News

Greetings from your State Capitol week three of Session.  We have one full week of committee work before crossover, when all action on house bills will have to be completed.  The work pace has become very hectic, with my Thursday schedule beginning at 7am and not ending until 7pm, as one example.

My schedule has kept me from meeting with many of those who came by and for this I apologize, but it is the nature of the process.  My staff has done a wonderful job of sharing information from those who visited.

Given that not all of my bills have been heard, I will defer reporting on their status until next week.  We have seen considerable discussion on certain hot topics.  The focus of the session so far is to forward certain agenda topics; restricting gun rights, local government and school mandates, and providing more funding for social programs.  We have also seen a summary dismissal of many ideas that would reduce taxes, create greater accountability for those who ignore the law, and other measures designed to reduce government control of peoples’ lives.

Just to remind you, all floor sessions, committee and subcommittee meetings may be viewed remotely and you can also sign up to testify at subcommittee meetings in person or online.  You may access all of these by going to virginiageneralassembly.gov and following the links under the “Members and Session” box.  You can also follow the status of each piece of legislation on this site.

I welcome your emails, calls and visits.  My email is [email protected]

Delegate Bobby Orrock
District 66
804-698-1066
Room 1107

Greetings from your State Capitol!  It’s been a true joy to have had so many local visitors this week.  I always welcome your visits and the opportunity to discuss the bills before us as well as the legislative process.  This is your Capitol and I encourage you to visit this beautiful and historic site.

It’s been a slow start, but we are finally getting up to speed.  About 1/3 of my bills have been heard and I’ll give a specific update on all of them next week after more of them have been considered.  I will share that the process this year is currently more partisan in its actions, which, I hope will change.  We’ve already seen member’s bills that passed out of committee, without opposition, killed on the floor as “pay back” for questioning someone else’s bill.

We’ve also seen legislation passed that mandates farm workers must be paid the minimum wage.  The federal law exempts farms because of the fact that farm work isn’t a nine-to-five job and many farm owners provide compensation in the form of housing, vehicles, fuel, farm products and many other tangible, non-monetary benefits.  The statement was made in defending the bill that if a farmer couldn’t manage his farm well enough to pay fair wages then maybe they should just quit.  This is just one example of legislation being considered that doesn’t take into account the full effect of its implementation.

Over the next two weeks, the remaining 1,500 bills introduced in the house will have to be dealt with.  This will mean a hectic schedule and much longer floor sessions.  Our sessions will be even more intense with our most controversial measures still to be heard.

I welcome your phone calls to (804) 698-1066 and your emails to [email protected] to share your views, answer questions, or schedule a visit.  All legislative work may be watched live on-line at virginiageneralassembly.gov and going to the proper link.  All committee and floor sessions are also archived and accessible.

Thank you again for the opportunity to represent you and I’ll continue to keep you updated.

Greetings from your State Capitol.  I am again incredibly humbled to represent you in our 2024 General Assembly.  Thank you for this high honor.

The 2024 session has just completed its first week and we are now in full gear.  With the new majority, I had far less input in my committee assignments.  I’m glad to report that I have remained on the three committees on which I have served the longest: Health and Human Services, Finance, and Agriculture Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

As the work of the session has begun, we are beginning to see a marked partisan approach to how bills are being heard.  I hope that in the near term that will become less pronounced and we will become more good policy focused with less emphasis on the patron of the bills party.

Below are the measures that I have introduced for consideration this session.  As every year, almost all of these measures are at the request of individuals in our area or a result of problems that constituents have experienced.

• HB216        To give the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation more flexibility in working with property owners as they ensure that privately owned dams are safe.
• HB217        Require a review of the current medical informed consent form to ensure that certain gynecological procedures are adequately explained.
• HB218        Make certain changes to legislation from last year to ensure that patients will continue to receive necessary medical care when their insurance carrier and the provider are in a contract dispute.
• HB219        Consider making changes to the current penalty for driving on an expired registration.  The intent would be to allow a grace period with no penalty and an enhanced penalty the longer one goes without renewing their tags.
• HB220        Makes certain adjustments to requirements that will allow for remote monitoring of water and sewage treatment facilities when there are no licensed operators available for on-site supervision.
• HB221        Charge the Va. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services to begin the process of developing a model guidance document to assist county governments if they choose to enact an ordinance to address the problem of free-roaming cats.
• HB222        Exempt church run child day care centers from state regulations except for those involving safety and health standards.
• HB223        Would give the court added discretion in banning pet ownership in egregious cases of animal abuse.
• HB259        Allows the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation greater flexibility in awarding grant funds to assist property owners with dam maintenance costs.
• HB330        Allow local commonwealth attorneys to enforce federal statutes if a pet shop violates the lending disclosure requirements.
• HB628        Make it easier for a hospital to add additional beds for the treatment of patients in mental crisis.
• HB1306     Make it easier for veterinary practices to administer necessary pet medications in off-site settings.
• HB1312     Add our State Park law enforcement officers to the same retirement system as almost all of our other state law enforcement officers.
• HJR12         Require the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to determine the long-term impact of our current solar panel mandate on our farm and forest lands.

