The new legislative session begins on Wednesday, 1/10 at the General Assembly in Richmond, and state Senators and Delegates have already begun filing proposed legislation.
An initial list of bills that have been submitted by some of Fairfax County’s all-Democrat delegation, has been compiled by the Gazette Leader.
What are expected to be some of the more contentious issues? The Virginia Mercury and Richmond Times Dispatch each have predictions.
Locally, news that Sen. Dave Marsden plans to introduce legislation for a casino in Fairfax County has been met with opposition from Reston residents and the Vienna Town Council as reported by the Fairfax Times.
Key dates in the legislative cycle:
| Wednesday, January 10 | Session convenes Prefiling ends at 10:00 a.m. Last day to file legislation creating or continuing a study |
| Friday, January 12 | Last day to submit budget amendments |
| Friday, January 19 | Bill cut-off (last day to introduce bills and certain joint resolutions) |
| Tuesday, February 13 | Crossover (last day for each house to act on its own legislation, except Budget Bills) |
| Sunday, February 18 | House Appropriations and Senate Finance & Appropriations Committees to complete action on Budget Bills (UVA report will follow) |
| Tuesday, February 20 | Amendments to Budget Bills available |
| Thursday, February 22 | Houses of origin to complete action on Budget Bills |
| Wednesday, February 28 | Last day to act on Budget Bills and revenue bills of other house and appoint conferees |
| Monday, March 4 | Last day for committee action on remaining bills |
| Thursday, March 7 | Last day to act on remaining bills and appoint conferees |
| Saturday, March 9 | Session adjourns sine die |
| Monday, April 8 | Last day for Governor’s action on legislation |
| Wednesday, April 17/24 | Reconvened session |
| Monday, July 1 | Effective date of enacted legislation |
For a look at local priorities for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, see the article by the Fairfax Times.
The start of the new year also brings enactment of new laws. For an overview, read The Patch’s list of notable changes here, https://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/new-va-laws-2024-cannabis-control-hearing-aid-mandate-pay-raise.