2024 Priority Legislation

of the Virginia Grassroots Coalition

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Passed House & Senate

Vetoed

Approved by Gov

Gov made recommendations

Cat	Number	Title	Patron	House	Senate	GA	Governor	updated
2024 Priority Bills Women & Families
workers	HB 1 Support	Minimum wage; increases wage to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025. more... Increases the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill satisfies a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020.	Ward (D)	Passed (51-Y 49-N)	Passed (21-Y 18-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 03/28/24	3/30/24
workers	HB 212 Support	MEI Project Approval Commission; board-level gender and diversity requirements. more... Requires that the MEI Project Approval Commission considers, prior to recommending approval of any major employment and investment (MEI) project, (i) whether a business has and commits to maintaining a balanced board of directors based upon gender and racial diversity, such that at least 30 percent of such board of directors consists of women and historically underrepresented groups, and (ii) whether a business seeking approval of a project submits a board diversity disclosure and commits to updating such disclosure annually, specifying the number and percentage of diverse directors on the board of such business who self-identify as female or represent a national, racial, ethnic, indigenous, or cultural minority in the country of the business's principal executive offices.	Watts (D)	Passed (51-Y 48-N)	Passed with sub (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 03/28/24	3/30/24
workers	HB 570 Support	Prescription Drug Affordability Board; established, drug cost affordability review, report. more... Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. ...	Delany (D)	Passed (52-Y 46-N)	Passed (25-Y 15-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 4/8/24	4/9/24
workers	HJ 1 Support	Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom (first reference). more... Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about all matters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, or otherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justified by a compelling state interest.	Herring (D)	Continued to 2025				3/11/24
workers	SB 1 Support	Minimum wage; increases wage to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025. more... Increases the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill satisfies a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020.	Lucas (D)	Passed (51-Y 47-N)	Passed (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 03/28/24	3/30/24
workers	SB 15 Support	Reproductive health care services; prohibitions on extradition for certain crimes. more... Provides that no demand for extradition of a person charged with a criminal violation of law of another state shall be recognized by the Governor if such alleged violation involves the receipt of or assistance with reproductive health care services within the Commonwealth unless the alleged criminal violation would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth. ...	Favola (D)	Passed (54-Y 46-N)	Passed (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 04/05/24	4/8/24
workers	SB 16 Support	Search warrants; menstrual health data prohibited, definition. more... Prohibits the issuance of a search warrant for the search and seizure of menstrual health data, as defined in the bill, stored on a computer, computer network, or other device containing electronic or digital information.	Favola (D)	Passed (51-Y 49-N)	Passed (22-Y 18-N)	Enrolled	Approved (effective 7/1/24)	4/8/24
workers	SB 274 Support	Prescription Drug Affordability Board; established, drug cost affordability review, report. more... Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. ...	Deeds (D)	Passed (50-Y 47-N)	Passed (23-Y 16-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 4/8/24	4/9/24
workers	SB 373 Support	Paid family and medical leave insurance program; notice requirements, civil action. more... Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program with benefits beginning January 1, 2027. ...	Boysko (D)	Passed (50-Y 46-N)	Passed (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 04/05/24	4/8/24
workers	SB 393 Support	MEI Project Approval Commission; board-level gender and diversity requirements. more... Requires that the MEI Project Approval Commission considers, prior to recommending approval of any major employment and investment (MEI) project, (i) whether a business has and commits to maintaining a balanced board of directors based upon gender and racial diversity, such that at least 30 percent of such board of directors consists of women and historically underrepresented groups, and (ii) ...	Pekarsky (D)	Passed (51-Y 46-N)	Passed (21-Y 19-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 03/27/24	3/30/24
workers	SB 716 Support	Unprofessional conduct; disciplinary action against doctor for providing abortion care, etc. more... Prohibits the Board of Medicine from taking disciplinary action against a doctor based on the alleged provision or receipt of abortion care that is not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, regardless of where such abortion care was provided or received. ...	Carroll Foy (D)	Passed (54-Y 45-N)	Passed (21-Y 18-N)	Enrolled	Vetoed 04/05/24	4/8/24
workers	SJ 1 Support	Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom (first reference). more... Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about all matters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, or otherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justified by a compelling state interest.	Boysko (D)		Continued to 2025			3/11/24

No. of bills: 12

General info

2024 Session dates

Jan 10: Session begins
Jan 19: Last day to introduce bills
Feb 13: Crossover*
Mar 7: Last day to act on remaining bills
Mar 9: Session adjourns
April 17-24: Reconvened session

House Meeting Schedule
Senate Meeting Schedule

Overriding a Veto

"The Governor may veto the bill if he objects to it by returning the bill with his objections to the house in which the bill originated. The house shall enter the objections in its journal and reconsider the bill. The house may override the veto by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which two-thirds shall include a majority of the members elected to that house. If the house of origin overrides the Governor's veto, it shall send the bill and Governor's objections to the other house where the bill shall be reconsidered. The second house may override the Governor's veto by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which two-thirds shall include a majority of the members elected to that house. If both houses override the Governor's veto, the bill shall become law without his signature. If either house fails to override the Governor's veto, the veto shall stand and the bill shall not become law." -Virginia Constitution

Constitutional Amendments

Amendments to the Virginia Constitution require that a resolution be passed by a majority of both houses during a session and then held over to be passed again by the next elected legislature, with an election intervening between the two approvals. If it succeeds the second time, voters must approve the change in a referendum before it can take effect.

Glossary

Dillon Rule. Restricts local government authority to enact ordinances.

Conference Committee. A temporary committee w. members from both the House and Senate, tasked with reconciling differences in legislation that passed both chambers.

Continued/Carried over. Action taken in an even-numbered year to postpone the consideration of a measure until the next regular session of the General Assembly.

Crossover. The last day for a bill to pass out of the chamber in which it was introduced and move forward for consideration in the opposite chamber. If a bill does not move forward, it is "Left" (dead).

Engrossed. A legislative stage when a bill passes the second reading in the House of origin. Every bill has to be "read" on the floor three times before voting on it. The action or any debate or discussion usually comes on the day of the second reading or the third reading.

Enrolled. Legislation which has passed both the House of Delegates and the Senate, signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, sent to the Governor, but not yet signed.

Failed to report. Defeated. The rejection of a motion to 'report' a bill to the full chamber.

Incorporated. Rolled into someone another bill. Either because they're identical, or they have incorporated *some* of the language in, and the patron agreed to have her name on the other bill.

Patron. Bill sponsor. There can be many patrons.

PBI. Passed by Indefinitely. Action to allow a committee to reconsider legislation at a later meeting. If the committee takes no further action, the bill is dead. [Usually the bill is dead.]

Referred. The assignment of legislation to another standing committee with no stance on the policy of the measure (neither endorses nor rejects the legislation).

Reported. The approval of a measure by the majority of the committee. The legislation may be reported by the committee with or without amendments. A bill may also be reported and referred to another committee.

Stricken. Legislation removed from a committee's docket, frequently at the request of the patron.

More definitions from League of Women Voters Virginia
More definitions from University of Virginia