The final week of (regular) session is ahead. It's pretty apparent that the budget negotiations will not be completed before they need to adjourn sine die next Saturday, so they will have to come back for a special session to vote on the budget. Below we highlight what passed, what failed, and what's outstanding as we go into the last week.

Last weekend the House and Senate budget committees presented their amendments to the (Governor's) introduced budget bills. By the end of this week, the House and Senate had debated some amendments and passed their own budgets off the floor. But there will still be lots of negotiations before a single budget can be pieced together from the Governor's budget and the House and Senate versions. Here’s an update:

“Crossover day” in the Virginia General Assembly is the day when bills that passed in their respective chambers literally crossover to the other in order to be considered. So, a House bill must pass in the House of Delegates before it can be considered in the Senate, and vice versa. This year, that day was Feb. 13th. After crossover, the only bills each chamber can consider must have already passed the other legislative chamber. Here’s where key bills on voting/election, reproductive rights, the environment, and the budget stand:

This was crossover week, when the House had to take any action on House bills, and the Senate had to take any action on Senate bills (except for the budget). After crossover, senators go over to the House to defend their bills and vice versa. Unfortunately, there are always a few casualties--bills that don't make the crossover; a few are highlighted below.

This was the last week before crossover. All bills that will make it to the other chamber had to be heard in committee this week. The House has passed 410 bills and the Senate has passed 331; both have hundreds more pending. The beginning of next week will have very long floor sessions.

Big floor votes this week:

• The House passed on a party-line vote HB1 (Ward) to approve a raise in the minimum wage (this was a re-enactment of a bill passed in a previous year) to $13.50/hr on January 1, 2025; and $15.00/hr on January 1, 2026.

• The House passed HB906 (Shin) that prevents utilities from shutting off service to consumers during a state of emergency or the next 30 days.

• On party-line votes, the House passed HB183 (Simon) and the Senate passed SB368 (Boysko) to require gun owners with minors in the house store firearms and ammunition in a locked place inaccessible to the minor.

• The House passed a ban on assault weapons (HB2-Helmer) on a party-line vote.