February 11th Newsletter
As our committees have been wrapping up our work on House bills this week, the floor sessions are ramping up into longer and longer meetings: crossover is upon us! These are the days that we as legislators most appreciate the support of our legislative assistants, session aides, and interns. I am fortunate to have a great team who spends their days, and many nights as well, monitoring hundreds of bills and preparing me to present my legislation. That preparation includes meeting with interest groups who are weighing in on bills and potentially testifying in our committee hearings. Meanwhile, my team also is responding to dozens, actually more like hundreds, of constituent emails and phone calls that we receive in support of or opposition to pending bills.
In the thick of this rush into crossover, we still try to keep this job fun. We took a few minutes on Thursday to join a surprise birthday party for my House colleague Elizabeth Guzman. And our office area is festooned with decorations for Valentine’s Day — the one celebratory holiday that falls during session. I extend an invitation to all of you to check out the decoration and the truly special Valentine's Day cards on my office door — did Speaker Gilbert really send me that heart card?
If you have any questions or need assistance with a state agency, please contact my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov or phone at 804-698-1073, and a member of my staff will be happy to assist you. I also will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website. Please stay well and stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Rodney
New Information
2022 Legislative Session Week 5
It has been a long week at the General Assembly! We are over halfway through the 2022 legislative session, and the House is working hard to finalize work on over 1,300 pieces of legislation introduced this year. Our deadline to finish work on all legislation introduced in the House (besides the biennium budget) is Tuesday night. Each chamber will then transition to only hearing legislation that has passed the opposite chamber.
I’m sure many of you have been following the latest news from the General Assembly regarding mask use in public schools. This week the Senate passed SB739 with a floor amendment that would allow parents of children in public schools to elect that their child not wear a mask. The bill was immediately sent to the House and was reported from the Education Committee this morning on a vote of 12Y-10N. Governor Youngkin released a statement indicating his support and intention to sign the bill should it advance to his desk. Current law grants local school boards with the authority to establish division wide policies on mask use. Should SB739 become law, school boards would no longer have that authority, as parents would be allowed to opt their children out of any mask policy.
I’m looking forward to the day when COVID-19 mitigation measures can be relaxed, however, I support the current law that allows our local representatives to set policies that best fit the needs of our local communities. The Henrico School Board set guidelines this week for the transition away from a mask requirement that are focused on our locality reaching important public health metrics, including vaccination rates and testing positive rates. See more information in the section below.
This week I had the opportunity to present my remaining proposed legislation that had not yet been heard in committee. I’m disappointed that my bill HB364, which would have required regional planning commissions to include climate resilience as part of their strategic plans, was laid on the table in Counties Cities and Towns Subcommittee #2. In Virginia, the impacts of climate change will vary significantly across regions due to differences in topography. HB364 was intended to ensure that all areas of the Commonwealth are prepared and able to mitigate impacts from climate change.
I also presented HB388 in the House Committee on Health, Welfare, and Institutions (HWI) this week. This is a piece of legislation I developed with NAMI Virginia (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and Virginians whose loved ones were hospitalized in one of our state psychiatric hospitals during parts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like all health care providers, our state psychiatric facilities were forced to restrict visitation options for patients to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Family members worked with hospital directors to establish a process for virtual visitations through video conferencing equipment like Zoom, Webex, or Google Meet. This bill would make virtual visitations a permanent option for patients at our state psychiatric facilities. I’m pleased to report that it was unanimously reported from our HWI and Appropriations Committees this week, and will soon head to the House floor.
See the below bill matrix for an update on my proposed legislation. You can see the full version of all of my bills online here, and my budget amendments online here.
Henrico School Board sets guidelines about when mask requirement will end
On Thursday, the Henrico County School Board voted unanimously to set guidelines governing when the school division will remove its mandatory mask policy for students. The Board established a four-metric plan that includes three standards that have already been met:
A minimum 70% vaccination rate in the county (Henrico’s reached that level in January and is currently 72.2%);
The mitigation of student outbreaks at the school level, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, which has been ongoing throughout the pandemic;
Having COVID-19 testing available in schools, a standard that was met Thursday when the school system implemented its test-to-stay program.
