2024 Priority Legislation

of the Virginia Grassroots Coalition

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Climate

Campaign Finance

Passed House & Senate

Vetoed

Approved by Gov

Gov made recommendations

Cat	Number	Title	Patron	House	Senate	GA	Governor	updated
2024 Priority Bills Campaign Finance
campaign finance	HB 40 Support	Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds, complaints, hearings, civil penalty. more... Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. ...	Simon (D)	Left P&E 20-0; in Appropriations				2/12/24
campaign finance	HB 276 Support	Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures, electioneering communications. more... Broadens the scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisements to include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill, and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum. The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditure or that expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the advertisement sponsor's three largest contributors. The bill also requires independent expenditure reports to be filed electronically. Current law allows such reports to be filed either electronically or in writing.	Helmer (D)	Continued to 2025				2/13/24
campaign finance	HB 629 Support	Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty. more... Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. ...	Cherry (R)	PBI Folded into HB40				3/11/24
campaign finance	HB 643 Support	Campaign fundraising; prohibited during legislative sessions, enforcement of civil penalty. more... Provides that violations of the prohibition on campaign fundraising during legislative sessions are to be reported to the Attorney General who shall initiate civil proceedings to enforce the civil penalty currently assessed for such violations. ...	Cherry (R)	Tabled Subc (5-Y 3-N)				2/25/24
campaign finance	HB 730 Support	Campaign finance; independent expenditure reports; electronic filing required. more... Requires independent expenditure reports to be filed electronically. Current law allows such reports to be filed either electronically or in writing.	Sickles (D)	Passed (99-Y 0-N)	Passed (39-Y 0-N)	Enrolled	Approved (effective 7/1/25)	4/2/24
campaign finance	HB 874 Support	Campaign finance; campaign contribution limits; civil penalty. more... Prohibits persons from making any single contribution, or any combination of contributions, that exceeds $20,000 to any one candidate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, or the Senate of Virginia or $10,000 to any one candidate for the House of Delegates in any one election cycle. ...	Bulova (D)	Left Privileges and Elections				2/14/24
campaign finance	HB 1045 Support	Elections; campaign finance; Public Campaigns Program and Fund established; tax check-off. more... Establishes the Public Campaigns Program within the Department of Elections for the purpose of providing matching payments of public money to participating candidates receiving qualified small-dollar contributions of less than $250. The bill requires participating candidates to agree to abide by contribution limits and limits on the use of public matching payments in addition to agreeing to participate in public debates. Under the bill, matching payments are made from the Public Campaigns Fund, which is funded by an option on Virginia tax returns to direct a contribution of $40 from an individual filer, or $80 dollars for joint filers, to the Fund. The bill requires the Department to conduct audits of elections involving Program participants and to make a report to the General Assembly on the status of the Program generally.	Simon (D)	Tabled P&E Reported 12-10; in App Gen Gov Subc Tabled 8-0				3/11/24
campaign finance	HB 1360 Support	Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty. more... Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, ...	Convirs-Fowler (D)	Left Privileges and Elections				3/11/24
campaign finance	SB 78 Support	Campaign advertisements; independent expenditures; electioneering communications; disclaimer requirements. more... Broadens the scope of disclaimer requirements for campaign advertisements to include electioneering communications, as defined in the bill, and messages advocating for the passage or defeat of a referendum. The bill also requires an advertisement that is an independent expenditure or that expressly advocates for the passage or defeat of a referendum to contain a disclaimer providing the names of the advertisement sponsor's three largest contributors. The bill also requires independent expenditure reports to be filed electronically. Current law allows such reports to be filed either electronically or in writing.	Favola (D)		Failed Privileges & Elections 8-7-1, Failed 19-21			2/14/24
campaign finance	SB 107 Support	Campaign finance; fundraising during special sessions prohibited. more... Prohibits campaign fundraising by a member of the General Assembly or statewide official on any day the General Assembly is scheduled to meet during a special session. Currently, such campaign fundraising is prohibited only during regular sessions of the General Assembly.	Suetterlein (R)		Left Privileges & Elections 10-4, floor recommitted to P&E			2/12/24
campaign finance	SB 377 Support	Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions. more... Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, ...	Boysko (D)	Continued P&E 22-0; Appropriations continued voice vote	Passed P&E 13-1; Finance 15-0; Senate 35-4			3/2/24
campaign finance	SB 692 Support	Campaign finance; independent expenditure reports; electronic filing required. more... Requires independent expenditure reports to be filed electronically. Current law allows such reports to be filed either electronically or in writing.	Perry (D)	Passed (100-Y 0-N)	Passed (40-Y 0-N)	Enrolled	Approved (effective 7/1/25)	4/2/24

No. of bills: 12

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