Greetings from our state capitol.  As we approach the end of our 2022 session, I am advising you of the status of legislation that I introduced this year.  All bills in both bodies must be resolved in their respective bodies by Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Of the 17 bills I introduced, 10 have passed the House and the Senate, 1 was incorporated in another Delegate’s bill, 2 were carried over to the 2023 session for further consideration, and 1 is being addressed through agency directive.  Below are more details on the 10 bills that have passed through both chambers and the 1 bill still pending final action.

Six of my bills are related to improving health care access, quality, or accountability.

1. HB910 will help the legislature to understand emergency department utilization and help us to find ways to encourage patients to go to a primary care physician rather than an emergency room.
2. HB234 will look for ways to improve the oversight of our nursing homes and assisted living facilities and to ensure adequate patient care.
3. HB912 will require a study to ensure patients can continue to receive medical care when his insurance carrier is no longer recognized by their previous health care provider.
4. HB917 will ensure that our medical public assistance dollars are allocated to those with the highest priority financial needs.
5. HB235 will work to ensure that needed out-patient services (such as rehabilitation, therapy, home health care) are arranged before a patient is discharged.
6. The only bill still pending final action is HB1323 which will make it easier for pharmacists to administer certain vaccines. This bill is in conference committee where I’m working out differences between the House and Senate objectives.  I’m very optimistic that this measure will be passed.

Below are five additional bills of mine that have passed both the House and the Senate.

1. HB236 will give the Dept. of Education the flexibility to extend a teacher’s time to be recertified by one year if the teacher has had difficulty, due to Covid-19, in fulfilling all of the requirements by the current deadline.
2. HB231 will allow our dedicated Va. National Guard members additional days of paid leave from their civilian job if they are called into Guard duties.
3. HB238 will ensure state-wide uniformity in local government recertification of agricultural land-use tax eligibility for our farming community.
4. HB911 will allow local governments to consider additional ways to encourage and reward volunteer community service participation in areas such as the fire department, rescue squad, auxiliary police officer and others.
5. HB919 will ensure that our water supply systems comply with all Federal standards and will allow additional regulations to be considered but not be implemented without thorough investigation.

All of these bills will now go to the Governor who will either sign, amend or veto them.  If he amends or vetoes any of these measures, we will consider those actions when we return in April for our one-day veto session.

The single most important issue to be resolved is our biennial budget.  At present, the House and Senate budget conferees are trying to resolve the differences.  The House budget returns almost $3billion to the citizens in tax cuts or tax rebates and the Senate budget has allocated most of those funds to be spent.  I suspect that these differences will be resolved in the next week or two, during which time, the rest of the Assembly members will be in recess in our home districts.

I will share a final report on major legislative actions and the budget after the veto session.

As always, I appreciate the contact that I’ve received on many of the issues before us and I encourage your continued input.  Further, if I can be of assistance in any manner relating to our state government, I welcome the opportunity.  As of Monday, March14, 2022, my local office will reopen on our regular schedule; Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-12 and Tuesday, Thursday 9-5.  The phone number is (540)891-1322 or email at delborrock@house.virginia.gov.