I will keep you updated on the status of all of these measures and other major issues of state or local impact.  All floor sessions, committee and subcommittee meetings may be viewed remotely and you can also sign up to testify at subcommittee meetings in person or on-line.  You may access all of these by going to Virginiageneralassembly.gov and following the links under the “Members and Session” box.  You can also follow the status of each piece of legislation on this site.

I welcome your emails, calls and visits.  My email is [email protected] , and my phone is (804)698-1066.

Greetings from your state capital.  As we approach the end of our 2023 session, I am advising you of the status of legislation that I introduced this year.  All bills in both bodies must be resolved in their respective bodies by Saturday, February 25, 2023, and the following bills have passed both bodies.

HB1446 will, for the first time, establish an average minimum number of nurse-to-patient contact hours that will be required in our nursing homes.  This is an issue that has been under consideration for over 20 years.  I’m glad to be able to find a path forward to achieve this critical need.

HB1447 at the request of the hospital association, will allow our hospitals to better utilize their current Paramedic and EMT employees as part of a patient care team.

HB1449 will have the Emergency Services Advisory Board to consider a means whereby an EMS provider might assist a patient in taking their own critical medications when the patient is unable to give oral consent.

HB1450 is a recommendation from the Disability Commission to replace all references in our code to “handicapped” with the term “disabled” or “disability” bringing our code into compliance with Federal language.

HB1452 will authorize the Attorney General to have some of his Medicaid Fraud Investigation members become sworn police officers to more efficiently allow them to enforce the law.

HB1504 will have the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to consider ways that we can require anyone sending unsolicited text messages to provide an opt out provision that works.  I’m sure many of you, as I, have found it very annoying and frustrating to receive unsolicited texts that never seem to stop.

HB1684 ensures that a business that has misclassified workers under current tax requirements cannot be blocked from future state contracts or be fined until their right to appeal has been concluded.

HB2354 ensures that when an insurance carrier and a health care provider have terminated their contract that the patient will have a longer period of continued service and an assurance of continued health care in certain medical circumstances, such as pregnancy or long-term convalescence.  I am glad that the recent dispute between an insurance carrier and health care system in our area has been resolved but am glad to help put in place more patient protections that may be needed in the future.

All of these bills will now go to the Governor who will either sign, amend or veto them.  If he amends or vetoes any of these measures, we will consider those actions when we return in April for our one-day veto session.

Of the other issues that I received the most citizen input, measures related to our current abortion laws gathered the most interest.  There were no changes to the current laws in Virginia on this topic.  The House did pass legislation reinstituting the informed consent provision that existed until 3 years ago and we passed the “Born Alive Act” that would have required a physician to perform any reasonable medical measures to sustain the life of a new born after an attempted abortion.  Neither of these measures passed the Senate.

Not surprisingly, the topic of guns garnered the next greatest amount of interest.  Again, on this issue there were no significant changes to our existing laws that passed both chambers.

Many constituents contacted me about a resolution calling for a Federal Constitutional Convention to address our runaway Federal spending and addressing issues related to term limits.  I supported the resolution, but it was subsequently sent back to the Rules committee where it will no longer be considered.  Given that, at the State level, must have a balanced budget, I have grave concerns over the current practices with our federal budget.

The single most important issue to be resolved is amending our biennial budget.  At present, the House and Senate budget conferees are trying to resolve the differences.    I suspect that these differences will be resolved in the next week, during which time, the rest of the Assembly members will be in recess in our home districts and then return for a one day session to act on the budget.

Given that the Governor will have possible amendments or vetoes to the budget and other bills sent to him, I will share a final report on major legislative actions and the budget after the veto session.

As always, I appreciate the contact that I’ve received on many of the issues before us and I encourage your continued input.  Further, if I can be of assistance in any manner relating to our state government, I welcome the opportunity.  As of Monday, February 27, 2023, my local office will reopen on our regular schedule; Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-12 and Tuesday, Thursday 9-5.  The phone number is (540)891-1322 or email at [email protected].

