February 26th Newsletter
In these waning hours of the legislative session, our focus is on reaching an agreement with our Senate colleagues on bill amendments and approving the budget. I am very pleased that bills to safely reopen our schools, grant small businesses more tax relief, and provide critical environmental protections are on their way to Governor Northam for his signature. I also am very much looking forward to voting on Saturday evening to approve budget amendments that will give teachers and state employees a much-needed five percent pay increase. You can see more details about session bills online here and budget amendments online here.
On Thursday, I spoke on the House floor regarding what I see as an “evolution of thought” in Virginia. It was not that long ago that there was bi-partisan opposition in Virginia to repealing the death penalty, legalizing marijuana, and recognizing the fundamental right of all Virginians to marry. It is remarkable to think that in recent days the General Assembly has voted to make all of those things happen. There has been a similar evolution of thought on the importance of early childhood education, as there now is strong bipartisan support for expanding early childhood education to at-risk 3-4-year-olds. My remarks emphasized the critical importance of early childhood education - children who start Kindergarten after a robust pre-k program are much more likely to succeed than those who do not. And I offered my support for the proposal that would help to fund the expansion of earlier childhood education using some of the state revenues from the marijuana industry that Virginia soon will be regulating. You can see my floor remarks online here.
Public input is essential to the law-making processes and I highly value all the feedback on legislation I receive from constituents. As always, I encourage you to contact me now and throughout the session: please email my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov or call us at 804-698-1073. I also will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website.
Sincerely,
Rodney
New Information
2021 General Assembly Session and Upcoming Town Hall
On Monday the House and Senate will hold our final floor session before we adjourn sine die from the 2021 session. It has been a unique session as the House has met virtually to conduct all business and despite the constraints of time and limits on bill introduction, we have passed several historic bills, including the abolition of the death penalty, which is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. To help breakdown the biggest news from the 2021 session, I’m holding a Town Hall on Tuesday, March 9th, to answer any questions you may have and chat with the constituents of the 73rd district. The event will be held virtually, via Zoom, and you can register online at: bit.ly/willetttownhall.
RSVP HERE
Monday, March 9th, 7:00 pm
I am thrilled to announce that all seven of the bills that I introduced this session have passed the House and Senate and will be sent to the Governor for his signature. See below for a bill matrix with the latest updates on my legislation. You can see more information on all my legislation online here.
Easing of Certain COVID-19 Mitigation Measures
In a press conference on Wednesday, Governor Northam announced the easing of certain public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a significant decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the Commonwealth, largely due to a rise in vaccinations, which has allowed us to gradually ease public health restrictions. The changes made to Executive Order Seventy-Two will go into effect this Monday, March 1st:
Social gatherings: The maximum number of individuals permitted in a social gathering will increase from 10 to 25 people for outdoor settings, while remaining at 10 persons for indoor settings.
Entertainment venues: Outdoor entertainment and public amusement venues will be able to operate with up to 1,000 individuals or at 30 percent capacity, whichever is lower. If current trends continue, these venues may be able to operate at 30 percent capacity with no cap on the number of people permitted to attend starting in April. Indoor entertainment and public amusement venues must continue to operate at 30 percent capacity with a cap of 250 people. All entertainment venues were previously limited to a maximum of 250 individuals.
Dining establishments: The on-site sale, consumption, and possession of alcohol will be permitted until midnight, extended from 10:00 p.m. All restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, and tasting rooms still must be closed between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
Overnight summer camps: As of May 1, overnight summer camps will be able to open with strict mitigation measures in place. Registration can begin now.
The below graphic helps illustrate the easing of certain restrictions, comparing the current mitigation measures and the changes implemented on Monday, March 1.
In his press conference the Governor described the current situation as “a dangerous, but very hopeful moment.” It has been almost a full year since the first case of COVID-19 was identified in Virginia on March 9th, 2020. Almost 8,000 Virginians have died of COVID-19 and nearly 600,000 have contracted the virus. We all have made tremendous sacrifices to mitigate the spread of this virus and keep our communities safe. I support the Governor’s decision to slowly roll back certain restrictions as our cases decline and vaccinations increase, but it is crucial that we continue to socially distance, wash our hands, and wear a mask to prevent another spike of cases.
