LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

2021 Special Session below the GA priorities
See our one page summary here

Criminal Justice Reform

  • Abolish the Death Penalty in Virginia
  • SB 1165– Senator Scott Surovell- PASSED! Will become law July 1, 2021
  • HB 2263– Delegate Mike Mullin- PASSED! Will become law July 1, 2021

Economic Justice

  • Paid Sick Days for Essential Workers – Establish a standard of 5 paid sick days for full-time “essential” employees in Virginia
  • HB 2137– Delegate Elizabeth Guzman- PASSED! with a substitute. Will become law July 1, 2021

Environmental Justice

  • Water is a Human Right– support a proclamation outlining the importance of clean, safe, affordable drinking water as a right for all residents of the Commonwealth
  • HJ 538– Delegate Lashrecse Aird- RESOLUTION PASSED!
  • Equitably Modernize Public Transit– support a study on public transit overhaul
  • HJ 542– Delegate Delores McQuinn- RESOLUTION PASSED!
  • Environmental Justice Act– support improvements to groundbreaking legislation passed in 2020
  • HB 2074– Delegate Shelly Simonds- passed the House! Left in conference committee
  • SB 1318– Senator Ghazala Hashmi- passed the  Senate! Left in conference committee

Farm Worker Justice

  • Access to the Minimum Wage– many farmworkers in Virginia are not subject to federal or state minimum wage laws leading to some to be paid under $5/hour.
  • HB 1786– Delegate Jeion Ward- passed the House! Left in Senate Commerce & Labor
  • Heat Stress– Create standards for outdoor workers including water breaks and shade access on extremely hot days
  • HB 1785– Delegate Jeion Ward- stricken by patron, non-legislative approach agreed to
  • SB 1358– Senator Ghazala Hashmi- stricken by patron, non-legislative approach agreed to

Health Equity

  • Prenatal Care for All Mothers – Support two companion budget amendments to extend Medicaid/FAMIS MOMS prenatal care to undocumented women who meet all other non-immigration eligibility criteria
  • HB 1800 Item 313 #16h (Medicaid program cost decrease) – Delegate Elizabeth Guzman
  • HB 1800 Item 312 #1h (FAMIS program revenue increase) – Delegate Elizabeth Guzman
  • SB 1100  Item 312 #1s – Senator Jennifer McClellan
  • BUDGET AMENDMENT PASSED! Included in the final budget!

Additional Legislation We Support (as of 1/29/21)

Climate Justice

  • HB 2292: Del. Joshua Cole- Fossil Fuel Construction moratorium

Energy Burden

  • SB 1224: Sen. Boysko- Energy Efficiency in Building Codes
  • SB 1292: Sen. McClellan- requires 100% overcharging refunds
  • HB 1835: Del. Subramanyam- Removes limits on rate reductions for energy customers
  • HB 1914: Del. Helmer- Eliminates roadblocks for electricity rate cuts
  • HB 1984: Del. Hudson- Triennial Review methodology
  • HB 2049: Del. Bourne- Eliminates customer reinvestment credit offset
  • HB 2200: Del. Jones- Restores SCC authority to balance interest of Utility & Customer
  • HB 2160: Del. Tran- prevents utilities from keeping overcharges as bonuses

Health Equity

  • HB 2124: Del. Lopez- Deems COVID Vaccine, Testing, & Treatment to be Emergency Services
  • HJ 537: Del. Aird- Recognizes that Racism is a public health crisis
  • HB 1820: Del. Helmer- Allows TANF & Food Stamp recipients to attend post-secondary school in lieu of work/training
  • HB 2065: Del. McQuinn- Establishes a Produce Rx pilot program

Housing Justice

  • HB 2014: Del. Price- Expand right of redemption and improve notice to tenants
  • HB 1889: Del. Price- Gives families time to pay rent and stay housed
  • HB 1900: Del. Hudson- Stops unlawful evictions
  • SB 1215: Sen. Ebbin- Stops unlawful evictions
  • HB 2161: Del. Tran- Strengthens protections for families serving in the military
  • SB 1410: Sen. Bell- Strengthens protections for families serving in the military
  • HB 1981: Del. Carr- Protect vulnerable tenants during a pandemic

