161st Virginia General Assembly

2020–2021 meeting of Virginia legislature

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160th

162nd

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Overview

Term

January 8, 2020 – March 2021

Senate of Virginia

Members

President of the Senate

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D)

Senate Majority Leader

Dick Saslaw (D)

Senate Minority Leader

Tommy Norment (R)

Party control

Democratic (21)

Republican (19)

Virginia House of Delegates

Members

100

Speaker of the House

Eileen Filler-Corn (D)

House Majority Leader

Charniele Herring (D)

House Minority Leader

Todd Gilbert (R)

Party control

Democratic (55)
Republican (45)

Sessions

1st	January 8, 2020 – March 12, 2020
2nd	January 13, 2021 – February 8, 2021

Special sessions

1st	August 18, 2020 – November 9, 2020
2nd	February 10, 2021 – March 1, 2021

The 161st Virginia General Assembly, consisting of members who were elected in both the House election and Senate election in 2019, convened on January 8, 2020. It was the first time Democrats held both houses of the General Assembly and the governorship since the 147th General Assembly in 1993.

A special session was called by Governor Ralph Northam for August 18, 2020 to make budget cuts and pass bills for criminal justice reform, racial justice, affordable housing and COVID-19 protections. The special session ended on November 9, 2020. After a shorter 30-day session occurred from January to February 2021, Northam called for another special session which lasted until March. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Capitol was closed to the public and sessions were re-located to alternative buildings.

Membership

On November 9, 2019, Eileen Filler-Corn was nominated by the Democratic majority caucus for Speaker of the House of Delegates, and upon election by the House on January 8, she became the first woman and first Jew to be elected Speaker. Concurrently, Charniele Herring was elected as Majority Leader, making her the first woman and first African-American to serve as Majority Leader.

In addition, Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Senate. Incumbent Danica Roem became the first transgender legislator to be re-elected to office in U.S. history.

In total, the 161st General Assembly has the highest number of women elected to both bodies, with 30 in the House and 11 in the Senate.

Speaker Filler-Corn selected Del. Luke Torian to be the first African-American House Appropriations Chair in state history. This was the first time that an African-American delegate was selected to chair a House committee since William P. Robinson Jr. (D-Norfolk) chaired the Transportation Committee in 1998 and was co-chairman of the panel in 1998, according to House Clerk G. Paul Nardo.^[1]

Leadership

Senate

Senate Majority Leader: Dick Saslaw (D)
Senate Minority Leader: Tommy Norment (R)
Senate Majority Caucus Chair: Mamie Locke (D)
Senate President pro-tempore: L. Louise Lucas (D)
Senate Majority Caucus Vice Chair: Scott Surovell (D)
Senate Majority Caucus Vice Chair for Policy: Jeremy McPike (D)
Senate Majority Caucus Secretary: Jennifer McClellan (D)
Senate Majority Caucus Treasurer: Ghazala Hashmi (D)
Senate Majority Whips: Barbara Favola (D) and Lionell Spruill (D)
Senate Majority Sergeant at Arms: Jennifer Boysko (D)
Clerk: Susan Clarke Schaar

Committee chairs and ranking members

The Senate of Virginia has 10 Standing Committees and a Committee on Rules.^[2]

Committee	Chair	Ranking Minority Member
Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources	Chap Petersen	Emmett Hanger
Commerce and Labor	Dick Saslaw	Tommy Norment
Judiciary	John S. Edwards	Tommy Norment
Education and Health	Louise Lucas	Stephen Newman
Finance and Appropriations	Janet Howell	Tommy Norment
General Laws and Technology	George Barker	Frank Ruff
Local Government	Lynwood Lewis	Emmett Hanger
Privileges and Elections	Creigh Deeds	Jill Vogel
Rehabilitation and Social Services	Barbara Favola	Emmett Hanger
Rules	Mamie Locke	Tommy Norment
Transportation	Dave Marsden	Stephen Newman

