Legislative update from Delegate Chris Collins – January 2019

On Wednesday, January 9th the Virginia House of Delegates gaveled in the 2019 General Assembly Session, reaching a historic milestone of 400 years of uninterrupted lawmaking for the people of Virginia. The House of Delegates, formally the House of Burgesses, is the oldest continuously elected law-making body in the New World, established in 1619.

This year is a short session (45 days) where our top priorities will be providing tax relief for working families, slowing the massive growth in health care costs, making college more affordable, and keeping students safe in schools.

2019 Legislation

During the 2019 session I will be carrying 15 bills. On Wednesday, January 16th I held a press conference for HB 1811, my Hands Free Driving bill. I was joined by Senator Richard Stuart, law enforcement, victims’ family members and our partners DRIVE SMART Virginia Coalition for Safe Driving.

This legislation would prohibit drivers from using a wireless device while driving, unless that device is operated in a hands-free manner. I hope this legislation will reduce the number of incidents caused by distracted driving, which accounted for 25% of Virginia’s traffic fatalities in 2018. This legislation has support from both sides of the aisle as well as in the House and Senate.

I encourage you to view the full list of legislation by clicking on the link below.

Track Legislation

Tax Relief

House Republicans are offering a responsible plan to stop Governor Ralph Northam’s middle-class tax hike and provide targeted tax relief to middle and low income Virginians, without costing the state a penny. The legislation was introduced by Caucus Chairman Delegate Tim Hugo and will allow taxpayers to itemize their state taxes regardless of how they file their federal return, increase the state standard deduction across the board, and maintain the important state and local tax (SALT) deduction as it exists today.

This plan will fully implement the federal tax cuts at the state level, protecting a middle class family that itemizes from what could be roughly a $805 tax increase or providing an additional $115 in tax relief to a family that chooses the standard deduction.

Healthcare

Health care costs continue to pinch middle-class families. We are working with our colleagues in the Senate on a series of bills to make it easier and more affordable to get quality health insurance. We have innovative ideas to empower consumers, create more health insurance options, and lower barriers to competition in healthcare.

Virginia Schools and Higher Education

Speaker Kirk Cox introduced legislation this week to create partnership performance agreements between Virginia and individual public colleges and universities. The agreements will include mutual commitments by the Commonwealth and individual higher education institutions on initiatives to increase the talent pipeline and economic growth, improve college access and affordability for Virginians, and measure and reward college performance based on student outcomes.

Under the proposed legislation, partnership agreements would spell out mutually dependent commitments by the colleges, the Commonwealth, and, in some cases, key business partners on priorities such as new high-demand degree programs, research and new business startups, and state and regional economic development initiatives. Partnership agreements also would address key student issues such as tuition fees and financial aid, internship opportunities, and enrollment of Virginia resident students. Institutional funding and managerial flexibility would be tied to performance.

Participating colleges would be able to submit partnership performance agreement proposals this spring or summer, resulting in negotiations that could lead to individual agreements approved by the General Assembly and Governor in the biennial budget to be addressed in early 2020. Additionally, Majority Whip Nick Rush spoke about plans to transform Virginia’s economy for the future by promoting major economic development deals with Amazon and Micron, aligning our higher education system to meet the needs of our economy, and funding research and commercial development.

2019 Committee Assignments

I am honored to continue serving on the House Courts of Justice, Transportation, and Education committees. I have served on Courts of Justice since the start of my first term in 2016 and was assigned to the Transportation committee during the 2017 session. I was assigned to the Education committee last session in 2018 and I am looking forward to my second year as a member.

In summary, I encourage you to keep in touch with me and my office over the coming months. I value the feedback you provide on a continual basis as it helps me do a better job of representing you. You can email me at delccollins@house.virginia.gov or call my office in Richmond at (804) 698-1029.

I will provide you with weekly email updates during the 2019 General Assembly Session and will schedule my Coffee with Chris events after Session to report on important topics and take questions.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to serving you in 2019.

Delegate Christopher E. Collins
Our mailing address is:
P.O. Box 459
Winchester, Virginia 22604