Immigration Justice

  • SB 1387: Sen. Boysko- Makes all in-state tuition eligible students eligible for financial aid
  • HB 2123: Del. Lopez- Makes all in-state tuition eligible students eligible for financial aid
  • HB 2138: Del. Guzman- Creates non-driver ID cards for immigrants in Virginia
  • HB 2163: Del. Tran- Increases data protection for Drivers Privilege Card holders

Justice System Reform

  • HB 1945: Del. Jenkins- Establishes data reporting standards on bail
  • HB 1990: Del. Aird- Empowers Justice/Judiciary committee chairs to compel JLARC to study racial and ethnic impact of criminal justice reform legislation
  • HB 2110: Del. Herring- Pretrial data collection standards
  • HB 2286: Del. Williams Graves- Makes various changes to provisions regarding bail hearings
  • SB 1266: Sen. Deeds- Eliminates provisions regarding rebuttal assumptions against being admitted to bail
  • SB 1301: Sen. Morrissey- Prohibits use of solitary confinement
  • SB 1391: Sen. Lucas- Pretrial data collection standards

Voting Rights

  • HB 1890: Del. Price- Prohibits discrimination in voting and elections administration

Worker Justice

  • HB 1814: Del. Krizek- Garnishment of Wages protection, updated calculation
  • HB 1864: Del. Price- Adds Domestic Workers to Virginia Human Rights Act
  • HB 2032: Del. Gooditis- Provides employee protections for domestic workers
  • SB 1310: Sen. McClellan- Provides employee protections for domestic workers

Legislation We OPPOSE!!! (as of 1/29/21)

  • HB 1954: Del. Avoli- Removes Fire & EMS workers from Minimum Wage code
  • HB 2151: Del. Les Adams- weakens no-knock warrant regulations
  • HB 2152– Del. Les Adams- Creates unnecessary burdens on bail system, leading to additional incarceration
  • HB 2270: Del. Marshall- Delays minimum wage increase from May 1, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022
  • SB 1308: Sen. DeSteph- makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to obstruct traffic
  • SB 1164: Sen. Hanger- Loosens recycling regulations
  • HB 2173: Del. Plum- Loosens recycling regulations


2021 SPECIAL SESSION LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Virginia’s General Assembly will determine how federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act will be spent in Virginia. VICPP advocates spending the money focused on priorities for assisting those most hurt by the pandemic and supporting infrastructure investment that can create more equitable systems for the long haul for low-income and marginalized communities.

We reviewed hundreds of proposals from organizations and Virginia agencies – almost all the proposals were good ones. Some of our priorities, such as rental assistance, have dedicated support from the federal government. There are dedicated pots of money for schools, health and pandemic response, childcare/head start, rental and mortgage assistance, colleges and universities, and others. Thus, our recommendations focus on the $4.3 billion in revenue that can be allocated for a variety of purposes. VICPP’s priorities are basic human needs and creating infrastructures, such as building affordable housing and broadband, for reducing inequality.


Our priorities are:

Housing and Utilities: Building affordable housing, legal assistance to prevent evictions, and clearing the debt arrears on utilities accumulated during the pandemic.

Unemployment: Virginia’s unemployment “system” has been a disaster. The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) has been underfunded for decades and needed IT investments delayed. Consequently, when the pandemic hit, the agency was overwhelmed, and unemployed Virginians bore the brunt of this historic underfunding. VICPP supports compensating those hurt by the agency’s inaction and creating an infrastructure that can support unemployed workers for the future.

Enhancing Health Equity, specifically in the following areas:

Food: VICPP supports a proposal from the Virginia Federation of Food Banks to strengthen the federation’s infrastructure and expansion of access to fresh vegetables and fruits through the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program.

Broadband: We learned during the pandemic how vital it is for school children, working parents, and everyone to have affordable broadband access. VICPP is supporting three proposals around expansion focused on low-income families.

Outreach for the Child Tax Credit: VICPP also supports a modest proposal to invest in outreach to low-income families about the child tax credit. Many of the families that need this tax credit the most have incomes so low that they don’t file income taxes. This outreach would encourage them to sign up for the tax credit and help us reduce child poverty in Virginia.

 

Click HERE to send emails to your legislators urging support for these priorities.