House Republicans block session extension and the Senate honors Ben Chafin
The latest from the first day of the General Assembly.
Senate honors Ben Chafin
Both chambers of Virginia’s General Assembly convened Wednesday at 12 p.m. for the first day of the 2021 legislative session. Typically, the environment around the start of the session is exciting, but the mood on the floor of the Senate was somber to start the session this year.
Senate Republican Leader Tommy Norment (James City) immediately motioned for a vote on a resolution to suspend the rules in order for senators to attend and participate in sessions virtually.
This comes after Senator Ben Chafin passed away from COVID-19 on January 1.
Through tears, Senator Todd Pillion (R-Abingdon) spoke in honor of Chafin’s memory. "Southwest Virginia is a much better place thanks to Ben."
Chafin’s desk on the floor was draped in black cloth and senators covered it with roses in his memory.
“We need to look no further than that desk right there,” said Senator Monty Mason (D-Williamsburg), when looking for proof of how devastating COVID-19 has been, or how much Chafin is loved.
“Ben was a shining example of a wonderful gentleman who always found the best in anyone he talked to,” said Senator John Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake). “I hope that we will all remember Ben as the gentleman and wonderful person he actually was.”
House of Delegates blocks extension of the legislative session.
Republicans in the House of Delegates voted against extending the legislative session by 16 days in what has typically been a procedural vote for five decades.
The Constitution of Virginia states that the legislature must meet for a minimum of 30-days in off-year sessions. The legislature has historically voted to extend the session without conflict in every single off-year meeting, until Wednesday.
In order to extend the session, a two-thirds majority is needed in both chambers. The Democratic majority of 55-45 in the House and 21-19 in the Senate means that Republicans will have to vote in support of the extension.
Republicans blame the special session for their reasoning behind opposing the longer session. "Just about two months ago we made substantial changes to the state budget," said Gilbert on Wednesday.
Every single Republican voted against the extension on Wednesday, limiting the session to 30-days.
This was not a surprise, Republicans announced in November that they would be making this move. “The Constitution limits the duration of General Assembly sessions to ensure we have a citizen legislature, not one populated by full-time politicians,” said Gilbert at the time. “Given that we’ve already addressed the primary purpose of the upcoming session, amending the state budget, it makes sense that we keep within the constitutional minimum until the people of Virginia can once again fully participate in their government.”
Democrats pushed back against the Republicans by accusing them of not wanting to work for their constituents. “Businesses are hurting, and our Republican colleagues want to work less,” said Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington/Fairfax), after reading the latest COVID-19 statistics on the House floor. “If Republicans have a better place to be they should let the rest of us do our job.”
Republicans say they made an effort to compromise on the length of the session - offering to back off the 30-day limit if Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn would have agreed to let the House meet in person. “Leader Gilbert offered to back off the 30-day session if we could meet at VCU as we did on the opening day of the special session,” said Garren Shipley, the communications director for Gilbert. “Democrats wouldn’t budge.”
“[Virginia House Republicans] just voted to work less while Virginians are hurting,” wrote Kunal Atit, communications director for Speaker Filler-Corn. “I’m sure their constituents will be eager to hear why.”
Later in the day, the Senate failed to pass the same joint resolution.
Democrats have options to extend the session moving forward, including potentially convening for a special session.