In a year of historic firsts, members of the state legislature gathered in Richmond Tuesday, with senators meeting in a science museum and delegates conducting business in a basketball arena.
Months into a global epidemic and national unrest, the General Assembly’s special session kicked off with a rocky start in the House...or rather, in the arena.
Calls from demonstrators to fund schools and end evictions bounced off of Broad Street. Inside, House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn began the session by acknowledging what a painful year 2020 has been.
"Virginians are hurting. Students, workers, families, businesses have all been hit hard by the coronavirus whose impacts none of us in this room could have imagined," Filler-Corn said.
After hours of debate, delegates ended up focusing not on the pandemic or police reform, but instead on whether or not to begin voting online immediately.
Much to the frustration of Delegate Marcus Simon, Democrats did not get the supermajority vote they needed from Republicans. "We couldn't do it today without some cooperation from the other side and they came in in a mood that wasn’t, you know, for cooperating."
Instead, House Democrats passed a resolution allowing business to be conducted remotely until they can override the original decision and move forward. Republican Todd Gilbert took issue with the process, saying it violated long-observed customs and possibly the law. "That was one of the most opaque and least transparent maneuvers I’ve ever seen in my time in the General Assembly," Gilbert said afterward.
House leadership said bills won't reach the floor until next week.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.