Week #6, Feb. 15-20, 2021
Like many of you during this week, I struggled through the major winter storm without power for several days. For me, this was especially challenging since I was legislating virtually from home, running three computers and other equipment from a tangle of cords hooked to a generator. I was grateful for the warmth provided by my fireplaces. The experience reminded me of my HB2246, which I got passed in 2015, to save use of our woodstoves and other wood heaters and fireplaces when the EPA and Virginia were attempting to regulate and end their usage.
This week, my HB2024 passed the Senate and is on its way to the governor. HB2024 allows the washed-out Bob White Covered Bridge in Patrick County to be reconstructed as a replica for tourism purposes, using national standards for covered and pedestrian bridges in lieu of modern Virginia construction standards for vehicular traffic bridges.
The House’s challenge this week was to complete all subcommittee and committee meetings, held virtually of course, plus we had to read, analyze and vote on hundreds of Senate bills and House bills with Senate Amendments. Before and during Session this year, the top priority issues I heard about from you is the failure of the governor and his team to roll-out the vaccine and the essential need to get children back into school classrooms five days a week for fulltime regular instruction with perhaps a parental opt-out option for virtual school. This week the Senate sent the House a bill to do just that, not to attend school classes virtually in the classroom with someone monitoring classes inside the classroom. The House Democrats, apparently under pressure from the teacher’s unions, did not like the bill and substituted language for a hybrid approach that simply cements in the current approach, even allowing only one day per month in person in the classroom in order to meet the in-person requirement. That is ridiculous! The full House Education Committee will take up the House substitute next week, so stay tuned.
My position is we should follow the CDC and The American Academy of Pediatrics direction that schools can and should be reopened, certainly no later than by the start of fall semester. The governor and his Covid team did convert to a new computer system for vaccine roll-out management this week. We’ve been told that if you have already signed up, your data was imported into the new system; however, I recommend you verify that by checking into the new system. Still, the new system does not contain information about appointments or for how long the wait list is. Roughly, the instructions translate to, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you!” Good luck with that.
Legislators’ phones continue to ring with unemployed workers seeking information about obtaining unemployment benefits. The VEC remains choked processing claims. Constituents also learned about VEC paying out $40M to unqualified incarcerated people. This shows total incompetence, which cannot be accepted. House Republicans are working to find out how this happened and who was responsible.
Other bills of considerable interest included:
HB1935 Tax Conformity. We always pass a conformity to federal tax bill around mid-January, so you or your tax preparer can start filing Virginia Tax forms (for 2020, in this case). Now past mid-February, the Democrats in the House and Senate are still arguing over how much to tax small businesses that received PPE loans in order to increase Virginia tax revenue.
HB2290 – Misdemeanor or petit larceny, defined as theft under $1000, mandating jail sentences be repealed. Previously, jail sentences were mandatory for second and subsequent convictions. Translation: Sticky fingers will get stickier, more shoplifting and personal thefts will increase. Every Republican in the General Assembly voted NO on this bill.
HB1936 – Reduces penalties across the board for robberies. Translation: Currently, robbery is a five year or more sentence. Every Republican in the General Assembly voted NO.
SB1164 – Advanced recycling; new technology to recycle Styrofoam containers used for food and liquids. The House version (HB2173) failed due to House Democrats’ apparent desire to outlaw all plastics. Opportunity exists to get these new types of recycling plants into Virginia, which would create jobs, solve a problem. We will see next week what happens.
HB2262 – Bicycles. Allows bicycles to be ridden abreast on highways; drivers must switch lanes if less than 3’ distance possible. Translation: Safety will be an issue, especially on winding and rural roads, plus driver frustrations when they cannot safely pass bicycles; scenario of riding abreast in a curve, meeting an oncoming car, truck or tractor with no way to move over yellow line; will result in greater injuries and deaths.
SB1341 – Permit self-employed Realtors to establish group health insurance plan meeting all federal and state regulations. Bill was killed in House Subcommittee. Translation: No Democrat help to reduce health insurance costs; move to state-run universal health care system.
Next week we will take up at least two more bills that establish major governmental programs and hide the costs by placing the cost on your electric bills. These are the electric bus program bill wherein the power company provides electric buses to school divisions and the bill to subsidize electric bills for people whose income is less than 200% of the penalty level.
Reach me by email at DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov or call my District office a
