Veto Session 2020: Important Update
Friday, April 24, 2020
Dear Friend,
This was truly an historic veto session. The Senate conducted its constitutionally required proceedings in a safe, transparent, and unique manner that was made possible because of the ingenuity and hard work of our civil servants. Thank You.
If you want to hear a live discussion of the veto session and have the opportunity to ask questions, I am hosting a Tele-Town Hall meeting this Saturday morning at 11:00 am. Delegate Kathleen Murphy and Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton will be joining the conversation. Please email district31@senate.virginia.gov with your name and phone number if you would like to listen in or ask any questions. You will receive a follow-up email reply with a set of instructions on how to join from your phone.
Overview - The Senate met at the Science Museum of Virginia on Wednesday, April 22nd. Each senator had his or her own work table that was spaced six feet apart from our neighbors. Hand sanitizers were everywhere and everyone wore a mask. Luckily, the space adequately supported our electronic voting board and other technology tools that define how Senate business must be conducted. The House met under a tent on the Capitol grounds with just a few technology related hiccups along the way. To remind us of the extraordinary challenges facing us, protesters circled the Capitol grounds for about 2 hours honking their horns and demanding that Virginia re-open.
You can be assured that lawmakers respected the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, but did not waver from our responsibilities to lessen the impact of this crisis on our fellow Virginians and businesses throughout the Commonwealth. As expected, Governor Northam’s requested changes to recent legislation and the General Assembly’s adopted budget reflected the values of fairness and compassion. Gratefully, the Democratically controlled bodies were in sync with the Governor.
The requested changes to legislation were mostly technical in nature, although some amendments delayed implementation of certain requirements, such as when the $9.00 minimum wage should kick-in. In this case, the Governor’s amendment requested a four-month delay (starting in May 2021) for the initial increase, but the other target dates were not delayed. The Governor’s amendment still had a 2023 date for the $12.00 per hour requirement. We understood that the initial delay was necessary to enable small businesses to become fully operational.
It is worth noting that the Republicans in the Senate took the opportunity to once again speak against raising the minimum wage in general, and surprisingly, they specifically spoke against the Governor’s delayed implementation of the minimum wage. The Republicans were hoping that some Democrats would join them, for different reasons, and by defeating the amendment, the Governor would then have to seriously consider a veto. In the end 20 Democrats voted for the Governor’s amendment, including myself, (Senator Howell voted against the delay) and the Lt. Governor broke the tie in favor of the amendment.
Budget Reallocations - Because of the estimated shortfalls in this year’s budget resulting from COVID-19 and the need to rapidly expand a safety net for individuals, businesses, and the health care system, the Governor asked lawmakers to allocate $600M from our reserves to meet a current services budget for FY 2020. It was also necessary to un-allocate any new spending going forward. That meant that program enhancements were put on hold and earmarked for further examination once the fiscal picture of the state becomes clearer and the availability of federal stimulus money is realized.
Unfortunately, the progress we had made on increasing teacher salaries, making more student aid available, and more robustly funding the Housing Trust Fund, among other priorities, was slowed. But addressing the suffering at hand is absolutely the right thing to do. Given today’s projections, the fiscal impact of COVID-19 is likely to cost Virginia $2B. Additional budget amendments relaxed specific program requirements and granted the Governor flexibility to direct funds towards emergencies resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care spending was expanded in targeted areas. For example, the Medicaid per diem to nursing homes and the hourly Medicaid reimbursement rate for personal care assistants were both increased. We appropriated federal CARES Act funds to help pay the child care expenses of essential workers, and we abated the accumulation of interest on late state income tax payments.
Additional Funds - The Governor asked the General Assembly to delay the ban on skill games (also known as gray machines) that passed this session (HB881 and SB971) for a year and created a tax of $1200 per machine per month to fund a Covid-19 Relief Fund. We are expecting approximately $50M from this action. I am not a big fan of gray machines but the money generated by delaying the ban will provide relief to small businesses, housing assistance for the homeless, funding for long-term care facilities, and other purposes as determined by the Governor. The Republicans wanted tighter language to require the Governor to consult with the General Assembly on how the money would be specifically spent. The Democratic majorities felt the prudent approach would be to grant the Governor flexibility so necessary services could be funded quickly to minimize the negative impact on Virginians.
May Elections - The Governor asked the General Assembly to postpone the local May elections until November to avoid the dangers of further spreading Covid-19. However, this proposal would have established a new local election process for November. A new election process means that absentee ballots already received for the May elections would have to be discarded and a window would be opened for new candidates to enter the race. The terms of city and town officials, normally concluding in June, would temporarily be extended through the November election. As you might expect, many local officials opposed the Governor’s plan. While the House was willing to go along with the proposal, the Senate did not agree to the Governor’s proposal.
Today, the Governor announced that the municipal elections would be postponed until May 19. Already cast absentee ballots will count, no new candidates will be able to enter the races. The new deadline to request an absentee ballot is May 12. The new deadline to return your absentee ballot is by 7:00 pm on the new election day date, May 19. For more information, check the Department of Election's website.
A provision in the Virginia Code (§24.2-222.1) sets forth a process for cities and towns to request a change in their election calendar. Some have converted to a November cycle but a few have not. I believe that the timing and process for voting should make the exercise as easy as possible for the greatest number of people. Hopefully, one day soon, all Virginia elections will be in November. On the bright side, the Governor signed bills that will remove the voter identification requirement, allow for “no-excuse” absentee voting (a provision that will enable more widespread voting by mail), and make election day a state holiday.
COVID-19 Update - Although Covid-19 continues to spread through our communities, scientists are advising us that social distancing practices are working. As we prepare to enter the next phase of this pandemic, the Governor and his team are working to make testing more available, along with securing the necessary laboratory capacity to analyze those tests and conducting contact tracing. Although contact tracing does require a lot of staff power, the State can help establish that infrastructure, and it is a necessary ingredient to controlling the pandemic. Getting a better picture of the size of the problem is a key element in being able to contain the spread of COVID-19. Once we flatten the curve, Virginians can realize a kind of measured re-entry into a more normal life. In the meanwhile, please continue to wash your hands, refrain from touching your face, wear a mask when you go outside, remember to participate in social distancing, and stay home as much as possible.
Thank you to the first responders, health care workers, grocery store staff, delivery personnel, and all the essential workers who put themselves in harm’s way to serve us. You are true heroes!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office. We are all in this together. Stay safe.
Sincerely,
Senator Barbara Favola
31st District - Representing Parts of Arlington, Fairfax & Loudoun