To the Constituents of the 37th House District:
The General Assembly concluded its 2024 Regular Session this past Saturday, March 9. As with last week, the main work of the General Assembly focused on bills in conference. With more than 2,200 bills introduced, and a Democrat majority in both chambers, there will likely be numerous vetoes and amendments passed down by the governor for bills that infringe on our Second Amendment rights, increase the cost of living, overburden small business, and limit teachers’ ability to provide a safe environment in the classroom.
The House and Senate will then consider the proposed changes during the one-day Reconvened Session in April. All bills, including the budget, are a work in progress until the governor signs them, and I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues to ensure that they reflect our shared conservative values and meet the needs of our district and region.
Unfortunately, some bills will not even make it to the governor for consideration. One example is SB444, a widely supported piece of legislation that would have given school officials more information about students who were coming out of the legal system and returning to the classroom. Having passed unanimously out of the Senate, the bill made it to the House floor but was re-referred to committee before a vote could be recorded. The reason given to support the motion that effectively killed the bill was to protect student privacy. When educators are prevented from having relevant information necessary to keep other students safe, it’s not protecting privacy, it’s disregarding school safety.
Another bill, SB28 was one of the simpler pieces of legislation to be considered by the House this session, and its one-sentence text is self-explanatory: “Each school board may develop and implement a policy to prohibit the possession or use of cellphones and other handheld communication devices during regular school hours.” The need for such legislation is clear.
Numerous studies have shown that access to cell phones hurts academic performance. Research as early as 2013 determined that “students who were not using their mobile phones wrote down 62 percent more information in their notes, took more detailed notes, were able to recall more detailed information from the lecture, and scored a full letter grade and a half higher on a multiple-choice test…” Inexplicably, House Democrats voted to send SB28 back to committee to “carry it over” to 2025, killing it for the year. The bill had no mandates or costs, and simply allowed school boards to set a policy governing the use of phones in the classroom if they so desired.
As I mentioned last week, the makeup of the General Assembly means that the budget is not one that Republicans are completely satisfied with. There are certainly items that would not be prioritized by me or my colleagues in the minority, including a decrease in funding for Operation Ceasefire, a data-driven gun violence reduction plan that does not infringe on constitutional rights. Though the budget includes $20 million over the biennium for this grant program, it is still a reduction of $17 million from the introduced budget. Unfortunately, the School Resource Officer grant program received a similar reduction in appropriations.
That being said, there are some budget items that will benefit our region. This includes language allowing for the north and southbound improvements on Interstate 81 near Salem to be performed simultaneously. Originally planned to be completed separately, conducting both projects in parallel will both expedite completion and save an estimated $70 million. For local school divisions there is a $250 million loan fund to help finance new school construction. There are also major investments in early childhood education and childcare programs to address what has become a workforce issue for families dealing with a lack of options.
As for my bills, I am pleased to report that HB1505 passed on the final day of Session. This bill will level the playing field for Virginia’s college sports when it comes to recruiting student athletes by codifying policies that are currently giving other states an advantage for their sports programs. HB843 was signed by the governor on March 8 and will provide much needed funding for the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington once it goes into effect on July 1. The rest of my bills now await the governor’s signature.
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