House of Delegates

Speaker: Eileen Filler-Corn (D)
House Majority Leader: Charniele Herring (D)
House Majority Caucus Chair: Rip Sullivan (D)
House Minority Leader: Todd Gilbert (R)
House Minority Whip: Jay Leftwich (R)
House Minority Caucus Chair: Kathy Byron (R)
Clerk: Suzette Denslow

Committee chairs and ranking members

The House has 14 standing committees.^[3]

Committee		Chair	Senior Minority Member
	Subcommittee	Chair	Senior Minority Member

Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources		Kenneth R. Plum	R. Lee Ware
	Agriculture	Wendy Gooditis
	Chesapeake	Alfonso H. Lopez
	Natural Resources	Kathy Tran
Appropriations		Luke Torian	M. Kirkland Cox
	Capital Outlay	Cliff Hayes Jr.
	Commerce, Agriculture and Natural Resources	David Bulova
	Compensation and Central Government	Roslyn Tyler
	Elementary and Secondary	Delores McQuinn
	Health and Human Services	Mark Sickles
	Higher Education	Betsy B. Carr
	Transportation and Public Safety	Paul Krizek
Communications, Technology and Innovation		Cliff Hayes Jr.	Kathy Byron
	Communications	Danica Roem
	Technology and Innovation	Hala Ayala
Counties Cities and Towns		Kaye Kory	Charles Poindexter
	Ad Hoc	Kathleen Murphy
	Charters	Danica Roem
	Land Use	Steve Heretick
Courts of Justice		Charniele Herring	Terry Kilgore
	Civil	Jeff Bourne
	Criminal	Michael P. Mullin
	Judicial	Joseph C. Lindsey
Education		Roslyn Tyler	Mark L. Cole
	Post-Secondary and Higher Education	Mark Keam
	Pre-K-12	Lamont Bagby
	SOL and SOQ	Schuyler VanValkenburg
Finance		Vivian E. Watts	Robert D. Orrock, Sr.
	Subcommittee #1	Mark Keam
	Subcommittee #2	Steve Heretick
	Subcommittee #3	Rip Sullivan
General Laws		David Bulova	Thomas C. Wright, Jr.
	ABC/Gaming	Paul Krizek
	Housing/Consumer Protection	Marcus Simon
	Open Government/Procurement	Betsy B. Carr
	Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process Subcommittee	Chris Hurst
Health, Welfare and Institutions		Mark D. Sickles	Robert D. Orrock, Sr.
	Behavioral Health	Marcia Price
	Health Professions	Dawn Adams
	Health	Patrick Hope
	Social Services	Elizabeth Guzman
Labor and Commerce		Jeion Ward	Terry Kilgore
	Subcommittee #1	Lamont Bagby
	Subcommittee #2	Steve Heretick
	Subcommittee #3	Rip Sullivan
Privileges and Elections		Joe Lindsey	Robert D. Orrock, Sr.
	Campaign Finance	David A. Reid
	Constitutional Amendments	Marcus Simon
	Elections	Schuyler VanValkenburg
	Gubernatorial Appointments	Kelly Convirs-Fowler
	Redistricting	Marcus Simon
Public Safety		Patrick Hope	Thomas C. Wright, Jr.
	Firearms	Jeff Bourne
	Public Safety	Mark Levine
Rules		Eileen Filler-Corn	M. Kirkland Cox
	Joint Rules	Eileen Filler-Corn
	Standards of Conduct	N/A
	Studies	Mark Sickles
	Subcommittee #2	N/A
Transportation		Delores McQuinn	Robert B. Bell
	Motor Vehicles	Jay Jones
	Transportation Innovation and General Topics	Karrie Delaney
	Transportation Systems	Betsy B. Carr
	Subcommittee #4	N/A

Legislation

Pre-filing of bills for the 2020 session began November 18, 2019. 828 bills were passed by the House by crossover day on February 12, 2020, an increase from the 603 bills passed under the Republican majority in the 2019 session.

