Capitol Briefs 6 (2.17.20)

We are in the latter half of the General Assembly’s 2020 Regular Session. “Crossover,” the date when all legislation passed by one chamber moves to the other for consideration, effectively serves as the midpoint for the legislative calendar. A lot has happened thus far, but a lot remains, as the March 7 close of the session draws near.

If you have not done so, please listen to our latest VADA High Octane Podcast—Parts 1 and 2—addressing the session to date.

3,292 pieces of legislation have been introduced this year. As of Monday, February 17, 1,640 are still pending. So there is plenty of work left for the General Assembly and for the VADA legislative team, as bills addressing safety inspections, peer-to-peer vehicle sharing, budget amendments, specialty plates for dealers tags, and general business measures work their way through the legislative process.

We’ve written extensively about how this is the first year in nearly 30 years the Democrats have been in complete control of state government. As the session progresses, you may wonder, how does this compare to the last long session—recall, we alternate every year between 45 and 60 days. Has there been that big of a difference between 2018 and 2020? Both in terms of policy and number of highly contested bills, the answer is yes.

Statistics indicate the bills still alive are considerably more Democratic than was the case two years ago, a reality unsurprising given the shift in party control.

Most Democrats introduced more bills in 2020 than they did in 2018, and most Republicans introduced fewer. Also, Democrats have enjoyed a much higher success rate with their bills this year compared to two years ago. Again, the reverse is true for Republicans in both chambers, who are seeing more of their bills fail to reach the finish line.

The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) notes that the House passed more than 50% of the House bills Democrats introduced this year. Just over 30% of Republican House bills made the cut. Compare that to 2018, when less than 20% of Democratic House bills made it through the lower chamber. Republican House bills had a roughly 50% success rate through crossover that year.

In the Senate, where fewer bills are introduced overall, 60% of Democratic Senate bills were successful by session’s midpoint. That number was less than 40% in 2018. Republican Senate bills had only a slight drop off in success rate this year compared to two years ago. But again, these numbers are exacerbated when combined with the reality that there were more Democratic bills, and less Republican bills, at the start of this session.

There are also way more “close votes” this year than during the last long session.

In 2018, only 76 Senate bills were “close votes,” which VPAP describes as garnering “No” votes from at least one-third of the voting members. That number jumped from 76 to 151 in 2020 as of Monday, February 17. In the House, there were 54 close votes in 2018. That number skyrocketed to 219 this year.

We will continue working with friends on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to push for and against legislation that could impact your stores. Please see below for a rundown of some topics that have earned headlines statewide. Thereafter, you will find a list of those bills we are tracking that are specific to our industry.

Headline Legislation

What’s the latest with safety inspections?

As we indicated last week, the House has staked out its position to require safety inspections once every two years, while the Senate’s approach is to maintain annual inspections. We remain in the middle of this discussion. We believe consumer safety means inspections every year, but we appreciate the Governor’s office, Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, and Del. Jay Jones for changing their approach from outright removal to a once-every-24-months requirement. If the House and Senate remain firm in their differing takes on safety inspections, this will be sorted out in a conference committee involving members of both chambers. And the Governor can also veto or amend bills and return them to the legislature. In short, there is work left to do.

Is Virginia getting a casino—or casinos?

For at least two years now, the General Assembly has given serious thought to allowing a casino, or several casinos, in Virginia. Legislation was introduced in the 2019 session. Numerous interested stakeholders, including localities vying for the sort of economic boom they believe a casino would bring, met over the last year, and bills that resulted are still alive in the House and Senate.

Last week, the House passed HB 4, carried by Del. Barry Knight of Virginia Beach, which would allow casinos in the cities of Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Richmond, and Portsmouth. Sen. Louise Lucas, the Senate Pro Tempore, carried companion legislation with SB 36. Should the measures be passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, casinos will only come to fruition in any of the above cities if voters therein approve the idea in referendums this November.

What’s the deal with minimum wage?

Virginia is going to see an increase in the minimum wage. What will it be? That much is very unclear, and it could depend on where you live. The House, with its HB 395, has adopted the idea of gradually increasing the minimum wage over the next six years. It would be $10 per hour July 1, 2020 and incrementally rise to $15 per hour in 2025.

The Senate’s proposed language is a bit murkier, to put it lightly. Should SB 7 prevail, Virginia would be divided into regions, with increases based on median incomes in the regions. As written, Northern Virginia would serve as a sort of measuring stick for the other parts of the state. Northern Virginia would be the only region to see a gradual increase reaching $15 over the next six years. All other regions in the Commonwealth would have incremental increases of lesser amounts based on how their median income compares to that of Northern Virginia. Stay tuned.