The Virginia General Assembly passed more than 1,000 bills during the recent legislative session, which adjourned on March 9. The Governor had until midnight on April 8 to act on the bills. He signed nearly 800 bills, offered amendments to more than 100 bills and vetoed 153 bills, which exceeds the number of bills vetoed by previous governors over their four-year terms. In addition, the Governor offered more than 200 amendments to the state budget bill. The General Assembly will convene on April 17 to consider the amendments and vetoes.

Of particular interest to the GWSCSW/VSCSW were the two social work compact bills, Senate Bill 239 (Senator Hashmi) and House Bill 326 (Delegate Glass). Throughout March, the legislative committee coordinated with the patrons and reached out to the Governor’s Office on several occasions to encourage him to sign the bills. The Governor signed SB239 and HB326 before the April 8 deadline making Virginia the sixth state to adopt the compact. Once the compact has been adopted by seven states, the Council of State Governments will begin the process to formalize the application process and administration of the licensing reciprocity with other member compact states.

Of note, the Virginia Board of Social Work cancelled their March 29 meeting due to a lack of a quorum. The next meeting is scheduled for July 12.