The 2024 session of the General Assembly convenes next week.
by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
The 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly convenes on January 10. Here’s a second rundown of legislation introduced by elected officials representing the Fredericksburg area. (See our previous rundown here.)
Members have until Jan. 19 to introduce bills and joint resolutions.
Delegate Joshua Cole
Cole, a Democrat, was elected in November to represent the 65th District—which includes all of Fredericksburg City, the southern part of Stafford county, and a small section of Spotsylvania county around Salem Church Road—in the House of Delegates.
So far, Cole is the chief patron of one piece of legislation—HB 135, which would allow vehicles displaying a disabled veteran license plate to meet the requirement for traveling in the high-occupancy toll lane, regardless of the number of occupants.
Voters in the middle of Stafford County are part of a different district—House District 64, which is represented by Republican Paul Milde, a former member of the Stafford Board of Supervisors.
A small sliver of north Stafford County is part of House District 23, represented by Democrat Candi King. Neither Milde nor King have yet introduced any legislation.
Delegate Phil Scott
Scott was reelected in November to represent the 63rd House District, which includes western Spotsylvania County and part of Orange County.
Scott is the chief patron of HB 63, which expands the options available for high school students seeking dual enrollment in a Virginia community college. Currently, dual enrollment agreements permit students to seek an associate degree or a one-year Uniform Certificate of General Studies from a community college along with a high school diploma. HB 63 would require dual enrollment agreements to also permit high school students to complete the Virginia Community College System’s one-semester Passport Program and a high school equivalency program (rather than a traditional diploma).
The rest of Spotsylvania County is included in House District 66, represented Republican Bobby Orrock, a longtime member of the House of Delegates. Orrock has not yet introduced any legislation.
Senator Tara Durant
Durant, a former Republican delegate, was elected in November to represent the 27th Senate district, which includes all of Fredericksburg and part of Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. She is the chief patron of the following legislation introduced for the upcoming session:
SB 64, which would reestablish a sales tax holiday on the first full weekend of August, beginning in 2025.
SB 65, which would remove a provision preventing law-enforcement officers from stopping a vehicle operating with defective or unsafe equipment.
SB 74, which would require the release of otherwise confidential information from the Prescription Monitoring Program when such information is relevant to a specific investigation.
SB 75, which would remove child day program providers that receive subsidies paid by a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces from qualifying as “publicly-funded providers” as the term is used in law relating to early childhood care and education; and exempt child day programs that only serve dependent children of military personnel and are located on a military base or are certified by a branch of the Armed Forces from licensure by the Virginia Department of Education.
SB 76, which would fully exempt child day centers operated by religious institutions with tax-exempt status from licensure by the Virginia Department of Education (but preserve the requirement that employees and volunteers of such day centers undergo background checks).
Senator Jeremy McPike
McPike, a Democrat, represents Senate District 29, which includes a sliver of northern Stafford County. In addition to the legislation we covered last month, he has introduced the following bills:
SB 69, which would allow individuals who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to qualify for the positions of chief of police, police officer of a locality, deputy sheriff, jail officer and law-enforcement officer.
SB 70, which would require local social services departments to offer an employment and training program for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SB 71, which would prohibit legacy admissions at Virginia’s public institutions of higher education.
SB 72, which would require the VDOE to create and maintain a Virginia Data Parent Portal, accessible from a mobile device, that displays student assessment data over time, along with a description of the purpose of each assessment and a comparison of student performance with school, division and statewide performance.
Senator Richard Stuart
Stuart, a Republican, represents Senate District 25, which includes eastern Spotsylvania County, in addition to all of Caroline and King George counties and a number of other Northern Neck localities. He is the chief patron of the following bills:
SB 3, which would repeal the State Air Pollution Control Board’s authority to implement low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle standards that apply for vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later.
SB 20, which would clarify that when a charge has been dismissed after a deferred disposition, it may be expunged “with a plea or stipulation of the facts that would justify a finding of guilt.”
Voters in western Spotsylvania county are included in Senate District 28, represented by Republican Bryce Reeves. We covered legislation introduced by Reeves last month.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit our website at the link that follows.
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