Thinking Forward to This Year's General Assembly Session

Thinking Forward to the 2022 General Assembly Session
By Tommy Herbert

 

Wednesday, January 11, the Virginia General Assembly will gavel in the 2022 Regular Session. Though it is the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World, this year will usher in another new organization of power. Riding Virginia’s historical trend of punishing presidential election winners, and with the auspices of a winning top-of-ticket, Republicans were able to take back the House of Delegates with a narrow 52-48 majority, ending two years of unified Democratic power. When the General Assembly gavels in, the legislature will thus be divided, with the Senate remaining slightly in Democratic control with a 21-19 split. In that chamber, however, the Lieutenant Governor, newly-elected Republican Winsome Sears, casts tie-breaking votes, setting up a year of tense Floor fights on partisan legislation from both sides of the aisle.

 

As we wade into Session, we are also conscious that society is emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of our efforts will be focused on making sure that the emergency measures that were undertaken temporarily to fight the pandemic, some of which have been very hard on housing providers, are not mistakenly inflicted on Virginians permanently. As you know, the budget language that governs Virginia’s eviction process is not actually a piece of legislation but a political expedient, it will automatically go out of effect on July 1, 2022 or sooner if Rent Relief Program (RRP) funds run out. To avoid a "cliff" effect for tenants who have been benefitting from RRP during the pandemic, VAMA is championing a temporary grant of funds to power a step-down program that would provide further aid to a smaller, targeted group of eligible residents to avoid homelessness. Further, we are working with a broad coalition of stakeholders to establish a state-level housing voucher program to help fund housing stability for some of the families on the long waiting lists at Virginia Public Housing Authorities who sometimes must wait for many years to rise to the top of the list.

 

We are also working to meaningfully address the problem of easy and widespread malfeasance on the issue of emotional support animals or ESAs, as well as establishing safety measures for boiler and pressure vessel operators and making state law related to Unlawful Detainer forms clearer. Among other topics, there are bills this year introduced that affect the industry in such areas as the power of localities to enforce standards on habitability, an attempt to make the 14-day notice timeline permanent, and sharply limiting security deposits. As Session continues, you will be hearing from VAMA about the progression of these bills, and possibly you may be called on to add your voice to ours by contacting your representatives. As a reminder, if you do not know who your representative in the Virginia General Assembly is, you can find them here.

 

VAMA continues to stand with AOBA in defense of the multifamily housing industry, but we need your help identifying threats as well. If you find a piece of legislation that is going to affect your business, please reach out to me at Tommy@vamaonline.org.