2008 General Assembly Highlights

Sine Die Summary

The General Assembly convened on January 9, 2008 and adjourned after an extended session on March 13, 2008.  Immediately following the regular session, the General Assembly moved right into Special Session to iron out the details on the two bond bills for capital outlay.  Reconvened Session will take place on or about April 23, with hopes that the bond bills will be agreed upon by then. 

Budget

Given the difficult economic outlook, VCU fared relatively well.  There are modest salary increases for both University faculty and staff in both years of the biennium, additional funds for base adequacy, a significant increase for student financial aid, and some funds for research. 

For a summary of the State Budget that affects VCU, please click here http://www3.vcu.edu/govrel/pdf/ConfReport3-13-08.pdf.  The summary shows, in the left column, the Governor's recommendations in the introduced budget.  The next two columns show House and Senate amendments, and finally, the right column shows the ultimate compromise.  The Governor will make his amendments to the budget before the Reconvened Session on April 23^rd.

Capital Projects

Two bond packages were introduced (HB 1547 and SB 795), which will aid colleges and universities with capital construction of much-needed facilities.  The two bills differ in scope and amount, by a little under $1 billion.  The General Assembly is now in the first Special Session to come to agreement on what projects should be included.  The bond bills have been renumbered HB 5001 and SB 5001.  As for VCU, both bills contain our top capital project, the School of Medicine Building ($70 million).  The House allocated planning money for the General Classroom Building on the Monroe Park Campus while the Senate gave VCU the full appropriation ($44 million).  A new vivarium for Massey Cancer Center received planning money in both bills. 

Tier 3 Legislation

Delegate Chris Jones and Senator John Watkins introduced legislation (HB 1124, SB 358) on behalf of VCU to grant the university the highest level of operational flexibility in key areas under the Higher Education Restructuring Act.  Both bills have passed the General Assembly unanimously and were signed by the Governor on March 12th.  This legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2008. 

Key Legislation

Out of the 3322 bills and resolutions that have been introduced, VCU tracked over 400 pieces of legislation.  Bills of importance include:

• Guns on Campus (HB 424, HB 1292, HB 1371) – These bills would forbid any higher education institution from setting policies to prohibit the carrying of a firearm.  These bills failed to be heard in committee.
  
  

• Admission for Undocumented Students (HB 14, HB 123, HB 1010, HB 1011) – These bills would either prohibit illegal aliens from being admitted to an institution or would ensure that these individuals pay out-of-state rates.   These bills failed to pass. 
  
  

• Medical Malpractice Liability (HB 1305, SB 211) - Maintaining the medical malpractice liability cap was a priority of VCU Health System this session.  Even though no bills were introduced to remove or increase the cap, the General Assembly did focus on revamping the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program.  The new legislation increased fees paid by participating providers and hospitals, as well as recalculated debt models to alleviate some of the financial burden of the program. 
  
  

• Behavioral Health (HB 499, SB 246) – Touted as the most comprehensive mental health reform ever in the General Assembly, these two identical bills passed overwhelmingly with extensive support on both sides of the aisle, as well as from the Governor and all stakeholders involved.  Besides broadening the criteria for those to be committed, this bill outlines the involuntary commitment process.  The bills also extend the emergency custody order for an additional two hours and codify practices of sharing mental health records. 
  
  

• VCU Institute for Women’s Health (HJ 78) – Delegate Jennifer McClellan introduced a resolution on behalf of the VCU’s Institute for Women’s Health commending the institute for its community commitment and designation as a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.
  
  

• 40^th Anniversary of Virginia Commonwealth University (SJ 40, SJ 41) – Senator Donald McEachin patroned a resolution celebrating the university’s 40^th anniversary and praising the education and health care contributions of VCU to the Commonwealth.