Following Virginia’s 2023 General Assembly Session, 1,687 bills are headed to Governor Youngkin’s desk for him to review and take action on by Monday, March 27th. Governor Youngkin can sign bills, veto bills, or propose amendments. While we wait to see what he’ll do, here is a look at some bills proposed by four of the twelve conservative women in the Virginia House of Delegates that have been sent to the Governor’s desk. The women who proposed the following bills are Carrie Coyner (R- House District 62), Anne Ferrell Tata (R- House District 82), Karen Greenhalgh (R- House District 85), and Kim Taylor (R- House District 63).
In total, twelve of the bills proposed by these women have already been signed by Governor Youngkin including:
HB 1403: Health insurance; cost-sharing payments for prescription insulin drugs
HB 1422: Concealed handgun permits; demonstration of competence
HB 1423: Commission on Early Childcare and Education
HB 1425: Conservators of the peace; search warrants, military criminal investigative organizations
HB 1525: Peer recovery specialists; barrier crime exceptions
HB 1627: Common interest community board; enforcement power over continuing violations
HB 1677: Retail sales and use tax; diagnostic work for automotive repair and emergency roadside service
HB 1685: Business local; taxes, penalties
HB 1838: Child pornography registry; required information
HB 1844: Virginia public records act; confidentiality of certain archived records
There are sixteen other bills still awaiting action from the Governor on Monday. In examining these bills, there are some clear issues and themes that emerge as important to right of center women during the 2023 Session. Some of the most pertinent areas of focus are local businesses, taxes, education, and safety for women and children. In terms of local businesses and taxes, Governor Youngkin will be looking at HB 1368, HB 1369, and HB 2184.
While tax liability and transparency is something that conservative women focused on this session, there is a more prominent and more urgent focus on education as well as the rights protecting children. HB 1691 deals with security within schools, and it proposes that it is appropriate to delegate funding toward school safety personnel and the enhancement of school-law enforcement. Similarly, HB 1526 prioritizes the wellbeing of students by creating a comprehensive and consistent literacy plan such that students throughout the state will be prepared on equivalent levels to learn skills in reading, science, math, and general educational literacy. To better equip parents of school-aged children HB 1629, the Department of Education will release individual scores to standardized tests on the student/parent portal system, and it will also provide other guidance to local school divisions on professional development for principals and teachers in regard to parent engagement. With the recent controversies over curriculum content, vaccine mandates, and other circumstances that involve the health and wellbeing of students, center-right legislators are advocating for parental involvement and decision-making on the issues that directly affect their children. Furthermore, HB 1374 allows civil measures to be taken to protect anyone who has been a victim of trafficking, even before a criminal decision has been made.
Collectively, these bills are just a few examples of the ways that right-of-center representatives in Virginia are successfully shedding light and taking action on matters of taxation and local businesses, the most conducive and safe learning environment for children, and parental rights within the school system. The 2023 Session exemplifies how productive the conservative women in Virginia were able to be on a larger scale, especially because the General Assembly is divided in terms of partisan majorities. Additionally, there are only 36 women in the House of Delegates and eleven women in the Senate. These amazing leaders are so inspiring to the next generation of women, and they are showing conservative women that they can make a difference, even now.