Greetings from our state capitol.  As we have reached the midpoint of our 2023 session, I will advise you of the status of legislation I introduced this year.  The House finished action on our measures Tuesday, and all House bills have either been sent to the Senate for action or will no longer be considered this year.

Of the fifteen bills I introduced, nine have been sent to the Senate.  The remaining six bills were either referred to the appropriate agency for further review or were deemed unnecessary due to other measures that passed.  Here are more details on the nine bills that have passed the House.

HB1446 will, for the first time, establish an average minimum number of nurse-to-patient contact hours that will be required in our nursing homes.  While this will establish a much-needed standard, there are many complexities that must be addressed.  Given the current work force shortage, the shortage of training opportunities, various Federal funding issues, and the challenges of patients with varying care needs, this is not a simple requirement.  Therefore, the bill will have the specifics addressed through regulations over the next two years and will try to achieve compliance through financial incentives and assistance from the state for those facilities that need it in developing a plan for compliance.  This is an issue that has been under consideration for over twenty years.  I’m glad to be able to find a path forward to achieve this critical need.

HB1447 at the request of the hospital association, will allow our hospitals to better utilize their current Paramedic employees to assist in their patient care teams.

HB1448 will have the State Dept. of Education consult parents, public school boards, and public school librarians to develop recommendations to assist in establishing a consistent review policy for printed and audio visual materials in our public schools.

HB1449 will have the Emergency Services Advisory Board to consider the possibility of a means whereby an EMS provider might assist a patient in taking their own critical medications when the patient is unable to give oral consent.

HB1450 is a recommendation from the Disability Commission to replace all references in our code to “handicapped” with the term “disabled” or “disability” bringing our code into compliance with Federal language.

HB1452 will authorize the Attorney General to have a number of his Medicaid Fraud Investigation members become sworn police officers to more efficiently allow them to enforce the law.  Under current law, his investigators must secure assistance from state or local law enforcement anytime they need to secure or execute a search warrant and to enforce any other crimes they discover in the course of their investigations.

HB1504 will have the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to consider ways that we can require anyone sending unsolicited text messages to provide an opt out provision that works.  I’m sure many of you, as I, have found it very annoying and frustrating to receive unsolicited texts that never seem to stop.

HB1684 ensures that a business that has misclassified workers under current tax requirements cannot be blocked from future state contracts or be fined until their right to appeal has been concluded.

HB2354 ensures that when an insurance carrier and a health care provider have terminated their contract that the patient will have a longer period of continued service and an assurance of continued health care in certain medical circumstances, such as pregnancy or long-term convalescence.  I feel that this change is needed to allow the patient more time to find another health care provider, secure a different insurance carrier, or for the previous insurance carrier and health care provider to come to a new agreement.

Next week I will address more of the broader measures that the House considered.  As always, I appreciate the contact that I’ve received on many of the issues before us and I encourage your continued input.  Further, if I can be of assistance in any manner relating to our state government, I welcome the opportunity.

Greetings from your state capitol!  As we are at the end of week three, the pace has increased tremendously.  Each of the past three days has had me in the Capitol by 7:00 am and I haven’t left the past two evenings until after 7:00 pm.  My days are filled with hearing bills in subcommittee and committee meetings, presenting my bills, participating in floor sessions, and meeting with citizens as much as possible.  Serving in the majority means that we have the responsibility of running the committee system. I chair the Health, Welfare, and Institutions committee and the Rules subcommittee on studies, I serve on three other committees and three other subcommittees.  Further, given my experience in working through the legislative process and my background in parliamentary procedure, I’m also glad to be a resource to the speaker and other members to ensure we conduct our business according to the rules.

We are at the stage where our committees must complete their work in order to move the bills from the floor to the Senate with the deadline for us to handle all House bills by Feb. 7.  Beginning Feb. 8, we will only be considering Senate bills, except we will still have to approve the House budget and send it to the Senate.

Given that many of my bills are still being considered, I will give a more detailed report of their status in my next report.  I will also give an account of several measures that have generated considerable interest.  Typically, the most controversial measures aren’t resolved until the last week of session.

All committee, subcommittee, and floor sessions can be viewed live, or in archive, on the internet.  Also, you can sign up to speak remotely or you can submit written testimony on any bill when it’s being heard at the subcommittee level.  You can access this opportunity and follow all legislation by going to virginiageneralassembly.gov.  We are open for visitors and I would welcome the opportunity to see you.  You may email me at [email protected], or reach my Richmond office during session by calling (804)698-1054. 

