To the Constituents of the 37th House District:
The General Assembly has passed the halfway mark known as “Crossover,” the point on the legislative calendar where each chamber completes work on its own bills except the state budget. In the House, 1,547 bills were introduced and 734 passed. In the Senate, 737 bills were introduced and 452 passed.
Last Monday, the day before Crossover, the House considered more than 275 bills. This is possible because of the committee process. Out of 14 House committees, I serve on four: Appropriations, Transportation, General Laws, and Rules. Most members have a similar number of committee assignments, which my Republican colleagues and I rely on each other to discuss the merits of bills that report out of our respective committees. Though not perfect, it is an efficient operation that allows us to do the work of the Commonwealth in 60 days.
Unfortunately, bills that would have addressed the fentanyl crisis and protected our children from predators joined the list of good legislation that died this Session. On average, five Virginians die every day in this Commonwealth from fentanyl overdose. Bills to increase penalties for those who distribute fentanyl, or manufacture counterfeit pills that contain the drug, did not even receive a hearing. Another bill would have banned anyone convicted of offenses involving children, including kidnapping, trafficking, and physical abuse, from working or volunteering at schools. It suffered a similar fate.
One of the biggest tasks undertaken each Session is passing the biennial budget. The legislature will use Governor Youngkin’s introduced budget from December as a starting point and will now begin the process of finalizing amendments. The governor’s budget included $1 billion in tax reform, and the largest K-12 budget in state history. The reality of the General Assembly’s makeup means that the new document will likely look much different than the original. As a member of Appropriations, I will work to ensure that revenues are being appropriated responsibly and benefit our region. Improving Interstate 81 remains a top priority.
As for my bills, I am happy to report that all have passed out of the House and are now being considered in the Senate. These bills promote Virginia’s leadership role in the founding of our nation, increase the efficiency of GO Virginia, expand transportation options for K-12 students, conform Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) to federal regulations, enhance Virginia’s ability to expand rail capacity, and streamline processes for auto franchise dealers and the abandoned vehicle industry. Below is a summary of each, and I look forward to representing them in the Senate over the next two weeks.
The VA250 Commission was established to represent Virginia’s leadership role in the founding of our nation and the celebration of its 250th birthday in 2026. As chairman, I carried three bills related to these efforts.
HB839 makes technical changes in line with previous statewide commemorations; HB840 creates a revenue sharing license plate celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution; HJ84 is a Joint Resolution encouraging public institutions of higher education to display the VA250 logo on men’s and women’s athletic uniforms.
HB191 streamlines the sale process for auto franchise operations, creating objective measures for manufacturer approval and establishing a 60-day timeline for which approval can be granted. Many franchises are family-owned entities, and this bill creates objective measures that make the sale process easier for those that choose to sell their operations.
HB237 adds the Secretary of Labor, a position created after the establishment of GO Virginia, to the state board and reduces the local match so that funds to support these efforts can be more quickly deployed.
GO Virginia identifies and supports regional economic development opportunities. Successful projects include establishment of the Blue Ridge regional health sciences talent pipeline, the Alleghany Drone Zone, and numerous CTE workforce and continuing education training programs.
HB842 expands the availability of alternative public school transportation options for localities that choose to do so, creating efficiencies, expanding options for parents, decreasing barriers for students, and addressing the chronic bus driver shortage we continue to experience. This will be a great tool for parents and for rural school systems to save money should it become law.
HB844 places into State Code federal regulations related to drug violations and CDL training. Failure to conform to State Code would result in lost federal funding for the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. This federal program provides financial assistance to states to reduce the number and severity of crashes and hazardous materials incidents involving commercial motor vehicles.
HB845 creates efficiencies for the abandoned vehicle purchase process. Currently, DMV must contact other jurisdictions to obtain lienholder and owner information for abandoned vehicles. This process often takes up to six months. This bill allows for third-party databases to be used, significantly reducing purchase times and costs for the salvage industry.
HB1452 provides an exemption to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority in the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) related to the construction and maintenance of bridges and tunnels. This exemption is currently granted to VDOT and acknowledges that the USBC is not the most efficient tool by which to determine safety of these assets as they are constructed and maintained. The upshot is shorter construction timelines without sacrificing safety protocols. Rail is crucial to taking vehicular traffic off our roads and this bill will help enable this effort.
HB1505 seeks to level the playing field by preventing athletic organizations from limiting how Virginia’s institutions can choose to support their athletic programs and brings Virginia to parity with other states for recruitment and the use of Name Image and Likeness (NIL).
As always, if I can be of assistance to you, or you would like to share your position on legislation, please do not hesitate to contact me at DelTAustin@House.Virginia.gov or 804-698-1037.
Delegate Terry L. Austin
37th House District
