Business Trends: GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Bills that mean business A
General Assembly passes legislation affecting the state economy by Jessica Sabbath
n impasse over Medicaid expansion held the state budget hostage for months.
In fact, as this issue went to press, the
House of Delegates and state Senate still had not come to an agreement on its bien- nium budget. But while many major business
initiatives such as health care, workforce investment and economic development marketing are wrapped up in the massive spending bill, many business-related initia- tives already had been signed into law by mid-May. For example, several bills attempt to
address critical workforce shortages. “What we found through polling last year for our Blueprint Virginia was that workforce readiness was the No. 1 issue of concern for the business community across every region in the commonwealth and across every industry,” says Barry DuVal, presi- dent and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “The availability of a well- trained workforce remains our top priority.” Other new laws are designed to help
streamline licensure to address a statewide teacher shortage. Another law aims to standardize the transfer of college credits from community colleges to four-year institutions. Transferring credits from the commonwealth’s community colleges
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to four-year institutions is too complex, according to a report last year from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Com- mission (JLARC). Virginia also is putting a major
emphasis on improving the economy in its rural regions. New legislation will provide tax incentives to encourage companies to make major capital investments in rural and distressed regions. “This is designed to improve the
economy in parts of the state that are economically distressed by providing tax breaks to companies for seven years,” says Keith Martin, executive vice president, public policy and general counsel of the Virginia Chamber. Legislation also permanently expands a
moratorium preventing localities from pass- ing their own regulations on unmanned aircraft vehicles, or drones. “That’s a new component of Virginia trying to distinguish itself as a real leader in drone governance and drone regulation and trying to help build our drone industry,” says Josh Levi, vice president of policy at the Northern Virginia Technology Council. After the budget bill passes, Virginia
Business will provide an online update of items affecting Virginia businesses. The following are some examples of new laws affecting the business community.
EDUCATION/ WORKFORCE
Promoting career and technical education (HB 1530) Directs the Virginia Board of
Education to make recommendations by Nov. 1 on strategies to try to eliminate any stigma associated with high-school career and technical education. The board also is directed to consider the consolidation of the current standard and advanced diplomas offered in K-12 education, instead offering endorsements that recognize student competencies and achievements in specific subject matter.
Teacher shortage Several new laws attempt to address
the teacher shortage in Virginia by stream- lining the licensure process. HB 1125/SB 349 allows reciprocity for teachers with out-of-state licenses to receive Virginia credentials without requiring additional
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