Lack of Transparency Dominates Special Session So Far
The main headline of Special Session thus far is the party line vote in the House of Delegates to disregard hundreds of years of tradition and conduct session virtually instead of at a central site in Richmond. After two failed attempts to change the rules or suspend them temporarily to allow for virtual meetings and voting, the Democrat majority passed a resolution that affords the Speaker of the House, Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Springfield), the power to direct committees to meet and vote virtually.
The first two virtual meetings with all 100 members have been messy, complete with technological glitches, members being kicked out of the Zoom meeting, and phone lines not working – and that was without having to cast any votes! In addition to that, due to certain procedural requirements House committees haven't even started holding hearings on bills.
And yet the House members are still able to receive a stipend for travel and lodging expenses while not having to leave their own home – although, the Republican Caucus has officially made it known they will forgo receiving their per diem.
The real consequence of these virtual sessions is the public has no way of knowing if their representatives are being given the chance to be heard. For instance, how can the public be certain that when a legislator who electronically signals that he or she desires to speak will be given the chance to do so? The public deserves every opportunity to know what their elected representatives are doing, but the Democrat majority is clearly making that a challenge for everyone.
Meanwhile, the Senate is at least holding in-person sessions and conducting virtual committee meetings on legislation -- and doing so without too many technical issues. While the bulk of the bills they’ve taken action on have focused on police and criminal justice reform, the Senate has managed to pass a few bills related to education, such as SB 5101 (R-Dunnavant). This bill would treat private school employees and volunteers as essential during a declared state of emergency for purposes of receiving equipment and resources.
Unfortunately, the Senate Education and Health committee narrowly rejected SB 5020 (R-Chase) which would have created a voucher account for parents to pay for private, virtual or other education alternatives if a school does not offer and in-person classroom. It’s also unclear whether bills like SB 5001 (R-Newman) and SB 5008 (R-Suetterlein) that seek to limit Executive Powers during a declared state of emergency will even be given a hearing.
There are still pressing issues that need to be addressed in this special session, like making budget amendments to account for a revised revenue forecast and making available resources to help parents place their children in the best learning environment, that will require careful monitoring. We will do our best to notify you when legislators need to hear from you on important legislation.
Please be mindful that since committee meetings are conducted virtually, you must register online in order to give public testimony. To speak virtually before any Senate Committee you will need to register HERE. (Note: Registration to speak is open from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm for afternoon meetings and 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm the day before any morning meetings.) Once the House actually starts holding committee meetings, we will be sure to provide you with registration instructions and a link.
