Virginia’s General Assembly wrapped up a brief special session this past Tuesday. The session, which was limited in scope, brought legislators to Richmond to decide how to allocate $4.3 billion in funds granted to the state via the American Rescue Plan and to fill judicial vacancies. The American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in March, aims to support economic recovery throughout the nation after a year of uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Virginia became eligible to begin spending its allocation of ARP funds at the beginning of July.
Legislators decided to spend $3.4 billion of the federal aid this year, leaving the remaining $1.1 billion in funds for spending in the next biennial budget that’s set to be shaped during the 2022 regular session. The additional funds may also be used for efforts to mitigate COVID-19 as Virginia begins to see a surge of cases brought on by the Delta variant.
On the other hand, the $3.4 billion to be spent during this fiscal year will be funding a number of notable projects.
With Virginian children heading back to schools this fall, ventilation and air quality will be crucial to keeping classrooms healthy, especially considering that COVID-19 is an airborne virus. The legislature moved to allocate $250 million to complete planned ventilation and air quality upgrades in schools throughout the state. The $250 million is to be matched by localities, for a total of $500 million in investments.
With many parts of the state — especially rural areas — lacking reliable access to the internet, universal broadband coverage has been a priority of the General Assembly for years. In 2018, Governor Ralph Northam set a goal to achieve universal broadband coverage in Virginia by 2028. But with the General Assembly approving $222 million in funds to accelerate this goal, Virginians can now expect internet access in every part of the state by 2024, four years earlier than originally planned.
In the wake of five mental health institutions halting admissions on account of staffing shortages earlier this summer, the General Assembly allocated $354 million to be used for compensating staff at behavioral health institutions throughout the state. A portion of these funds will also be used to compensate state law enforcement officers. This allocation, however, is contingent upon further approval by the General Assembly during the 2022 regular session.
With the state’s unemployment fund practically empty after a year of surging unemployment claims caused by the pandemic, $862 million will be used to replenish the fund. These funds will help small businesses avoid a steep tax increase next year that would have contributed to refilling the fund’s coffers.
Aside from allocating ARP funds, the General Assembly also filled eight judicial vacancies. Earlier this year, the legislature voted to allow the right of appeal in all criminal and civil cases. Prior to this action, Virginia was the only state in the country that didn’t guarantee this right. Since the volume of cases the Court of Appeals will hear is certain to increase, the composition of the state’s second-highest court will grow from 11 judges to 17. Judges were appointed to fill these new roles, and two other existing vacancies were also filled. The new appeals court judges include Dominique A. Callins, Doris Henderson Causey, Vernida R. Chaney, Frank Friedman, Junius P. Fulton, Lisa M. Lorish, Daniel E. Ortiz, and Stuart A. Raphael.
The General Assembly is scheduled to next meet on January 12, 2022, when the 2022 regular session will begin.
