The General Assembly has been in session for two and a half weeks, and legislation is now moving quickly through the committee process…perhaps too quickly. The committee process is designed to weed out flawed bills and craft sound policy. Unfortunately, the committees’ refinement efforts are sorely lacking this year. The virtual meeting format contributes to the problem. Due to technology limitations, meetings are capped at two hours (although nighttime and weekend meetings remain an unpopular option). The time constraint minimizes input. Stakeholder input is further impaired by the virtual format, which can be rife with technological glitches.
The reality is that neither Republicans nor Democrats have a monopoly on good (or bad, depending on one’s perspective) legislation. That is why Virginians deserve a process that doesn’t simply rubber stamp the majority party’s legislation or discard the minority party’s bills. All bills deserve rigorous review. Although hot-button bills get all of the media attention, most bills are mundane—highly technical or regional—in nature. Those mundane bills are nevertheless important to stakeholders and should not routinely fall prey to partisan antics—which is exactly what is happening in the House this year. The majority party also has a duty to thoroughly vet all bills—including ones carried by members of the majority party. This does not seem to be occurring. If this analysis was truly occurring, one would expect to see many Democrat-sponsored bills being opposed by other Democrats (which often occurred during the Republican-led General Assembly, notably with Medicaid expansion and the landmark transportation package that passed in 2013).
Bottom line? A common expectation is that the Senate will either kill or correct the most egregiously bad bills. The Senate operates more deliberately and—just as importantly—is not up for reelection this year. Translation? They aren’t compelled to pass “brochure bills” (high-profile legislation with a tendency to appear on campaign materials).
