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The rundown
Governor Youngkin signs bill into law that will make masks optional in Virginia’s schools
The Virginia NAACP is calling for 2022 elections
Governor Youngkin and Congressman Griffith Announce a Fifth Round of Funding for Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Grant Program
Today’s Sponsor
Learn more about how Americans for Prosperity- Virginia is breaking down barriers for all Virginians and how you can get involved by visiting ANewVisionfortheOldDominion.com
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs bill into law that makes masks optional in school on March 1
Governor Glenn Youngkin signed SB 739 into law on Wednesday making masks optional in all of Virginia public schools beginning March 1.
“Today we are establishing and restoring power back to parents,” Youngkin said in front of a crowd on the steps of the Capitol Wednesday before he signed the bill. “But we are also reestablishing our expectations that we will get back to normal, and this is the path.”
The bill sponsored by Republican state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (Henrico) was originally only aimed at keeping schools open for in-person learning five days a week. In the Senate, however, Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) added an amendment that would keep school districts from mandating masks in their schools. The bill eventually passed with Petersen and two other Democrats, Joe Morrissey and Lynnwood Lewis, voting in favor with the Republicans.
The legislation then soared through the Republican House and over to Youngkin’s desk where he amended it with an emergency clause to make it effective immediately if approved.
The tricky part about this amendment is that it is only possible because Democrats changed the rules in 2020 to allow for a governor’s amendment including an emergency clause to need just a simple majority for approval, instead of the supermajority that the Virginia Constitution requires.
Republicans cite a few pandemic-response bills that Democrats passed with an emergency clause amendment for immediate impact to help mitigate Covid-19 spread in 2020 as the precedence needed for SB 739.
The Senate advanced the bill quickly after receiving the amendments from the governor.
In the House on Wednesday, Del. Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church) pointed to a written statement from Republican Speaker Bill Howell in 2010 that says governor’s amendments are subject to the same voting requirements as the General Assembly.
By that logic, the Democrats contradicted the argument that they are trying to use today with legislation they passed under Northam’s administration.
Speaker Gilbert made that point, noting Wednesday on the floor that he found 11 instances where emergency clauses were used in 2020-2021 when Democrats were in power and only used a simple majority to approve.
Gilbert also cited Article V, section 6 of the Constitution, which states that "each house may agree to the Governor's amendments by a majority vote.”
House Republicans voted to pass the bill Wednesday and sent it back to the governor.
“It’s time we end the insanity and let our kids be kids again,” House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said in a statement about this bill.
The bill left open the opportunity for future governors to take executive action in order to stop the spread of diseases like measles or tuberculosis. As far as using the those powers again for Covid-19 mitigation, Youngkin doesn’t expect to need to. “I don’t think we are going to need it,” Youngkin said Wednesday, noting it might not go away but he believes it won’t be as strong as it has been.
Virginia NAACP calls for new House election with new maps
