2024 Priority Legislation

of the Virginia Grassroots Coalition

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Climate

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Passed House & Senate

Vetoed

Approved by Gov

Gov made recommendations

Cat	Number	Title	Patron	House	Senate	GA	Governor	updated
2024 Priority Bills Governor made recommendations
education	HB 187 Support	Teacher and support staff compensation; at or above national average. more... Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average teacher salary. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational. The bill also requires that public school instructional and noninstructional support staff be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average salary for such staff. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund an annual increase for public school teacher and instructional and noninstructional support staff salaries such that, no later than the 2028%962029 school year, such individuals are compensated at a rate that is at or above the respective national average salary.	Clark (D)	Passed (74-Y 24-N)	Passed w. amendments (21-Y 18-N)	Gov Rec Rejected 4/17/24	Recommendations Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., May 17, 2024	4/25/24
rights	HB 782 Support	Virginia Human Rights Act; dual-filed civil actions. more... Clarifies timelines for dual-filing complaints alleging unlawful discrimination under the Virginia Human Rights Act and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The bill allows either the complainant or the respondent for any charge of discrimination to request a notice of the right to file a civil action after the Commission has closed its file on such charge of discrimination. ...	Herring (D)	Passed (99-Y 0-N)	Passed (40-Y 0-N)	Enrolled	Recommendations	4/9/24
guns	SB 100 Support	Plastic firearms and unfinished frames, etc.; manufacture, import, etc. prohibited, penalties. more... Creates a Class 5 felony for any person who knowingly manufactures or assembles, imports, purchases, sells, transfers, or possesses any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, as defined in the bill, is not detectable as a firearm when subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports, government buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and other locations for security screening. ...	Ebbin (D)	Passed (52-Y 48-N)	Passed (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Recommendations	4/10/24
education	SB 104 Support	Teacher compensation; at or above national average. more... Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a three percent increase for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions, effective for the 2025%962026 school year and to fund an additional seven percent increase, effective for the 2026%962027 school year, for each school division, Academic Year Governor's School, and Regional Alternative Education Program. The bill contains provisions relating to eligibility to receive a prorated share of such state funding for any school division that fails to provide the required increases. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025.	Lucas (D)	Passed (70-Y 26-N)	Passed (40-Y 0-N)	Gov Rec Rejected	Recommendations Governor's Action Deadline May 17, 2024	5/6/24
education	SB 105 Support	National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program & Fund; eligibility, incentive grant awards. more... Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. ...	Lucas (D)	Passed w. substitute (96-Y 0-N)	Passed w. substitute (40-Y 0-N)	Gov Rec Rejected	Recommendations Governor's Action Deadline May 17, 2024	5/6/24
rights	SB 350 Support	Virginia Human Rights Act; right to sue. more... Permits a complainant who has not received a notice of the right to file a civil action from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Law or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as requested after 180 days have passed from the date the complaint was filed to commence a timely civil action in an appropriate general district or circuit court having jurisdiction over the person who allegedly unlawfully discriminated against the complainant. ...	Perry (D)	Passed (85-Y 12-N)	Passed (40-Y 0-N)	Enrolled by Senate	Recommendations	4/9/24
voting rights	SB 364 Support	Elections; protection of election officials, penalty. more... Adds current or former status as an election official or employee of an election official to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. ...	Ebbin (D)	Passed w sub (52-Y 47-N)	Passed (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Recommendations	4/9/24

No. of bills: 7

General info

2024 Session dates

Jan 10: Session begins
Jan 19: Last day to introduce bills
Feb 13: Crossover*
Mar 7: Last day to act on remaining bills
Mar 9: Session adjourns
April 17-24: Reconvened session

House Meeting Schedule
Senate Meeting Schedule

Overriding a Veto

"The Governor may veto the bill if he objects to it by returning the bill with his objections to the house in which the bill originated. The house shall enter the objections in its journal and reconsider the bill. The house may override the veto by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which two-thirds shall include a majority of the members elected to that house. If the house of origin overrides the Governor's veto, it shall send the bill and Governor's objections to the other house where the bill shall be reconsidered. The second house may override the Governor's veto by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which two-thirds shall include a majority of the members elected to that house. If both houses override the Governor's veto, the bill shall become law without his signature. If either house fails to override the Governor's veto, the veto shall stand and the bill shall not become law." -Virginia Constitution

Constitutional Amendments

Amendments to the Virginia Constitution require that a resolution be passed by a majority of both houses during a session and then held over to be passed again by the next elected legislature, with an election intervening between the two approvals. If it succeeds the second time, voters must approve the change in a referendum before it can take effect.

Glossary

Dillon Rule. Restricts local government authority to enact ordinances.

Conference Committee. A temporary committee w. members from both the House and Senate, tasked with reconciling differences in legislation that passed both chambers.

Continued/Carried over. Action taken in an even-numbered year to postpone the consideration of a measure until the next regular session of the General Assembly.

Crossover. The last day for a bill to pass out of the chamber in which it was introduced and move forward for consideration in the opposite chamber. If a bill does not move forward, it is "Left" (dead).

Engrossed. A legislative stage when a bill passes the second reading in the House of origin. Every bill has to be "read" on the floor three times before voting on it. The action or any debate or discussion usually comes on the day of the second reading or the third reading.

Enrolled. Legislation which has passed both the House of Delegates and the Senate, signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, sent to the Governor, but not yet signed.

Failed to report. Defeated. The rejection of a motion to 'report' a bill to the full chamber.

Incorporated. Rolled into someone another bill. Either because they're identical, or they have incorporated *some* of the language in, and the patron agreed to have her name on the other bill.

Patron. Bill sponsor. There can be many patrons.

PBI. Passed by Indefinitely. Action to allow a committee to reconsider legislation at a later meeting. If the committee takes no further action, the bill is dead. [Usually the bill is dead.]

Referred. The assignment of legislation to another standing committee with no stance on the policy of the measure (neither endorses nor rejects the legislation).

Reported. The approval of a measure by the majority of the committee. The legislation may be reported by the committee with or without amendments. A bill may also be reported and referred to another committee.

Stricken. Legislation removed from a committee's docket, frequently at the request of the patron.

More definitions from League of Women Voters Virginia
More definitions from University of Virginia