Thank you for the honor of representing you and our community.

As we begin the second full week of our short session, the focus is on hearing proposed legislation and doing the real work of the assembly.  Members had until last Friday to introduce bills, so now all measures have been added to the mix and the Speaker is in the process of assigning the bills to the respective committees to be heard.  There are approximately 1600 House bills to be considered.

My schedule will be especially busy for the next 2 weeks.  During this period all committees must finish their deliberations so that all approved bills can be communicated to the Senate.  Serving on four committees, each having multiple sub-committees, I will be engaged in numerous meetings each day as well as our daily floor session at noon.  My usual schedule has me in my office by 7 am. or before and will keep me busy until well after 5 pm.  My staff will be glad to schedule an appointment to visit and if one of my committees is meeting, I’ll be happy to step out and visit if possible.  Floor sessions are also open to the public with limited seating.

The pace of the short session is extremely fast.  We have already passed legislation lowering taxes for all Virginians, adding more protections for a student subject to bullying, and numerous measures that will assist in attracting new industries and jobs.

I encourage you to monitor our progress either by a personal visit or by viewing committee work and sessions on-line, either live or archived.  You can also actively participate in subcommittee work in person or remotely by signing up in advance if you wish to speak.

I appreciate the honor of representing our area.  I welcome your comments and hearing your concerns.  You may contact me at [email protected] or by calling (804)698-1054.

We’ve just completed the first week of the 2023 General Assembly Session, and I wanted to provide a quick update on what’s been happening in Richmond. This is our “short session”, lasting 45 days, until February 25^th, therefore things will be moving at a rapid pace.

My colleagues and I in the House of Delegates are working hard on behalf of the people of Virginia.  We have already seen legislation working to ensure that our schools remain high quality, teach children how to think not what to think, provide opportunities for innovation, continue to have high academic standards, and ensure parental involvement. Other legislation we’re working on will continue our commitment to reducing the tax burden and focus on making investments to ensure a viable business climate going forward.

We continue our work to bolster our law enforcement community to keep our communities safe.  Further, we are making historic investments in providing the necessary resources to address the increasing mental health challenges that we see in our communities.

This session, I continue serving on the Health, Welfare, & Institutions Committee as Chairman and the committees of Agriculture, Conservation & Natural Resources – Finance – and Rules.  My service on these very diverse committees will enable me to be more directly involved in many issues that will affect our daily lives.

I have introduced a total of 15 bills, mostly at the request of constituents.  A brief overview of these measures is:

– HB 1446: will begin the process of establishing staff to patient ratios in our nursing homes to ensure a proper level of care

– HB 1447: to enable paramedics working in hospital settings to more fully utilize their skills in direct patient care, helping to address the critical staffing issues

– HB 1448: direct the Dept. of Education to develop guidelines for our local school divisions as they review books and audio visuals for their appropriateness

– HB 1449: create a mechanism where emergency care personnel may administer physician ordered medications to a patient who is unresponsive

– HB 1450: change the terminology throughout our code replacing the term “handicapped” with the term “person with a disability”

– HB 1451: modifying the enforcement provisions against a pet shop that fails to provide required consumer information

– HB1452: giving Medicaid Fraud investigators additional powers necessary to more effectively and efficiently perform their duties

– HB 1453: repeal legislation last session related to “farm use” tags that failed to achieve the desired effect

– HB 10503 & 1505:  bring consistency to and uniformity to the process when an insurance company requires a medical practice to undergo an audit of reimbursement payments for services performed

– HB 1503: require that all unsolicited text messages must have a viable cancel prompt

– HB 1684: address issues that have arisen in the business community when workers have been misclassified

– HB 2299: making our State Park police a part of the state law enforcement retirement system

– HB 2534: works to provide a means of a patient being able to continue to receive necessary medical care when there is a contract dispute between the health care provider and the insurance carrier.

To track these bills or any legislation, go to virginiageneralassembly.gov.  This site will also let you view committee, subcommittee and floor sessions, either live or archived.

As the delegate representing the 54^th District, I hold your concerns as my highest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected] or call me in Richmond at (804)698-1054.