Enacted

January 27, 2020: HJ 1/SJ 1: Resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution
February 24, 2020: HB 35/SB 103: Restores parole eligibility to those serving 20 years of a sentence for crimes committed as a juvenile and for which they received a lengthy sentence
March 4, 2020: HB 245: Repeals the crime of fornication
March 2, 2020: HB 61: Provides that an adult sentenced for a juvenile offense can earn good conduct credit at the rate of one day for each one day served.
March 2, 2020: HB 386: Prohibits the performance of conversion therapy by state-licensed counselors on juveniles under 18
March 2, 2020: HB 587: Requiring the inclusion of space and equipment for changing babies during plans for new state government buildings
HB 277: Allowing currently-incarcerated individuals to earn credit towards paying off fines and fees through community work
HB 1490: Repealing statutory bans on same-sex marriages and civil unions.
HB 696: Provides that localities may prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, and education on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
HB 1071: Repeals the crime of profane swearing
HB 973/SB 600: Repeals several laws enacted from 1901 to 1960 which encoded racial segregation of students in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education in Virginia
HB 1514/SB 50: Protects hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists from discrimination (see also: CROWN Act)

Other legislation

Notable bills filed include:

HB 1: Legalization of no-excuse absentee voting
HB 2: Regulates firearms transfers and sales through background checks
HB 3: Prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
HB 4: Legalizes and regulates casino gambling in Virginia through the Virginia Lottery Board
HB 961: Banning sale and transport of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
HB 1625: Repealing Virginia's statewide ban on local governments removing or altering Confederate monuments
SB 2: Decriminalizing cannabis in Virginia
SB 601: Eliminating Lee-Jackson Day and making Election Day a state holiday
SB 240: Red flag law
SB 868: Virginia Values Act, Prohibits LGBT discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations
HB 177: Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (consideration moved to 2021 session)

Equal Rights Amendment

HJ 1, prefiled by Jennifer Carroll Foy, and SJ 1, filed by Jennifer McClellan, will make Virginia the 3rd state since 2017 and the 38th overall necessary to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (counting the five that have since voted to rescind their ratifications).^[4] Both bills were given initial approval, with SJ 1 being approved 28-12 in the Senate and HJ 1 being approved 59-41 in the House, and were passed by the other chamber on January 27. All Democrats and several Republicans in both chambers voted in favor of the resolutions. However, experts and advocates have acknowledged legal uncertainty about the consequences of Virginia's potential ratification, due to the expired deadlines and the five states' purported revocations.^[4]

Events

A peaceful protest opposing gun control legislation occurred outside the Virginia State Capitol on January 20, 2020.^[5]

Changes in membership

Del. Chris Collins (R-HD29) resigned on June 28, 2020 to accept an appointment as a judge to Virginia's 26th Judicial District. He was succeeded by Bill Wiley.
Del. Joseph C. Lindsey (D-HD90) resigned on November 15, 2020 after being appointed to the Norfolk General District Court. He was succeeded by Angelia Williams Graves.
Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-HD2) resigned on December 12, 2020 to focus on her campaign for governor. She was succeeded by Candi King.
Senator Ben Chafin (R-SD38) died from COVID-19-related symptoms on January 1, 2021. He was succeeded by Travis Hackworth.

References

^ Vozzella, Laura (14 November 2019). "Incoming Va. House speaker makes top committee picks". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
^ "Legislative Committees". Legislative Information System. Virginia General Assembly. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
^ "Virginia House of Delegates Committees List". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Astor, Maggie (2019-11-06). "The Equal Rights Amendment May Pass Now. It's Only Been 96 Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
^ "Virginia pro-gun rally: Despite anger, threats of insurrection, massive rally is carried out peacefully outside state Capitol". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2020.