Greetings from your State Capitol.  I am again incredibly humbled to represent you in our 2024 General Assembly.  Thank you for this high honor.

The 2024 session has just completed its first week and we are now in full gear.  With the new majority, I had far less input in my committee assignments.  I’m glad to report that I have remained on the three committees on which I have served the longest: Health and Human Services, Finance, and Agriculture Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

As the work of the session has begun, we are beginning to see a marked partisan approach to how bills are being heard.  I hope that in the near term that will become less pronounced and we will become more good policy focused with less emphasis on the patron of the bills party.

Below are the measures that I have introduced for consideration this session.  As every year, almost all of these measures are at the request of individuals in our area or a result of problems that constituents have experienced.

• HB216        To give the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation more flexibility in working with property owners as they ensure that privately owned dams are safe.
• HB217        Require a review of the current medical informed consent form to ensure that certain gynecological procedures are adequately explained.
• HB218        Make certain changes to legislation from last year to ensure that patients will continue to receive necessary medical care when their insurance carrier and the provider are in a contract dispute.
• HB219        Consider making changes to the current penalty for driving on an expired registration.  The intent would be to allow a grace period with no penalty and an enhanced penalty the longer one goes without renewing their tags.
• HB220        Makes certain adjustments to requirements that will allow for remote monitoring of water and sewage treatment facilities when there are no licensed operators available for on-site supervision.
• HB221        Charge the Va. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services to begin the process of developing a model guidance document to assist county governments if they choose to enact an ordinance to address the problem of free-roaming cats.
• HB222        Exempt church run child day care centers from state regulations except for those involving safety and health standards.
• HB223        Would give the court added discretion in banning pet ownership in egregious cases of animal abuse.
• HB259        Allows the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation greater flexibility in awarding grant funds to assist property owners with dam maintenance costs.
• HB330        Allow local commonwealth attorneys to enforce federal statutes if a pet shop violates the lending disclosure requirements.
• HB628        Make it easier for a hospital to add additional beds for the treatment of patients in mental crisis.
• HB1306     Make it easier for veterinary practices to administer necessary pet medications in off-site settings.
• HB1312     Add our State Park law enforcement officers to the same retirement system as almost all of our other state law enforcement officers.
• HJR12         Require the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to determine the long-term impact of our current solar panel mandate on our farm and forest lands.

I will keep you updated on the status of all of these measures and other major issues of state or local impact.  All floor sessions, committee and subcommittee meetings may be viewed remotely and you can also sign up to testify at subcommittee meetings in person or on-line.  You may access all of these by going to Virginiageneralassembly.gov and following the links under the “Members and Session” box.  You can also follow the status of each piece of legislation on this site.

I welcome your emails, calls and visits.  My email is DelBorrock@virginia.house.gov , and my phone is (804)698-1066.