Greetings from our state capitol.  As we approach the end of our 2022 session, I am advising you of the status of legislation that I introduced this year.  All bills in both bodies must be resolved in their respective bodies by Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Of the 17 bills I introduced, 10 have passed the House and the Senate, 1 was incorporated in another Delegate’s bill, 2 were carried over to the 2023 session for further consideration, and 1 is being addressed through agency directive.  Below are more details on the 10 bills that have passed through both chambers and the 1 bill still pending final action.

Six of my bills are related to improving health care access, quality, or accountability.

1. HB910 will help the legislature to understand emergency department utilization and help us to find ways to encourage patients to go to a primary care physician rather than an emergency room.
2. HB234 will look for ways to improve the oversight of our nursing homes and assisted living facilities and to ensure adequate patient care.
3. HB912 will require a study to ensure patients can continue to receive medical care when his insurance carrier is no longer recognized by their previous health care provider.
4. HB917 will ensure that our medical public assistance dollars are allocated to those with the highest priority financial needs.
5. HB235 will work to ensure that needed out-patient services (such as rehabilitation, therapy, home health care) are arranged before a patient is discharged.
6. The only bill still pending final action is HB1323 which will make it easier for pharmacists to administer certain vaccines. This bill is in conference committee where I’m working out differences between the House and Senate objectives.  I’m very optimistic that this measure will be passed.

Below are five additional bills of mine that have passed both the House and the Senate.

1. HB236 will give the Dept. of Education the flexibility to extend a teacher’s time to be recertified by one year if the teacher has had difficulty, due to Covid-19, in fulfilling all of the requirements by the current deadline.
2. HB231 will allow our dedicated Va. National Guard members additional days of paid leave from their civilian job if they are called into Guard duties.
3. HB238 will ensure state-wide uniformity in local government recertification of agricultural land-use tax eligibility for our farming community.
4. HB911 will allow local governments to consider additional ways to encourage and reward volunteer community service participation in areas such as the fire department, rescue squad, auxiliary police officer and others.
5. HB919 will ensure that our water supply systems comply with all Federal standards and will allow additional regulations to be considered but not be implemented without thorough investigation.

All of these bills will now go to the Governor who will either sign, amend or veto them.  If he amends or vetoes any of these measures, we will consider those actions when we return in April for our one-day veto session.

The single most important issue to be resolved is our biennial budget.  At present, the House and Senate budget conferees are trying to resolve the differences.  The House budget returns almost $3billion to the citizens in tax cuts or tax rebates and the Senate budget has allocated most of those funds to be spent.  I suspect that these differences will be resolved in the next week or two, during which time, the rest of the Assembly members will be in recess in our home districts.

I will share a final report on major legislative actions and the budget after the veto session.

As always, I appreciate the contact that I’ve received on many of the issues before us and I encourage your continued input.  Further, if I can be of assistance in any manner relating to our state government, I welcome the opportunity.  As of Monday, March14, 2022, my local office will reopen on our regular schedule; Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-12 and Tuesday, Thursday 9-5.  The phone number is (540)891-1322 or email at [email protected].

Greetings from your State Capitol.  My update this week will focus on the House Budget that we adopted last week.

The House budget includes the largest education allocation in Virginia history, a 15% increase over the previous budget.  Within this spending is the State’s share of a 4% raise for teachers this year and an additional 1% percent bonus in each year of the biennium.  It also establishes a $2 billion loan fund for school construction and renovation.  Further, it includes additional funding to hire new reading specialists, additional resource officers, and fully funds the latest Standards of Quality.

In Public Safety we increased funding for salaries for all levels of law enforcement to address the shortage of officers and to assist in retaining those already serving.  We also allocated $5million over the next two years to help address gun violence.

Further priorities include, an additional $10 million to improve nursing home care, $251 million more for Medicaid, an additional $1.7 billion for transportation over the next two years, a 4% raise for our State employees, and a significant increase in higher education funding to keep tuition costs down.

All of the above spending is accomplished while still providing major tax relief for all of our citizens.  With State revenues at an all-time high, largely because of Federal funds, we are proposing a doubling of the standard deduction on State income taxes, a rebate of $300 for every filer, a repeal of the grocery tax, and a one-year suspension of the recent 5 cents/gallon increase in the gas tax.

The Senate budget has some significant differences in spending and priorities.  The differences between the two will be resolved and a final budget adopted within the next two weeks.

This week the two bodies will have to finish work on all bills and resolve any differences by the end of next week.

I will give a detailed report on the status of my legislation in the next update.

As always, I welcome comments or questions.  Follow the process at virginiageneralassembly.gov.  You may email me at delborrock@ house.virginia.gov, or call at (804)698-1054.