January 15th Newsletter

And we are back in session! Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn gaveled us in on Wednesday, starting what is called our “short” session. After some debate and procedural wrangling that I will not go into here, we approved a 30 day session that the Governor has said he will extend by 15-16 days to give us the same number of days (45-46) that we normally have for a short session. Even during that limited period of time, we will consider hundreds of bills, along with amendments to the budget (yes, the same budget that we just approved a few months ago in order to address the pandemic’s impacts on our revenues). I am looking forward to continuing the progress that we started with the 2020 session and doing all we can to make the Commonwealth a better place for all Virginians. 

I also 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 will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website.

Sincerely,

Rodney

New Information

2021 Legislative Session

Our 2021 legislative session began this Wednesday, January 13th. During the first few days, the House and the Senate passed rules to govern the legislative session. We also held our first committee meetings and got to work on our first set of legislation.  I am assigned to the committees on: Health, Welfare, and Institutions; Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources; and Finance. I also am the Chair for the Behavioral Health Subcommittee, and a member of the Finance Subcommittee #1, and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources. You can see a list of our upcoming meetings online here with links to the committee agenda and to sign up to provide public comment or live testimony. I encourage you to follow along with our legislative process and to reach out to my office via phone or email to express your thoughts on any bills  before the General Assembly.

This year House members were limited to only introducing seven bills due to the virtual nature of the session. Here are the bills that I have introduced and a brief description of each bill:

• HB2062 — Prohibits third party food delivery platforms, such as GrubHub, Doordash, and Uber Eats, from arranging for the delivery of an order from a restaurant without first obtaining an agreement with the restaurant expressly authorizing the food delivery platform to take orders and deliver food prepared by the restaurant. This bill will give restaurants greater control over the safe delivery of their product and strengthens the position of local restaurants in their partnerships with these platforms.

• HB2070 — Clarifies that community services boards may enter into contracts with private providers for delivery of mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already prevalent lack of access to mental health care. This bill encourages our community service boards to partner with private providers of mental health care to help meet their STEP-VA goals and provide much needed services to our communities.

• HB2148 — Establishes a permit-by-rule process under the Department of Environmental Quality for small renewable energy storage projects. These projects allow small solar projects to store the energy that they collect during the day in batteries for later use.

• HB2061 — Requires any health care provider in the Commonwealth that administers immunizations to participate in the Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS) and report patient immunizations to VIIS. Under current law, participation in VIIS is optional for authorized health care entities. This bill will help our Commonwealth better prevent the over/under immunizations of patients. Individuals are able to opt out of having immunization information reported to the VIIS by their health care provider.

• HB1976 — Broadens the responsibilities of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (VHWDA), which was established by the General Assembly to facilitate the development of a statewide health professions pipeline. The bill makes changes to the composition of the VHWDA board and adds “developing strategies to increase diversity in the health workforce by examining demographic data on race and ethnicity in training programs and health professional licensure and identifying ways to leverage technology to increase access to health workforce training and health care delivery” to the VHWDA’s mission.

• HB2092 — Requires background checks and central registry searches for contract staff providing direct care services for all DBHDS licensed services. This bill aligns these requirements with the requirements of other employed (non-contract) direct care staff.

• HB1943 — Prohibits the Charitable Gaming Board from promulgating regulations that prohibit the use of multiple video monitors or touch screens on an electronic pull tab device.

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Yesterday, Governor Northam held a press conference with members of his administration to provide updates on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution and guidance for schools reopening in Virginia. In response to the challenges and pace of the vaccine distribution across the country, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services encouraged states to start vaccinating people ages 65 and up, as well as those between the ages of 16-64 with underlying medical conditions in Phase 1b.

Phase 1b was originally only for certain frontline essential workers, those 75 and older, and people living in correctional facilities, homeless shelters and migrant labor camps. Virginia has accepted the federal recommendation to include adults 65 and older, and people age 16-64 with medical conditions that increase their risk of COVID-19 severity. This expansion means that about half of all Virginians are eligible for the vaccine under phase 1b. Dr. Danny Avula, recently appointed as the head of Virginia’s vaccine distribution said that phase 1b will require large, fixed-site vaccine clinics across the state.

