General Assembly Legislative Update

NOTE: The next General Assembly Highlights will be published on Friday, March 15. It will include a final wrap up of the 2024 General Assembly session. Please reach out to the Chamber’s Policy Team with any questions on remaining legislation, the introduced budget, or House and Senate budget amendments.

On Sunday, February 18, the Senate and House money committees each presented their committee amendments to the introduced budget. Both budget proposals include significant investments in public employee salaries, K-12 education, higher education including Virginia’s community colleges, mental health, and disability waivers.

Some of the budget items of interest to the business community include:

Business Climate

Virginia Business Ready Sites Program and Fund – The Governor’s introduced budget provides $150 million FY25/$50 million FY26 for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program Fund. House amendments to the budget reduce funding to $20 million each year, while Senate amendments to the budget reduce funding to $50 million each year. Both the House and Senate budgets include amendments clarifying a site may not be deemed ineligible for participation in the program solely because it is bisected by a roadway.

There’s more to this in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Support local journalism by purchasing the issue at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition or view the full article in the e-edition version.