The Governor also reported that if current trends in cases and vaccination continue, we can potentially lift additional restrictions to gradually resume certain recreational activities and further reopen sectors of our economy.
COVID-19 Vaccine Progress
In his press conference on Wednesday, Governor Northam announced that several additional pharmacies across the state will soon begin distributing COVID-19 vaccines. As part of a federal retail pharmacy program, 140 pharmacy locations in Virginia are now receiving a total of 52,000 new first doses per week beyond Virginia’s normal allocation. Participating locations include CVS, Food City, Giant, Kroger/Harris Teeter, Safeway, Walgreens, Walmart, and multiple independent community pharmacies. The Commonwealth is working with these pharmacies to ensure that as many appointments as possible are offered first to people age 65 and older who are currently on local health district waitlists, rather than accepting new signups from the general public. Unfortunately, CVS has been unable to find a way to do this within the technical limits of their appointment system. Anyone 65 or older can check cvs.com regularly as appointments become available.
The Vaccine Summary Dashboard continues to show Virginia’s significant progress in vaccinations, with more than 1.6 million doses administered. Although last week’s severe winter weather delayed vaccine shipments to Virginia, more than 9 in 10 of available first doses have been administered.
The statewide vaccine pre-registration system at vaccinate.virginia.gov has received more than 518,000 pre-registrations since its launch on February 15. Including individuals who pre-registered through local health districts in the past, the new system now includes nearly 1.7 million residents and essential workers. All individuals who have previously filled out a survey or form or signed up for a waitlist to be vaccinated through their local health district have been automatically imported into the new statewide system and do not need to pre-register again.
The new central Vaccinate Virginia phone number, 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-829-4682), has received more than 115,000 calls so far, and is available seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Service is available immediately in English and Spanish, with real-time interpreter services available in any of more than 100 languages as needed. Anyone with vaccination questions should call 877-VAX-IN-VA rather than their local health district.
Based on our population, Virginia is now receiving approximately 161,000 doses per week from the federal government. There are still simply not enough doses available yet for everyone who is eligible to receive them. Virginia is not likely to meet the demand for Phase 1b until March or April. Unfortunately, it may be weeks or longer before vaccination appointments become available for those who have pre-registered. Phase 1b encompasses approximately 50% of all Virginians, so please continue to be patient and trust that our health departments are working to get this vaccine into arms as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns you can always contact my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov.
Additional Online DMV Services
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is now offering even more convenient online service options for customers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can now skip a trip to the DMV and instead visit dmvNOW.com to replace their commercial driver’s license (CDL), driver’s license learner’s permit, driver privilege card or learner’s permit, or limited duration driver’s license, permit, or CDL. Online credential replacements are only available to customers age 18 and older. These transactions previously required an in-person visit.
Credentials ordered online are mailed to the applicant. Please note, the U.S. Postal Service advises it is experiencing unprecedented volume increases and limited employee availability due to the impacts of COVID-19; therefore, the delivery time for DMV materials may be delayed.
Visit dmv.virginia.gov/onlineServices/ to access these online services. If you still need to visit the DMV in person, you can do so by scheduling an appointment at dmvNOW.com/appt. If you face any difficulty in scheduling an appointment or using online services, please contact my office at delrwillett@house.virginina.gov and a member of my staff will be happy to assist you.
2021 Election Petition Signatures
You may have seen my earlier email from this week on our online ballot petition signatures. In typical years, my team and I would grab clipboards and go door to door to meet voters in the 73rd district and collect signatures. This year to limit the spread of COVID-19, we held a drive-thru petition signature event this past weekend. Many thanks to those of you who drove up to sign my petition. You can now also sign our petition online!
In addition to members of the General Assembly, candidates for statewide offices on the ballot this year like Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General are also collecting signatures to qualify for the Democratic party ballot. Signing a petition is not an endorsement of a candidate or a pledge to vote for them, it just helps candidates qualify for the ballot.
If you are registered to vote in the 73rd District please sign my petition form online here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact jenner@rodwillett.com.
