Newsletter: General Assembly 2020 Special Session
So often these days, we seem to either prosper or fail based on how our technology is working. I leave it to your judgment as to whether all of your Zoom meetings leave you feeling prosperous, but I do appreciate the safety and convenience that the virtual medium has provided the legislature during the pandemic. Technology has also enabled a safer and more accessible voting process, as you can complete the voter registration application and absentee ballot requests online. When those services were unavailable because of a fiber optic cable cut on Tuesday—the final day to register to vote—we suddenly realized how much we have come to depend on the technology. Fortunately, the election related services are back online and a federal court approved a two day voter registration deadline extension.
Please take advantage of one of the many options available to vote this year, including no-excuse absentee voting in person or via an online ballot request. And may the technology be working for you.
I will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website. Please email my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov or call us at 804-698-1173 if you have any questions or need assistance.
Sincerely,
Rodney
New Information
General Assembly Special Session
We made tremendous progress this week in our special session on COVID-19 relief and criminal justice reforms. Here is a brief summary of the legislation passed by the General Assembly this week:
COVID-19 Relief
HB5050 — Authorizes the Governor, during a declared state of emergency due to a communicable disease of public health threat, to purchase and distribute PPE to private, nongovernmental entities.
HB5064 — Provides rent payment plan opportunities for tenants negatively impacted by COVID-19.
HB5068 — Prohibits the garnishment of stimulus relief checks.
Criminal Justice Reform
HB5049 — Demilitarizes police departments by prohibiting the acquisition and use of certain weapons and military equipment by law enforcement agencies.
HB5055 — Allows all localities to establish a law-enforcement oversight body and strengthens laws relating to the operations of civilian review boards.
HB5099 — Prohibits no-knock search warrants.
HB5104 — Strengthens the assessments and review of prior law-enforcement employment records required before hiring law enforcement officers.
HB5148 — Increases earned sentence credits.
We have also have made significant progress on the revision of our biennium budget. In April, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor worked with the legislature to freeze over $2 billion in new spending to ensure that we would have the necessary resources to combat the spread of the virus and mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic. We knew that we were going to have to make tough choices during this special session, as the pandemic has caused our expected revenues to fall by over $2 billion due to the strains on our state’s economy and drained tax revenues.
The House and Senate both passed separate versions of the budget, so a conference committee of six members of each chamber was created to negotiate an agreement between the two bills. A compromise was reached on Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm. House rules require that the budget agreement become publicly available at least 48 hours before a vote, so a floor session has been called for 5:30 pm tonight when we will vote on the approval of the budget. If the budget passes, it will then be sent to the Governor for his signature. The Governor has the opportunity to propose amendments to the budget, which are then either accepted or rejected by the House and Senate.
The budget compromise reached by members of the House and Senate prioritizes spending for education, health services, housing, and broadband infrastructure development, and also includes funding for criminal justice reform initiatives passed this special session. You can read a full version of the budget bill online here.
The budget also allocates the $3.1 billion in remaining federal Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) that Virginia received. CRF funds cannot be used to backfill revenue shortfalls, and must be for items directly related to the COVID-19 response. All CRF funds must be spent by December 30th of 2020. To maximize the benefit of CRF funds, the budget includes language that states that if by December 1st, it appears funds cannot be fully spent on a specific activity, amounts could be moved to one of the other specified purposes. If, as of December 18th, additional unspent amounts remain, all remaining funds will be transferred to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
It is important to note that all of the budgetary decisions made during this special session are still temporary and short-term, triggered by the COVID-19 recession. The regular session in January 2021 will present another opportunity to reassess the economic climate and make further strides toward achieving our priorities.
Mid-Atlantic Wind Training Alliance
This week Governor Northam announced the formation of Virginia’s first offshore and onshore wind workforce training collaborative, the Mid-Atlantic Wind Training Alliance. The program will offer industry required certifications that are critical to the operations and long-term maintenance of wind projects.
The New College Institute, located in Martinsville, will serve as the host institution and is partnering with Centura College and the Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy to bring courses certified by the Global Wind Organization and National Center for Construction, Education, and Research for wind technician training to support onshore and offshore wind projects in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region.
