RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Governor Ralph Northam has announced he is calling the General Assembly into special session Tuesday, August 18, following his traditional end-of-fiscal-year report to the General Assembly’s money committees.
Northam says the session is necessary to adopt a budget based on the revised revenue forecast in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Northam will also work with legislative leaders and advocates to propose additional criminal justice and policing reform.
“I look forward to bringing legislators back in session as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times,” said Governor Northam. “We have a unique opportunity to provide critical support to Virginians, invest strategically in our economic recovery, and make progress on policing and criminal justice reform. Let’s get to work.”
The General Assembly will meet to adopt a final budget, a process postponed earlier in the year due to COVID-19. In April, Governor Northam worked with legislators to freeze more than $2.2 billion in new spending in Virginia’s new biennial budget. Northam says this strategy allowed time for the Commonwealth’s fiscal outlook to stabilize, and avoided major cuts to new programs and state services.
The governor says policing initiatives are expected to include measures aimed at police accountability and oversight, use of force, increased training and education, and officer recruitment, hiring, and decertification. Governor Northam has directed the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Virginia African American Advisory Board, and the Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law to assist the administration in developing policy initiatives.
Read the full text of Governor Northam’s proclamation about the special session here.
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Governor announces General Assembly will convene for special session August 18 - WHSV
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