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To the Constituents of the 37th House District:
The final week of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly has concluded. As you may recall, the 45-day “short session” was made shorter by the 3-day delay caused by the City of Richmond’s water system failure. Though the days and nights were longer than usual, the work of the legislature completed on time when it adjourned sine die on Saturday, February 22nd. Of the almost 2,000 bills introduced in the House and Senate, just over 900 will be sent to the Governor’s desk where he will sign, veto or amend the legislation before him. With the current makeup of the General Assembly, there will likely be many bills to consider during the Reconvene “Veto” Session on April 2nd.
Virginia’s budget made it out of conference and was approved on the House floor on Saturday. As a budget conferee, and Ranking Republican on Appropriations, I am mostly satisfied with the budget that will be sent to the Governor. There are many positives, including the return of $1.1 billion to taxpayers through one-time income tax rebates of $200 for individuals and $400 for couples filing jointly, and an increase in the standard deduction to $8,750 for individuals and $17,500 for joint filers.
The budget invests $782 million in state funds to our public schools, lifts the cap on support personnel imposed during the Great Recession, and adds $150 million for school construction. It also secures $25 million for a public-private early childhood care and education partnership to share the cost of childcare slots between parents, employers, and the state. Teachers will receive a $1,000 bonus in June with no local match required, state and state supported local employees will get a 1.5 percent bonus this summer, and E-911 dispatchers will get a raise.
$175 million was added to support the advancement of projects along the Interstate 81 corridor, and an additional $20 million was directed to the Virginia Business Site Ready Program to increase the Commonwealth’s inventory of pad ready sites. Agricultural best management practices are fully funded, with $27 million supplementing the $201 million allocated in last year’s budget, and $50 million has been secured for disaster relief for areas hit by Hurricane Helene flooding.
Items that will benefit our region include my budget amendments for $1.9 million to complete the buildout of Craig County’s public safety radio system, $6.5 million to double enrollment at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and $450,000 to address the shortage of large animal veterinarians in Virginia. Importantly, $20 million has been allocated to support a much-needed new Virginia State Police Division 6 headquarters, which serves the entirety of House District 37. $4 million was appropriated to develop clean room space for the biotech lab in Roanoke, a key component of our region’s health sciences ecosystem, and builds upon my $15 million appropriation for the project in 2023.
As I have mentioned before, there are items that were unfortunately removed from the Governor’s introduced budget, including car tax relief and the proposal to allow taxpayers to deduct tips they receive from their income. The Governor has the ability to line-item veto the budget, and there will likely be a number of items he will object.
I am pleased to report that all but one of my bills that went through the committee process passed, including my bill to increase transportation options for our students in rural areas. Unfortunately, the one bill to not pass was HB2080 which sought to eliminate vehicle registration stickers. A summary of my legislation is below.
HB2720 seeks to address the school bus driver shortage and provide flexibility to students when it comes transportation options. Virginia school divisions collectively utilize 16,000 80-passenger yellow school buses to transport students to and from school each day. Unfortunately, school bus driver employment continues to remain below pre-pandemic levels. We all see the “School Bus Drivers Needed” signs as we pass by our schools. Interrupted bus route services and instability created by driver shortages disrupt learning time and contribute to absenteeism. Additionally, since 1980, the average cost per student transported has increased by over 75 percent, attributable in part to a steady decline in ridership. This bill will allow school systems that choose to participate the ability to utilize smaller vehicles to transport students to school and extracurricular activities. HB2720 is the same as the bill I patroned last year, with a few changes: it is limited to a two-year pilot program for school divisions with total fall membership enrollment of fewer than 4,500 students. I’m hopeful that school divisions will take advantage of this opportunity for the benefit of their students, and to illustrate the need to extend and expand this program.
HB2642 regulates and prohibits the sale of unsafe and counterfeit lighters in the Commonwealth, by creating definitions for lighters, unsafe lighters, and counterfeit lighters to protect children from these hazardous products. In 2017 alone, more than 300 million lighters were imported from China and other countries, and 70% of them failed to meet safety standards requiring child resistant mechanisms. HB2642 regulates the sale of lighters by defining unsafe lighters as those that fail to meet the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) International Standard F400-20, which specifies consumer safety standards, and defining a counterfeit lighter as any device that infringes upon the intellectual property of any United States citizen or entity protected under federal or state intellectual property.
HB2080, sought to modernize the DMV vehicle registration process by eliminating license plate registration stickers. This change would save the DMV approximately $2.3 million annually and greatly reduce the need for the currently more than 560,000 residents that spend thirty minutes a year waiting in line at DMV’s customer service centers to obtain them in person. After discussion with Treasurers and Commissioners of Revenue across the Commonwealth, it was determined that while the idea is sound, there are a few practical issues that need to be ironed out before this bill becomes law. As a result, I placed an amendment that would have delayed enactment by one year and required the DMV to work with the Commissioners and Treasurers to ensure a workable path forward. The bill passed out of the House 96-1 but was unfortunately “Passed By Indefinitely” in Senate Finance and Appropriations. I’m confident that this measure will eventually pass, and I will continue to advocate for streamlining the DMV to save dollars and create a better user experience.
HB2097 increases access to crucial health services by expanding coverage for prostate cancer screening in the Commonwealth. Virginia has the highest prostate cancer incidence rate and second highest mortality rate for black men in the nation. Because it is often asymptomatic until it becomes metastatic, screening helps detect the disease early when it’s most survivable and least costly to treat. HB2097 seeks to address this by removing out-of-pocket prostate cancer screening costs for high-risk men. It does so by expanding coverage for Prostate Specific Antigen testing (known as PSA) and exams for those who are at higher risk as determined by the American Cancer Society’s guidelines.
My final two bills were charter changes. HB2092 updates the Town of Buchanan’s Charter to reflect the shift to November municipal elections and the town manager’s requirements and responsibilities. HB2644 gives the City of Lexington the flexibility to appoint 5-7 members onto its EDA, rather than the currently required seven. Both bills came at the request of the respective localities, and each passed out of the House 96-0.
One of the more rewarding aspects of serving in Richmond for two months is being able to observe and interact with the House Pages. Each year, the Speaker of the House of Delegates appoints 13- and 14-year-olds from across the Commonwealth to work in the House Clerk’s Office as Pages during the Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly. They assist the Delegates and staff in the House Clerk’s Office in performing a wide variety of daily duties required for the successful operation of the House. This year, Ms. Carson Slaydon of Rockbridge was chosen by the Speaker to represent the 37th House District, and she did so with distinction. Carson comported herself well and her composed demeanor garnered respect from her peers and my colleagues in the House. Well done, Carson!
It is an honor to serve you in the Virginia House of Delegates. If I can be of assistance to you, or you would like to share your position on any of my legislative priorities, please do not hesitate to contact me at DelTAustin@House.Virginia.gov or 804-698-1037.
Sincerely,
Delegate Terry L. Austin
37th House District
