(Exclusive to the News-Press)

The 2024 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly came to a close on Saturday, adjourning sine die (i.e. with no firm date to reconvene) at 5:05 p.m.

During this “long” session (every other year at 60 days instead of the alternative years’ 45), legislators considered just over 3,500 pieces of legislation, sending about 1,000 bills to the governor for his review.

The legislature will consider any actions by the governor at a reconvened session in mid-April.

Actions included a long-awaited passage of a proposed charter amendment for the City of Falls Church lifting the residency requirement for applicants to City boards and commissions. (see below).

On the last day of the 2024 Session March 8, legislators voted on the Budget Conference report, which represented the final compromise version between the two houses. It included a record investment in public education for both K-12 students and Virginia’s higher education system.

The final version of the budget headed to the governor included over half a billion dollars as the state share of a three percent teacher pay raise as the General Assembly embarked on a three year plan to raise Virginia teacher salaries to at least the national average.

The budget also included $150 million in funding for Metro that had been omitted from earlier versions of the Senate budget.

The budget also required Virginia to re-enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and fully held localities like the City of Falls Church harmless by replacing income lost to the elimination of the state sales tax on groceries in 2022.

“Our Number One priority has been, and always will be, building a better future for our children and for hardworking Virginia families. Full stop. That is what we have been working towards in the last two months and that is what this budget reflects. I am thankful for the leadership of Chairman Torian and Chairwoman Lucas who have crafted a fiscally responsible budget that will grow our economy, support our workforce, and invest in our public schools,” said Delegate Don Scott, Speaker of the House of Delegates.

The budget was also notable for what it did not include, which was any language that would have facilitated the relocation of Monumental Sports and their sports franchises, the National Hockey League’s Capitals, and the National Basketball Association’s Wizards, to Potomac Yards in Alexandria. Legislation to do the same passed narrowly in the House of Delegates but died without a hearing in the State Senate.

Legislation to allow for a casino in Tysons was carried over to the 2025 session.

With Democrats in control of both the House and Senate, albeit by the narrowest of margins, the Assembly focused on fostering economic justice, with initiatives to raise the minimum wage (HB 1), eliminate outdated wage exemptions rooted in Jim Crow-era policies (HB 157), and establish a prescription drug affordability board (HB 570) to alleviate financial burdens on Virginians grappling with essential expenses.

Another theme that emerged during the 2024 session was an effort to preserve Virginians fundamental freedoms. To that end, the General Assembly advanced a series of progressive measures aimed at safeguarding Virginians’ rights.

Notable among these were bills affirming access to contraception (HB 609 and HB 819), safeguarding the privacy of health and medical data (HB 78 and HB 1539), and upholding the right to marriage irrespective of gender, sex, or race (HB 174), which the governor has already signed into law. Additionally, legislative actions were taken to protect the integrity of the electoral process, ensuring all citizens’ right to participate in free and fair elections (HB 623).

The session also witnessed spirited debates over abortion access, with lawmakers successfully thwarting efforts to impose sweeping restrictions on reproductive rights, including a bill that would have banned all abortions at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape, incest or to protect the health of the mother (HB 404).

In an effort to address the pressing issue of gun violence prevention, the General Assembly passed comprehensive measures aimed at curbing firearm-related violence.

These included bills aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence from lethal firearms (HB 46 and HB 362), restricting the proliferation of military-style weapons in communities through an assault weapons ban (HB 2 and HB 175), banning auto-sears, dangerous firearm modifications that allow almost any gun to mimic the action of fully automatic weapons (HB 22), and prohibiting the sale of untraceable “ghost guns” (HB 173).

A long sought change to the Falls Church city charter to allow the local City Council to determine that non-residents can serve on boards authorities and commissions, finally passed the legislature with near unanimous support after a shift in tactics.

Previous versions of the charter change had taken out the existing language that limited participation on such public bodies to registered voters. This raised some suspicion among GOP delegates and the governor that the City had a secret agenda to stack the boards with undocumented immigrants.

The bill that passed and is on the way to the governor deleted the entire subsection of the Falls Church charter, leaving it silent as to eligibility to serve, as is the case with most city charters. Under the bill, the only restrictions on membership on boards authorities and commissions would be those that exist under laws that apply to the entire Commonwealth.

Now, all eyes are on the governor as he weighs the decision to sign these landmark bills into law, a choice with far-reaching implications for Virginia’s educational, economic, and societal landscape.