The Richmond area health districts will move to Phase 1b of COVID-19 vaccinations Monday, January 18th. If you are in the following groups you will be eligible to receive the vaccine:

• Adults aged 65 and older.

• People 16-64 with certain conditions or disabilities that increases their risk of severe illness from COVID-19. See a list of conditions here.

• People living in correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and migrant labor camps.

If you are in phase 1b and would like to receive the COVID-19 vaccine please complete an interest form with the Richmond City Health District online here.  You can see more information on the COVID-19 vaccine and distribution in Virginia online at the Department of Health website.

School Reopening

In Thursday’s press conference, Governor Northam announced that school divisions should start making plans to reopen schools and bring students back into the classroom in person. The Virginia Department of Education and the Department of Health issued new interim guidelines on reopening Thursday afternoon. State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver and Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. James Lane also sent a letter to school divisions advising that “data increasingly suggest that school reopenings are unlikely to contribute significantly to community transmission when rates of community transmission are low and schools have infection prevention measures in place.” The recommendations also call on schools to prioritize instruction for more vulnerable students, including young learners, students with disabilities, and English language learners.

New Round of Paycheck Protection Program Loans

The coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress and approved in late December will add an additional $284 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Two previous rounds were given out last year from April to August, for a total of 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion.

The new round of funding is available to both first-time applicants and returning PPP borrowers. Eligible companies or non-profit organizations must generally have 500 or fewer workers and must certify that “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary” to support their continuing operations.

The Capital Region Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is available to assist companies and nonprofits with their application. See more information and register for business counseling online at https://capitalregionvasbdc.com/. The SBDC and Virginia Community Capital, a local Richmond bank, are offering live webinars to applicants to assist them in applying for PPP loans. See more information online here.

• First Time Applicants
  January 22nd —11:30 - 12:30 pm
  Register Here

• Returning Borrowers
  January 22nd —1:30 - 2:30 pm
  Register Here

State of the Commonwealth Address

On Wednesday, Governor Ralph Northam delivered his third State of the Commonwealth Address, an annual tradition in which the Governor presents remarks to members of the House and Senate, similar to the President’s State of the Union Address. This year, due to the virtual legislative session, the Governor gave his address to a mostly empty chamber, with legislative members joining virtually. You can watch the Governor’s speech online here and read his remarks online here.

The Governor recapped the challenges that we have faced over the past year and presented his plans to build a stronger future for our Commonwealth. His priorities include marijuana legalization, funding to speed up distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, the abolition of the death penalty, and investments in education including early childhood education, funding for more school counselors, and $500 million to help school divisions recover from potential loss of revenue from a decline in enrollment. He also highlighted his proposed budget amendments for the G3 program: get skilled, get a job, give back. The G3 program helps people get tuition-free job skills training in high-need fields through our community colleges, and provides the financial aid to help them do it. The Governor also has proposed $30 million more for financial aid at public colleges and universities across our Commonwealth, and an increase of the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grants for students at private institutions to $4,000.

Henrico Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Association Virtual Celebration

On Monday, January 18th we honor and celebrate the life of civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Henrico’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Commemoration Association will hold its 35th Commemorative Celebration honoring King and his legacy during a virtual event at 11:30 am.

The event will feature Congressman Donald McEachin as a keynote speaker and recognize recipients of the Lights of Hope and Distinguished Community Service awards, as well as the Keepers of the Dream scholarship. You can watch the event live on the organization’s Facebook and Youtube pages on Monday at 11:30 am.

Henrico County Valentine's Cards for Long-Term Care Residents

Henrico County is collecting homemade Valentine’s Day cards for the Spread the Love initiative sponsored by Henrico’s EngAGE program, which serves older county residents, their families and caregivers. Members of the public are encouraged to make handmade cards to help spread some Valentine's cheer to residents of long-term care facilities in the county. Completed cards can be mailed to:

Henrico EngAGE
Attn: Sara Morris
P.O. Box 90775
Henrico, VA 23273-0775

 Cards need to arrive by Friday, Feb. 5, to allow for distribution to long-term care facilities in time for Valentine’s Day on Sunday, Feb. 14. For details, contact Sara Morris at (804) 501-5065 or mor141@henrico.us.