2025 General Assembly begins on January 8: A look at the make-up and some pending legislation

American democracy happens at multiple levels and one way to secure this system of government is simply to know more about how it works. Virginia’s system of government is very similar to the federal government. There’s a legislature that considers new laws and amendments old ones as well as an executive branch which runs agencies.

Governor Glenn Youngkin has one year left on a four-year term and cannot run for re-election. All 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up in November, but the Senate isn’t up for election until 2027. There are three special elections on Monday for three vacancies across the General Assembly.

In Senate District 10, Republican Luther Cifers III faces Democrat Jack Trammell in a race to replace John McGuire in the position. McGuire was elected to represent Virginia’s Fifth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The boundaries for District 10 drawn in late 2021 cover a lot of the Fifth District including all of Fluvanna County and a portion of Louisa County. The district leans Republican.

The other Senate race is in District 32 which covers part of Loudoun County. Democrat Kannan Srinivasan resigned from the House of Delegates to run for the seat and faces Republican Tumay Deniz Harding. This district leans Democratic, according to VPAP.

Since the election of 2023, Democrats have a slight majority over the Republicans with 21 seats to 19.

With Srinivasan’s resignation in House District 26, Democrats have a 50 to 49 majority in the House of Delegates. Democrat Jas Singh faces Republican Ram Venkatachalam. This district also covers part of Loudoun County and is considered to be strong Democratic.

Take a look at the reading material below for more on the races.

Now, what about the legislation that’s actually being considered?

The General Assembly only meets for 45 days this time around and legislation will move fast. One aspect of this newsletter is to point out some of the bills that people may be interested in, but with the flow of legislation moving faster there will only be a few bills in this edition. I don’t know the backstory for all of these, but these are the ones that jump out at me this week.

• HB1568 from Delegate Bill Wiley (R-32) would allow law-enforcement officers from Frederick County to have jurisdiction one-mile across the border into the city of Winchester.
• Delegate Wiley also filed HB1569 that would reduce the fee to process an application for a concealed handgun permit from $50 to $25. Technically this would reduce the amount a locality could charge from a maximum of $35 to a maximum of $10.
• HB1570, also from Wiley, would eliminate language in the Virginia Public Procurement Act that would allows public bodies to require labor agreements to be adhered to for public works projects.
• SB772 from Senator Glen Sturtevant Jr. (R-12) would require local social service departments to inquire about an applicants’ immigration status.

SB773 from Senator Barbara Favola (D-40) would require local social service departments to develop a plan for providing housing to individuals in foster care as they age out of the system.

SB775 from Senator Scott Surovell (D-34) would require disclaimers on election advertisements that use artificial intelligence programs to create false depictions of candidates.

SB776, also from Surovell, would allow local and state law enforcement officers in Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia) to enforce federal traffic violations, including the placement of speed cameras on federal parkways.

SB777 from Senator Mamie Locke (D-23) would direct the Department of Housing and Community Development to work with other state agencies to create a Low-Income Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force “to evaluate ways to coordinate government and utility services and resources to more effectively deliver energy efficient housing.”

SB778, also from Locke, would set the age of 11 when a child could be considered delinquent.

SB779 from Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy would require railroad companies to comply with federal requirements for minimum train crews.

SB780, also from Foy, would require health insurance carriers to provide coverage for contraceptives.

SB782 from Senator David Suetterlein (R-4) would end the sunset date on the standard income tax deduction. This is a key plank of Governor Youngkin’s budget proposal. Read some of the others here.

SB784, also from Suetterlein, would direct the Department of Education to revise the Three “E” Readiness Framework to “to include as an indicator of postsecondary readiness and incentivize participation in and completion of work-based learning experiences.”

Another Suetterlein bill, SB785, would prohibit the Real Estate Board from charging a fee to transfer a license between offices.

SB792 from Senator Christoper Head (R-3) would require the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to publish a lot of information on their website about public and private institutions of higher education. This includes the cost of tuition and fees, student retention rate, the graduation rate, and wages of former students three years after graduation.

Another bill from Head, SB795, would establish the Virginia Museum of Transportation as a public entity.

Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the January 3, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first.