General Assembly short session to get underway Wednesday

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The part-time, politically divided Virginia General Assembly is set to convene today in Richmond for its annual sprint of a legislative session.

Members of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and Democratic-held Senate will meet for at least 30 days to debate issues ranging from taxes to abortion to energy policy in an election year when every legislative seat is on the ballot. The dynamics will force some bipartisan cooperation and test the limits of party unity and may rein in what gets accomplished.

“I think the 2023 legislative session is going to be like a summer thunderstorm where it doesn’t rain — lots of thunderclaps and lightning bolts but no measurable precipitation,” said Albert Pollard, a former Democratic House member and now a lobbyist.

A key task for lawmakers who begin their session Wednesday at noon will be adjusting the two-year budget they passed last year. Gov. Glenn Youngkin laid out his proposed amendments last month, offering a starting point for negotiations.

The Republican governor, who already signed about $4 billion in tax relief into law, is asking for another $1 billion including a corporate tax rate cut, given that Virginia is expecting a $3.6 billion surplus for fiscal year 2023. The proposal has been warmly received by Republican lawmakers, who say the cuts will help families and boost job growth, but spurned by Democrats.

However, both Senator Lynwood Lewis and Delegate Rob Bloxom warned at the Eggs and Issues Breakfast in December that Eastern Shore residents should not expect any large state projects in this year’s amended budget. In the past four years, the Eastern Shore has benefitted from state dollars for a new VIMS facility in Wachapreague,  a complete remodel of Eastern Shore Community College,  $1 million in state funds for the new Library and monies designated to improve broadband coverage in both counties and projects designed to attract business to the Wallops Flight Facility.

Bloxom and Lewis warned that the focus this session would be in keeping current projects going due to inflation which has raised the cost of many of the General Assembly’s prior obligations.

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