With eight days remaining until the scheduled adjournment of the 2020 General Assembly session, the legislature has spent the past several days mired in prolonged floor sessions, disputes over judicial appointments, and a slew of controversial House and Senate bills. Wednesday, February 26, was the deadline by which the House and Senate needed to take action on revenue bills. Confusion and delay dominated the day, leaving the House Democrats rushing at the last second to extend the midnight deadline until 3:00 a.m. on February 27. Veteran legislators indicated this was unprecedented. At the very least, the disorganization bodes poorly for next week, when the House and Senate must work collaboratively to reconcile differences between their respective versions of the budget and other bills.
My previous newsletters have detailed a number of controversial bills moving through the legislature. At this point, most of those bills remain under consideration. To avoid redundancy, I'll highlight only two bills this week: one high-profile bill and one that's likely slipped below the radar.
Nonpartisan redistricting commission
: for the better part of a decade, Democrats have campaigned on the need for redistricting reform to prevent partisan gerrymandering. Now that they're in control of the General Assembly, they've seemingly changed their mind with an eye toward drawing lines favorable to preserving their newfound majority. As a reminder, last year, with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a bill calling for a 2020 ballot referendum so that voters could choose to have an independent nonpartisan commission draw legislative district lines. For the referendum to occur, however, identical legislation must pass the General Assembly this year. The Senate has passed the bill providing for a November referendum, but the legislation remains bottled up in a House Committee. This issue has garnered substantial coverage by the media, drawn comment by the Governor, and remains unresolved as we head into the final days of session. The
Lynchburg News & Advance
offers insight in their article, “
Cowardice, Hypocrisy on Redistricting Reform.”
Paid sick leave for all employees
:
Senate Bill 481
mandates that public and private employers provide paid sick leave to both full-time and part-time employees (eligibility begins after 90 days of employment). Leave accrues at the rate of one hour earned for every thirty hours worked. This policy will pose a signficant fiscal and bureaucratic impact on businesses and on local and state government (for example: a local community pool must now provide and manage paid sick leave for teenaged lifeguards). Regardless of one's position on the policy, one thing is certain: taxpayers and consumers will foot the bill for this legislation.
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This year I introduced
House Bill 985
, legislation allowing victims of sex trafficking to be eligible for in-state tuition. The 96th District is home to Latisha’s House, an organization providing long-term wraparound services to victims of sex trafficking. Many of these women are not permanent Virginia residents. Some were initially transported to Virginia against their will; others were relocated to Virginia for safety purposes. HB 985 would have lessened the burden of tuition for these women, thereby allowing them to pursue higher education at either a community or a four-year college. Unfortunately, this bill failed to pass due to questions about fiscal impact. I plan to continue working with Latisha’s House and other stakeholders to address these concerns, and I look forward to carrying the bill again during the 2021 session. To learn more about this issue, please click
HERE
to read a recent
WYDaily
article.
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With the conclusion of session approaching, visitors were few this week. Only one week remains until adjournment, so please stop by my office if you're in Richmond prior to March 7. After that time, I will return to my district office. If you'd like to schedule a meeting, please contact my legislative aide, Dayle Brittain, by phone at 804-698-1096 or by email at DelABatten@house.virginia.gov. As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office for assistance with any state-related matter or agency.
Happy Friday!
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Contact Delegate Batten
Legislative Aide: Dayle Brittain
Mail: P.O. Box 194, Norge, VA 23127
Phone: 804-698-1096
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Paid for and Authorized by Friends of Amanda Batten
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