Delegate Wiley’s Richmond Roundup: Week 6 – Restoring trust and transparency in our government

With just one week of the session remaining, House Republicans have been working countless hours in subcommittees, committees, and on the House floor to consider hundreds of Senate bills in the abbreviated timeline of this session.

Last week, the House and the Senate each passed their own version of a budget with some key differences in funding priorities – including money that would go back into Virginians’ pockets in the form of tax relief – that must be reconciled as soon as possible. My House Republican colleagues and I have stressed the urgency of getting budget negotiations started with the Senate in order to have a final version ready for the Governor to sign. Those negotiations are now underway.

Each day we step foot in the Capitol, we intend to pass legislation that will make a positive and lasting impact on Virginians. This mindset has enabled us to pass significant tax relief to Virginians, invest in our schools, and make our communities safer. In addition to these important initiatives, we have also made it our mission to restore trust and transparency in our elections and ensure the government runs in the best interest of all Virginians.

While the Democrat-led Senate has blocked several of these measures from becoming law, House Republicans remain committed to exercising good governance and preserving the most sacred tenets of our democratic process.

Delegate Wiley presenting HB 2500 in Senate General Laws Committee on Wednesday, February 15th

Restoring Trust & Transparency in Our Government
A democracy cannot thrive without a secure electoral process that people can trust. Just a few years ago, the Democrat-led General Assembly passed sweeping legislation that diminished that trust by diluting our election laws in several significant ways. Over the past few weeks, House Republicans advanced legislation to reverse these bad policies and replace them with pragmatic ones. For instance, we passed legislation to restore the requirement to show photo identification when voting (HB 1444, Ware). This simple measure – which is as commonplace as showing an ID to buy alcohol at the grocery store – is an effective deterrent to reduce voter fraud by simply authenticating the identity of a voter.

Moreover, we sought to tighten rules on absentee voting by advancing legislation that would have repealed voter drop boxes (HB 1693, McGuire) to ensure unrestricted “vote dumps” cannot occur.

House Republicans also passed bills to bring the Commonwealth back toward the original idea of “Truth in Sentencing” while increasing transparency in our day-to-day governance. In addition to key pieces of legislation that would have ensured criminals who have committed particularly heinous crimes would stay off the streets for longer periods of time, we also advanced legislation that would shine a light on the actions of the Parole Board to implement real accountability and reinforce the safety of Virginians.

My Republican colleagues and I were proud to vote for the passage of these bills in the House. Yet, you will not see them become law because the Democrat-led Senate subsequently defeated each and every one of these proposals in various committees this week.

Rest assured, the outcome of these bills in the Senate only strengthens our commitment to continue fighting to restore trust and transparency in our government.

Delegate Wiley presented HB 2500 in Senate General Laws Committee on Wednesday, February 15th

Thanks to Jay Marts and Bob Ryan for organizing this event! Delegate Wiley is looking forward to attending and hopes to see you there.

Wiley’s Work in Richmond
• See 2023 legislation that Delegate Wiley is Chief Patron 
• See legislation that Delegate Wiley is Co-Patron on
• See a list of House Committees Delegate Wiley serves on or Chairs
• Other Commission and Committee Appointments in the General Assembly

You can also track any other legislation in the General Assembly here at www.lis.virginia.gov.

If I can be of assistance to you, or you would like to share your position on any of my legislation, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Regards,

Delegate Bill Wiley, House District 29
delbwiley@house.Virginia.gov
1-804-698-1029