Following is snapshot of the current state of affairs in Virginia's General Assembly:
- The Virginia House of Delegates is meeting remotely via Zoom while its ninety-nine members awkwardly navigate parliamentary protocols that translate poorly to a virtual realm. (Voice votes? A show of hands? Rising? None of these are particularly appropriate in an online world.)
- Committee meetings feature “virtual meeting rooms,” where citizens and lobbyists wait in digital limbo to be called upon (or not) to testify, while legislators remain in a separate “room.”
- House members, unable to see who is “attending” or trying to speak during virtual committee meetings, are literally legislating in a void.
- Internet connectivity issues plague regions of Virginia, causing legislators to unceremoniously vanish and reappear in Committee “rooms” and on the House “floor.”
- The reliable fallback of the hard-copy has vanished. With no printed bills, amendments, floor calendars, or co-patronage forms, legislators are periodically stranded when technology stumbles or fails.
- The human connection that facilitates effective legislation has all but vanished. Gone are the cordial conversations and spontaneous collaboration that occurred in hallways, meeting rooms, offices, and the House chamber. Dialogue is generally limited to text messages, emails, and terse video interactions.
- Meanwhile, the Senate of Virginia is meeting in-person at the Virginia Science Museum, where two legislators are seated inside plexiglass boxes. Masks are worn, and social distancing is generally observed.
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How did we reach this point? |
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For the past several months, legislators have anticipated returning to Richmond for a special session to mitigate the COVID-sized hole in the Commonwealth’s budget. Accordingly, on August 18, the House and Senate convened in Richmond. While the Senate met at the Science Museum, the House convened at the Siegel Center, Virginia Commonwealth University’s gymnasium. The Democrat-controlled House immediately embarked on an effort to remove the requirement for an in-person quorum and to instead conduct all meetings remotely. This unprecedented move required a change in the House rules. Lacking the necessary two-thirds votes for this change, the House Democrats then simply endowed the Speaker with the ability to do as she pleased in establishing virtual meetings. The Democrats’ maneuvering ultimately delayed the start of committee meetings, leaving the House woefully behind in hearing bills.
Meanwhile, the Senate (also controlled by Democrats) immediately organized and began hearing bills in-person. As a result, they have made greater progress in reviewing and passing legislation.
But what legislation?
Historically, special sessions are extremely narrow in scope and tackle only a specific issue, such as redistricting, a transportation package, or a budget. The 2020 Special Session, however, has morphed from a “budget adjustment” into an amorphous goal of addressing COVID-related issues. As a result, hundreds of bills have been filed pertaining to elections, education, executive orders, criminal justice reform, tax relief, and an array of other matters. In short, this special session looks suspiciously like a regular session.
The legislative process is opaque during this time. As reported in the Roanoke Times, neither the House nor the Senate have any timeline for when bills will be heard or when we will conclude our work. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats who, per the article, are not in communication. Democratic Senator John Edwards summarizes perfectly: “We don’t know what the General Assembly is doing and what the plan is.”
Because of the broad range of bills and the haphazard process, I will address only a few topics per email. This week I will focus on election issues as well as executive orders and mandates. Future emails will concentrate on education, criminal justice reform, and other issues. As a reminder, all legislation may be viewed online at https://lis.virginia.gov/.
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Executive Orders and Mandates |
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House Bills 5007, 5010, and 5039 were introduced to limit the Governor’s executive authority in the case of an emergency declaration. None would prevent him or her from calling a state of emergency or invoking emergency powers. Instead, the bills require the General Assembly to convene after a set number of days in order to extend the Governor’s emergency powers.
Unfortunately, all of these bills were tabled on a party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Public Safety Committee. I voted for these bills, and I believe that no Governor—regardless of party (no offense to my fellow Republicans!)—should be able to exercise indefinite unilateral executive authority. The legislature is closest to the people and must act as the ultimate check on executive authority.
Also this week, Delegate Mark Cole presented House Bill 5016, which would eliminate the Health Commissioner’s authority to mandate immunization of individuals who object due to religious beliefs. This bill generated a great deal of attention and garnered support from several Democrats; however, it was ultimately tabled in Committee.
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Elections are changing in Virginia. House Bill 5103 passed the House today and contains a number of controversial and expensive provisions that go into effect immediately (assuming the Senate concurs, which is likely). Of note are the following:
- Absentee ballots will include a postage-prepaid return envelope. The primary concern is not with the postage, but rather with the application of a postmark, which governs whether or not an absentee ballot may be accepted. Because envelopes with prepaid postage are not typically postmarked, their validity will be in question if received after the election.
To address this issue, I introduced House Bill 5079, which requires third parties sending an unsolicited absentee ballot application to use the Department of Election’s list of registered voters who have not already requested applications. This will ensure that only registered voters receive absentee ballot requests, thereby reducing the opportunity for confusion, fraud, and duplicative requests.
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I understand that this special session presents unique challenges and raises new questions about legislation and the overall process. Additionally, I realize that many Virginians are struggling with COVID-related challenges. Please know that my Legislative Aide, Dayle Brittain, remains happy to answer legislative questions and also offer assistance with state-related agencies (including the Virginia Employment Commission and the Department of Motor Vehicles). Please do not hesitate to contact our office by email at DelABatten@house.virginia.gov or by phone at 757-741-7001.
Sincerely,
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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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