As a board member of the New College Institute and a champion for our environment, I am thrilled to see our commonwealth invest in building a strong wind energy workforce that will bring new jobs and clean, renewable, energy to Virginia. You can read more information on the Mid-Atlantic Wind Training Alliance online at vaoffshorewind.org/workforce.
Governor Northam Authorizes Hazard Pay for Home Health Workers
Yesterday Governor Northam announced $73 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to provide hazard pay to home health personal care attendants who served high-risk populations during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A one-time, pre-tax payment of $1,500 will be available to an estimated 43,500 home health care workers who provide personal care and who served Medicaid members between March 12th and June 30th, 2020. The Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), which oversees Virginia’s Medicaid program, will work with providers over the coming weeks to administer the payments to eligible workers.
Our home health care workers, the majority of which are women and women of color, have been instrumental to our fight against the COVID-19 virus. They have worked to provide critical care, while facing significant personal risk of infection, especially in the early days of this pandemic. This hazard payment recognizes their essential work and is a way for our Commonwealth to express how much we value their commitment to serving their patients and communities. You can read more information on the announcement online here.
Voting Information
This Tuesday, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) reported that a fiber line had been cut by a road crew resulting in a loss of internet connectivity for many state agencies, including the Department of Elections. As a result, individuals were not able to register to vote online for much of the day on Tuesday, which was the deadline to register to vote for the November election.
The state board of elections and the Department of Elections supported a petition filed by the New Virginia Majority Education Fund and other groups to extend the deadline by 48 hours. A federal judge granted the request, extending the deadline to midnight on Thursday, October 15th. You can read more information on the extension online here.
Thanks to legislation passed by the General Assembly last session you no longer need an excuse to vote absentee by mail or absentee in-person. If you would like to vote absentee in-person, simply visit your local registrar’s office with a valid form of identification. Here are the locations and times to vote absentee in-person in Henrico County:
Western Government Center
4301 E Parham Rd
Richmond, VA 23228
Monday - Friday — 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday — 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Eastern Government Center
3820 Nine Mile Rd
Richmond, VA 23223
Monday - Friday — 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday — 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
If you are voting by mail, I highly encourage you to track the status of your ballot online via the Department of Elections Citizen Portal. Click “Check registration status” and enter in your voting information to see the status of your mail-in ballot. The deadline to request an absentee ballot to be mailed to you is Friday, October 23rd at 5:00 pm.
For more information on requesting a mailed absentee ballot, or voting absentee in-person please visit the Department of Elections website. If you have any questions about voting, please do not hesitate to contact my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov.
HCPS Free Meal Distribution
Henrico County Public Schools will continue to provide free meals to all students through the end of the 2020-21 school year, thanks to an extension of federal food aid designed to offer help during the coronavirus pandemic. These meal programs were originally extended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the end of the calendar year, however, last Friday the USDA announced that the programs would continue until the end of the 2020-2021 school year after Congress passed funding for the measure. You can read more information on the meal distribution online here. Here are a few important features of the meal program:
Free meals are available to any child 18 or younger at all HCPS school locations and identified bus stops.
Parents and guardians can pick up meals at any HCPS location regardless of where their student is enrolled.
Parents and guardians do not need to provide student names or I.D. numbers to receive meals.
Free COVID-19 Testing
The Henrico County Health District is offering free COVID-19 drive-through testing at two separate community events on October 22nd and 23rd.
Thursday, October 22nd
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Saint Paul’s Baptist Church North
4247 Creighton Road
Henrico, VA 23233
Friday, October 23rd
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Eastern Henrico Health Department
1400 North Laburnum Avenue
Henrico, VA 23233
To register for either event, call the COVID-19 hotline at (804) 205-3501 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Patients will be notified of their results in 3 to 5 business days. If a notification is not received after 5 business days, call the Test Results Hotline at (804) 486-2107.
Henrico PAL Turkey Giveaway
The Henrico Police Athletic League (PAL) is seeking donations and volunteers for their 14th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway. The organization will deliver more than 250 turkeys to local families in need, as identified by several Henrico agencies.
If you would like to volunteer to deliver turkeys, please email info@henricopal.org by November 12th. To help the Henrico PAL purchase meals, please visit henricopal.org to make a tax-deductible donation. You can also donate by mailing a check or money order to:
Henrico Police Athletic League
Attn: Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway
8655 Staples Mill Road
Henrico, VA 23228
