General Assembly. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  3. ^ "Virginia House of Delegates Committees List". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Astor, Maggie (2019-11-06). "The Equal Rights Amendment May Pass Now. It's Only Been 96 Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  5. ^ "Virginia pro-gun rally: Despite anger, threats of insurrection, massive rally is carried out peacefully outside state Capitol". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
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