On Tuesday, February 7, the General Assembly reached an important milestone: crossover. Crossover is roughly the halfway mark of session and is the date by which the House and the Senate must complete work on their respective legislation (except the budget, which each chamber finalized on Thursday). In order to meet the deadline, the House was on the floor for many hours, debating and casting votes on literally hundreds of bills within the space of two days. After crossover, the House and Senate consider only bills passed by the other body. Accordingly, the House is now hearing Senate bills and vice versa.
A number of House bills have identical versions in the Senate; however, there are many other bills that are unique. As a reminder, Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, and Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate. Accordingly, each body tends to pass a number of bills that reflect this partisan difference. Unsurprisingly, these bills usually are defeated after crossover. Although roughly half of introduced bills passed their respective chambers, the ultimate survival rate will be much, much lower.
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Longstanding wisdom in Richmond notes that the real fight is not between Republicans and Democrats in the legislature; the major conflict is between the House and the Senate. The two bodies are indeed at odds in the manner in which they conduct business. This difference emerged yesterday when the Senate Democrats refused to let House patrons (from either political party) present their bills in the Education and Health Committee. The committee clerk simply read the bill title (which is not always accurate if the bill has been amended), and the committee members summarily passed or killed the bills with zero discussion or ability to ask questions of patrons or stakeholders. Bills that passed the House unanimously were rubber stamped and passed unanimously by the committee. Other bills were outright killed, often in an arbitrary fashion. In total, over fifty bills were “heard” in roughly thirty minutes. No legislator—including those with decades of institutional memory—can recall this occurring in the past. Congratulations to the Senate Democrats for breaking new ground. Extra congratulations for concealing the recorded video from the public for an entire day.
Following suit, later in the day, House Public Safety Subcommittee 1 similarly dispatched with a number of Senate bills. Howls of dismay ensued, and the outcome will hopefully be a de-escalation of tension. Every bill passed by the House or the Senate—regardless of the patron or subject matter—deserves a hearing from the other body. A robust and public review process is the hallmark of a transparent and representative government.
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2023 General Assembly Session Legislative Survey |
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Thank you to all who completed my 2023 Legislative Session survey. We are currently tabulating results and will provide them in a future newsletter. I appreciate your input and am grateful for all who took the time to share their priorities. |
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On Thursday, the House and Senate passed their respective versions of the budget. There are substantial differences between the two budgets, and conferees will soon be appointed to develop a compromise. Notably, only two weeks remain until the scheduled adjournment date of February 25. Meeting this deadline will be challenging; however, there is no need for panic about a government shutdown. Virginia operates on a biennial budget, which was passed last year. The 2022 budget funds the government through June 30, 2024. This year’s budget simply tweaks the biennial budget to reflect adjustments in revenue and expenditures. |
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House Bill 1916: improving campus safety |
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I am pleased to share that thirteen of my bills passed the House and are moving through the process in the Senate. House Bill 1916 was developed in collaboration with the Attorney General’s office as well as the Commonwealth’s institutions of higher education. HB 1916 establishes a mechanism by which campus threat assessment teams can obtain criminal history health records in situations where an individual poses a significant threat. Additionally, the legislation provides for the notification of campus and local law enforcement as well as Commonwealth's Attorneys. Training requirements for threat assessment team members are also established in the bill, as is a requirement for the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a task force to develop best practices, model policies, and make legislative recommendations. House Bill 1916 is an initiative to better protect students, staff, and faculty, and to prevent violent incidents on campus. The bill passed the House unanimously and will likely be heard on the Senate floor early next week.
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Crossover week did not allow for many visitors, but we were pleased to welcome the following groups to Richmond:
- Homeschoolers from Williamsburg
- University of Virginia graduate students
- Virginia Maritime Association
- Virginia Moose Association
My district office remains closed as we work from Richmond during the legislative sesion. If you'd like to visit, I am located in Room 432 of the Pocahontas Building at 900 E. Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. As always, we remain available to assist with constituent service. If you have a problem with a state-related matter or agency or would like to set up a virtual meeting, please contact my legislative aide, Ms. Dayle Brittain by phone at 804-698-1096 or by email at DelABatten@house.virginia.gov.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Contact Delegate Batten
Legislative Aide: Dayle Brittain
Mail: P.O. Box 194, Norge, VA 23127
Phone: 757-741-7001
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Paid for and Authorized by Friends of Amanda Batten |
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