Virginia Legislature News Bites Edition

Follow us on Facebook & Instagram!

Enjoying New Rural Virginia’s newsletters? To support the research that makes our newsletter informative and fact-based, please donate here!

Hello Rapp Up Readers!

The Legislature is at midpoint in its 2024 session and the possibility is emerging of real progress on issues that matter for rural communities and working-class families!  Of course, much work – and mutual compromise – is still needed in coming weeks.  However, it is encouraging that pragmatic ideas are emerging from both sides. 

On the Republican side, with his national political aspirations tempered by last fall’s election results, Governor Youngkin appears to have redirected his attention from divisive issues like curriculum restrictions and abortion bans in favor of legislation that he may be able to achieve by working with the Democrat majority in the General Assembly.  He still sees solutions through the lens of what is good for “the business ecosystem” but if that means helping working families with serious everyday issues that Democrats have long pushed for – like childcare and education – there may be progress in sight.
 

On the Democratic side, one of the first actions of new Senate majority leader Don Scott was to visit rural Southwest Virginia – at the invitation of Republican Senator Travis Hackworth.  The message was clear – the leadership on both sides will not let politics (and political grandstanding) prevent compromise and real progress on issues of importance to Virginians.  Here is a look at some key bills in the Virginia Legislature to help working families in rural areas that are gaining traction and, in some cases, support from the governor. 

A recent state report found that childcare is unaffordable for 74% of Virginia families with preschoolers and 85% with infants. Many lower-income families rely on subsidies, but the situation will get much worse later this year as federal pandemic subsidies are set to expire. The good news is that this may be an area for legislators and the governor to come together.  Youngkin is proposing $448 million in each of the next two years for Virginia’s early learning and child care system.

Meanwhile a dozen bills are making their way through the legislature to address the problem. Let’s hope we see success here as childcare not only helps businesses with employee retention and lower absenteeism, but more importantly, it allows parents to reduce their financial stresses, advance their careers and help their children thrive and prepare better for school.

Bipartisan Bill to Raise Teacher Salaries. Is that Enough?

Virginia public school teachers have long suffered from inadequate pay.  A bipartisan new bill aims to change that.  It would create a legislative requirement to maintain teacher salaries at the national average.  The bill not only has significant bipartisan support but appears to be viewed favorably by the Youngkin administration as well.  This is great news. 

The question remains, however:  is it enough?  Virginia is a comparatively wealthy state and competitive salaries for all college grads are well above the national average.  In fact, this report noted that the wage penalty that a Virginia college graduate incurs by becoming a teacher is 32% – the third worst in the country!  So, it is great that our elected representatives want to at least increase salaries to the national average. But please don’t stop there if you want enough good teachers in our schools!

House Passes Bill to Raise Minimum Wage, but Youngkin Signals Resistance

The House of Delegates has just passed a bill to raise the minimum wage incrementally to $15 per hour by 2026.  It is now heading to the Senate which expects to pass it with a slim Democrat majority.  There has been no support so far from Republicans, and the governor has signaled his opposition because he believes markets will do the job.

The problem with relying on market forces is that it may work for higher paying jobs (like the one the governor held as CEO of a major hedge fund) and for union wages won by collective bargaining, but it works much less well for lower paying jobs where employers have more clout. And even current minimum wages have not kept up with inflation, or with productivity gains which benefit companies’ profits. Let’s hope the governor elects to stay on the bipartisan train on this one.

Chesapeake Bay Restoration Falling Behind, Farmers to Be Paid for Cleaning Up Streams

Gone are the days when rural families could count on a bushel of steamed crabs as an affordable way to celebrate a birthday, a graduation or anniversary… as crab harvests plummeted due to agricultural, industrial and residential pollution. Now it looks like Virginia is likely to miss its Chesapeake Bay restoration commitments by a 2025 deadline, and 90% of the remaining pollution reductions must come from agriculture.

A new pilot program working its way through the legislature would pay farmers based on how much pollution a project reduces in a nearby waterway. The Virginia Clean Water Outcomes Fund would leverage market-based incentives to greatly reduce agricultural waterway pollution. While the existing program funnels state funds into particular anti-pollution projects based on computer modeling, the new program would employ real-world metrics from before and after project installation to measure pollution reduction: the more pollution cut, the bigger the payment. The program would incentivize new approaches that are not currently eligible for state funding, and focus efforts on where they have the greatest impact.

New to The Rapp Up!? Subscribe below or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @newruralvirginia!