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Today’s Sponsor: Freedom Virginia
One thing is clear: while Virginians struggle to pay $400 more than the national average for life saving medication, pharma executives are getting very very rich. Virginians deserve better than corporate price gouging and unaffordable medications. It’s time to make a change and lower the cost of prescription drugs. Support HB570 and SB 274, a Prescription Drug Affordability Board for Virginia.
Today’s General Assembly Schedule
8:00 a.m. - Senate Committee on Education and Health; Senate Room A, General Assembly Building (committee info)
8:30 a.m. - House Health and Human Services; House Committee Room C-206, General Assembly Building (committee info)
11:00 a.m. - Press Conference: Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights; House Briefing Room, General Assembly Building
11:30 a.m. - House Republican Caucus; House Room 2, The Capitol
12:00 p.m. - House Convenes; House Chamber, The Capitol
12:00 p.m. - Senate Convenes; Senate Chamber, The Capitol15 min aftSenate Committee on Transportation; Senate Room B, General Assembly Building - 15 minutes after adjournment (committee info)
1/2 hr aft - Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Public Education; Senate Room C, General Assembly Building - 1/2 hour after adjournment
1/2 hr aft - House Labor and Commerce; House Committee Room A-008, General Assembly Building - 1/2 hour after adjournment of House (committee info)
As Don Scott becomes Va. speaker, emotion and an unexpected guest - WaPo
by Greg Schneider
During a recess on his first day as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth) was posing for photos with seemingly everyone in the packed House chamber.
Republicans, Democrats, family members, relatives of other delegates — all wanted a keepsake of the historic moment when Scott became the first African American to hold the position in 405 years of Virginia history.
Virginia Senate Democrats decline to adopt proportional party representation on committees - Associated Press
by Sarah Rankin
Democrats who control the Virginia Senate made clear Wednesday they plan to continue the practice of stacking General Assembly committees with their own members in a proportion greater than their razor-thin 21-19 majority.
The move disappointed some legislators and government observers, who had called on the chamber to adopt the practice of proportional seating. Senate Democratic leaders instead inched closer to fairness, improving what had been a wildly overrepresented split on some committees.
Democratic leader calls car tax repeal 'dead on arrival' - RTD
by Michael Martz
New Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, had a blunt message for Gov. Glenn Youngkin even before the new General Assembly gaveled into session on Wednesday: Forget about repealing the car tax or cutting income tax rates, and start focusing on putting more state dollars into public education.
Youngkin's proposal for repealing the car tax — without including a plan in his proposed two-year budget for doing it — is "dead on arrival," Surovell said at joint news conference held by Senate and House Democrats.
Southside loses power on budget-writing committees in General Assembly
By CARDINAL STAFF, Cardinal News
Southside Virginia was the big loser in committee assignments handed out on the first day of the General Assembly.
The new budget-writing committee in the state Senate won’t include any representatives from Southside for the first time in memory — and there will be just one Southside legislator on the House budget panel, Republican Danny Marshall of Danville.
Democrats outline priorities for 2024 Virginia General Assembly session - WRIC
by Dean Mirshahi
Democrats say they will focus on K-12 education funding, ways to address gun violence, abortion and voting rights while in control of the Virginia General Assembly in 2024.
But what gets passed by the new Democratic majority in the state legislature may not get any further as Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin can play the role of legislative gatekeeper with his veto pen.
