State lawmakers act on hundreds of bills to reach crossover

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - The Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate have reached crossover, the point in the General Assembly session when each chamber completes work on its own legislation.

Members of the House adjourned Tuesday afternoon, while members of the Senate worked into the evening after meeting for more than eight hours.

As lawmakers passed the halfway point in the legislative session, most of the bills dealing with hot-button issues like abortion and guns are headed for defeat.

“We knew from the very beginning it would be very difficult for some of the very major issues, for there to be any type of real compromise,” WDBJ7 Political Analyst Bob Denton said Tuesday afternoon.

But Denton said there are important areas where lawmakers could still find common ground, especially with budget amendments funding economic development, workforce training, public education, transportation and mental health.

“So right now, I’m actually going to be fairly easy in the grading and give them a B-plus to be honest about it,” Denton said. “I think there’s enough there that’s optimistic, and with the money that’s there I think it can provide help in some very needed areas.”

A major point of contention in budget proposals from the House and Senate money committees is the issue of tax relief.

And the partisan divide was evident in the Senate Tuesday evening as Democrats failed to confirm three appointments by Governor Youngkin, including the State’s Health Commissioner, a member of the Board of Education and a member of the Virginia Parole Board.

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