Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently signed some bills local lawmakers patroned during this year’s Virginia General Assembly session.
Del. Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg) and state Sen. Tara Durant (R-Stafford) mentioned the legislative victories last week at a town hall-style meeting that Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chairman Deuntay Diggs held at Stafford High School.
Cole said one of his bills originated from when he was a 26-year-old political candidate.
“So the first time I ran my office, I had a campaign manager who said, ‘Oh, if you need to buy some suits or whatever, you can buy some suits with campaign money.’ That’s not illegal in Virginia,” the legislator said. “So I did and then a newspaper article came out about me.”
He and his peers won’t be able to do that again, though, because of his bill, which Youngkin signed March 24.
HB2165 bans the personal use of campaign funds, closing a loophole that allowed misuse of donations. The legislation, which took a dozen years to pass, also establishes enforcement and penalties for violations.
“And finally, after 12 years of trial, the governor signed a piece of legislation that said candidates are no longer allowed to use campaign money for personal use,” Cole said. “And if you think about [former congressman] George Santos in New York, the stuff that he did was not illegal in Virginia.
“There was a delegate who retired, and he had a couple of thousands of dollars left over in his bank account, and he used that money as a down payment on a yacht and said, ‘Goodbye, Virginia, I’m going to have my best life now.’”
Youngkin signed another of Cole’s bills March 21. That legislation creates the Student Training Employment Pipeline for U.S. Procurement (STEP UP) Program, which provides career training and federal security clearance assistance for high school and community college students entering government contracting jobs.
“I was super happy about that, and parents are already reaching out to us to figure out what we can do to get that started,” Cole said.
One of Durant’s bills was personal, too.
SB 1436 prohibits health insurance companies from imposing cost-sharing for diagnostic breast examinations and supplemental breast examinations under certain insurance policies, subscription contracts and health care plans in Virginia on and after Jan. 1.
Durant’s legislation was incorporated into a bill by state Sen. Russet Perry (D-Leesburg), which Youngkin signed March 24.
“As some of you know,” said Durant, “I went through breast cancer treatment four years ago, and I feel pretty strongly that women need to have access to the screening so that we catch this early like they did with me and I can stand before you, healthy and strong.”
Another of her bills, which the governor signed March 21, directs the commissioner of Veterans Services to help identify incarcerated veterans using the VA’s Re-Entry Search Services system. It aims to support their re-entry, reduce recidivism and homelessness, and connect them with behavioral health resources and dockets.
The General Assembly will reconvene Wednesday for what is scheduled as a one-day session to talk about the state budget and act on legislation Youngkin amended or vetoed.
