This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed the first batch of bills passed by state lawmakers before they adjourned in mid-March, advancing measures on health care, housing and energy affordability. With hundreds of bills cleared by the legislature, she has until April 13 to sign, seek amendments or veto remaining legislation.
In the meantime, Spanberger in a statement highlighted lawmakers’ focus on these three issues as a priority during the legislative session.
“No Virginian should ever have to choose between seeing their doctor, paying their rent or mortgage, or keeping their lights on,” she said. “I am signing this legislation to respond to the real, pressing concerns I have heard from Virginia families across the commonwealth about high costs — particularly at the pharmacy counter, in the housing market, and on their utility bills.”
While she signed some versions of bills, she noted cognates from the opposite chamber that have yet to be communicated but will be signed when they officially reach her desk.
Health care
Following through on a campaign promise, Spanberger signed a slate of bills aimed at addressing health care affordability and access, along with measures to boost housing supply and strengthen tenant protections.
After passing unanimously, Senate Bill 669 by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, and House Bill 830 by Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville, aim to prevent pharmacy benefit managers from inflating prescription drug costs.
Pharmacy benefit managers are the middlemen that negotiate drug prices between health plans, manufacturers and pharmacies. Critics have argued they operate with little transparency, making it hard to tell how much of their negotiated savings are passed on to consumers. Rouse and Callsen have been working on reforming PBMs in recent years.
Another unanimously supported measure was SB 405 by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth and HB 815 by Del. Mark Downey, D-Williamsburg. The legislation invests in Virginia’s health workforce by administering nursing scholarships.
HB 220 by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, and SB 630 by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William will eliminate additional fees on health care premiums while HB 60 by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, seeks to prevent life and health insurance from being denied to people who have sought care for HIV or AIDS.
Housing
After a state-directed study confirmed a shortage of roughly 200,000 affordable housing units, lawmakers have spent several legislative sessions trying to address the gap. Housing affordability and increasing supply were also central to Spanberger’s campaign for governor.
HB 1227 by Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William, and SB 729 by Sen. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, leverage the state’s bonding authority to support the development of new affordable housing.
SB 628 by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and SB 527 by Del. Adele McClure, D-Alexandria, establish Virginia’s Eviction Reduction Program — a measure both women had planned to pursue through their work on the Virginia Housing Commission, where they learned the piloted diversion program was not being used as widely as intended.
SB 346 by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, and HB 655 by Del. Michelle Maldonado, D-Prince William, aim to boost housing supply by making it easier to construct manufactured homes, which can provide a more affordable housing option but are not always granted the same approvals as other single-family homes.
All of the housing bills Spanberger has so far signed so far, or indicated she plans to sign, cleared the legislature with bipartisan support.
Energy
With energy costs a top concern for Virginians, lawmakers passed several bills aimed at lowering monthly utility bills.
Spanberger signed HB 1191, by Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax, and SB 377, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, that allows high load energy customers — such as data centers or manufacturers — to enter into agreements to invest in new substations that serve only them, shielding ratepayers from those costs.
Under these measures, customers that demand more than 20 megawatts of power and rely on transmission lines of 230 kV of power or more would pay 100% of the cost to construct the substation should they enter into an agreement with the utility and comply with local ordinances.
HB 369, sponsored by Del David Reid, D-Loudoun, addresses the process by which commercial and industrial customers of Phase I and Phase II utilities buy renewable energy certificates, or RECs, from within the regional grid operator PJM to help meet clean energy and capacity requirements.
The RECs help utilities comply with mandates under the Virginia Clean Economy Act. The legislation also provides that power purchased from nuclear and fusion energy sources would count toward meeting the law’s carbon-zero emissions requirements.
SB 505, by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, directs the State Corporation Commission to take a closer look at fuel and power purchase costs and how they affect risk for ratepayers. Fuel costs are a direct pass-through from utilities to customers, but the newly signed bill requires the SCC to ensure that the most efficient methods are being used and to consider fuel-cost sharing programs.
HB 562, also by Reid, allows electric cooperatives to establish virtual power plants to help ease potential strain on the grid during periods of extreme heat or cold. The measure enables customers with electric vehicle charging stations, smart thermostats, and battery storage to temporarily reduce demand on the grid during peak hours on a voluntary basis.
HB 889, by Shin, and SB 497, by Sen. Russet Perry, D-Loudoun, prioritizes existing transmission line corridors and state highways for new transmission siting. The Department of Transportation is also directed to make recommendations on how the state can speed up permitting for transmission lines in areas where infrastructure already exists and along highway rights-of-way.
Another Shin proposal, HB 1225, and SB 407, by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, allows Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company to petition the SCC to build utility-owned electric vehicle charging stations while establishing new location requirements. The bill also initiates a rulemaking proceeding by the SCC to determine appropriate distances between utility-owned fast-charging stations and privately-owned ones.