The fourth metric, which has not yet been reached, requires the county’s COVID transmission rate to be less than 100 new cases per 100,000 people for two weeks in a row and requires a positivity rate among PCR testing encounters must remain below 10% for two straight weeks (it’s currently just more than 16%).
The metrics for removing mask rules were developed by the Henrico County Public Schools’ division leadership team. The board voted to take away its own authority to end the mask mandate and put it in the hands of Superintendent Amy Cashwell, who will do so when the county reaches the last metric.
Should SB739, a bill that allows parents of children in public schools to elect that their children not wear masks in school, pass the General Assembly and be signed by the Governor, the new state law would supersede the current plan from Henrico County.
Henrico Schools, Henrico Health District, partner to offer series of COVID-19 vaccination clinics
A new series of free COVID-19 vaccination clinics in February and March will provide opportunities for children ages 5 or older to be immunized. Advanced registration is not required. The clinics will provide doses of the two-part vaccine series, as well as boosters to those who completed their initial series at least five months ago. Children 5 to 11 will receive the Pfizer vaccine; the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines will be available for those who are eligible. Clinics will be held at sites that host after-school programs, but each event is open to the general public.
Children and teens under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to receive vaccines. The clinics are being organized by the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts in conjunction with Henrico County Public Schools and its partners that provide after-school programs: the YMCA, the Henrico Education Foundation and the Henrico Police Athletic League, or PAL.
All clinics will be hosted from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and scheduled three weeks apart at the same locations (for first and second doses, with boosters available on all dates). Dates and locations are:
Feb. 10 and March 4 (Pinchbeck Elementary School, 1275 Gaskins Road)
Feb. 21 and March 14 (Skipwith Elementary School, 2401 Skipwith Road)
Feb. 22 and March 15 (Greenwood Elementary School, 10960 Greenwood Road)
Feb. 28 and March 21 (Crestview Elementary School)
Mar. 8 and 29 (Springfield Park Elementary School, 4301 Fort McHenry Parkway)
Mar. 9 and 30 (Gayton Elementary School, 12481 Church Road)
Mar. 10 and 31 (Northside YMCA, 4207 Old Brook Road)
Mar. 10 and 31 (Chickahominy YMCA, 5401 Whiteside Road)
Mobile COVID-19 testing to begin at several Henrico, Richmond locations
Following a couple of weeks of lower demand for COVID-19 testing at the Richmond Raceway Community Testing Center (CTC), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) are transitioning the CTC into a mobile model. This change will increase RHHD’s ability to offer COVID-19 tests in a variety of locations and settings.
The last day for testing at the Richmond Raceway CTC was on Tuesday, February 8. Mobile events will begin later this week and a new schedule will be posted on the RHHD website in the coming days. The new mobile events will supplement community-based testing events held by RHHD and other local health districts in the area. The mobile model will continue to be operated by VDH contractor Ashbritt-IEM. Visit www.rchd.com or call 804-205-3501 to find a COVID-19 testing clinic near you.
Sorensen Institute's High School Leaders Program (HSLP) now accepting applications
The Sorensen Institute at the University of Virginia is now accepting applications for its High School Leaders Program. The Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership is a non-partisan leadership training program designed to strengthen and enhance the quality of government at all levels throughout Virginia.
The High School Leaders Program (HSLP) gives students the practical skills and political knowledge to become effective advocates in their communities and schools. Participants engage in substantive debate about the public policy challenges facing the Commonwealth and interact with Virginia's political and business leaders. The two-week HSLP is held each summer on grounds at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Students who successfully complete the program receive three hours of college credit from the University of Virginia. The program features a Virginia-focused, multidisciplinary curriculum with three main goals:
To prepare future leaders for ethical and responsible citizenship and public service in the Commonwealth
To connect Virginia's youth leaders from different backgrounds and philosophies with each other and with current leaders in the government, business, and non-profit sectors.
To energize our democratic system of government by promoting civic engagement among youth leaders.
Applications for the 2022 High School Leaders Program must be submitted by midnight on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022. See more information on the program online here.
