Members of the General Assembly are about to gavel back into session. Democrats who will be leading the Senate have an agenda based on the buzz word of this election cycle: affordability.
Helping people weatherize their homes seemed like kind of a no-brainer when Democratic Senator Mamie Locke of Hampton introduced a bill to create a task force last year. The idea was pretty simple – determine barriers to access and enrollment in current efficiency programs. This is what it sounded like when she presented it to the chairman of the Senate General Laws Committee, Adam Ebbin.
"I'd like to move to Senate Bill 777," Locke said.
Ebbin replied, "sounds like a lucky number."
But it wasn’t so lucky after all because Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed the bill. In his veto message, he said the task force was unnecessary because state agencies already meet to discuss the issue. Locke disagrees, and now her bill to create a weatherization task force is a top priority in the affordability agenda for Senate Democrats, who will now be working with a new governor.
"What is it that we can do to lower energy costs for individuals," Locke asks. "And what's important to help with lowering those energy costs?"
Also on the affordability agenda for Senate Democrats: raising the minimum wage, child care assistance and universal free breakfasts for public school students.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
