It’s that time of year again. The work of our advocacy committee, chaired for another year by Jim Durham, over the summer and fall has prepared us to hit the ground riding for the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

What we know, and what we know we don’t know, about the General Assembly session this year:

Quick tip: Unlike most years, we do not know who will serve on House nor Senate Transportation Committees, yet. Committee chairs have been announced in both houses, and notably, Northern Virginia has concentrated influence in these leadership positions. New Transportation chairs are Senator Jennifer Boysko (Fairfax) and Delegate Karrie Delaney (Fairfax). Both have typically supported bicycling issues. Remaining committee members will not be announce until the beginning of the session on January 10. Furthermore, we do not know when the standing committees will meet.

You have probably seen that there has been a leadership change at the legislature this year. The House of Delegates flipped from Republican to Democratic control following the November election, the first election to apply the new districts from historic redistricting that was expected to result in a substantial turnover in membership. With retirements, summer primaries that had incumbents for previous separate districts, newly-created districts with no incumbent, and other freshman elected, plus the notable retirement of longtime Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, there is not only a new makeup and single party control of each house, but there is new leadership in each house. Longtime champion of bike issues Senator Scott Surovell of Fairfax won a contested bid for Senate Majority Leader, and Delegate Don Scott from Portsmouth, the early favorite, was selected to lead the House as Speaker.

VBF’s Advocacy update:

Quick tip: We have five issues pre-filed and patroned this year, and there is still time and hope to add a few more patrons for some of these in order to have bills in both houses.

  • Safety Stop. Safety Stop legislation has been enacted in ten states and Washington, DC. Minnesota’s new Safety Stop law became effective on August 1, 2023. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has concluded that the Safety Stop, a.k.a. Stop-as-Yield, “provides additional safety benefits for cyclists.” At VBF’s request, Delegate Betsy Carr plans to serve as chief patron for an updated version of HB 1773 that she introduced in the 2023 General Assembly session.
  • An Omnibus Bicycle Safety Bill. This bill includes a “Safety Stop” and would also allow people riding bikes to ride two abreast on two-lane roads with speed limits less than 35 mph and would clarify when drivers should change lanes to pass and when bicyclists are required to ride as far as the right as practicable. At VBF’s request, Delegate Rodney Willett plans to serve as Chief Patron for this bill.
  • Bikes May Proceed on Walk Signal. This initiative provides people riding a bicycle with the same safety benefits as pedestrians when an intersection includes a Leading Pedestrian Interval. At VBF’s request, Delegate “Rip” Sullivan plans to serve as Chief Patron for an updated version of similar legislation introduced last year. We significantly revised the proposed language for this initiative based on discussions with VDOT over several meetings earlier in 2023.
  • E-bike incentive. The proposed e-bike incentive program will benefit Virginia residents living with low income and Virginia businesses. Our proposed program would make point–of-sale vouchers available to all Virginia residents, age 18 and older, but with a provision so that the majority of vouchers are allocated to people living with low income; vouchers could be used to purchase an e-bike from Virginia-based retailers. Delegate-elect Josh Thomas plans to serve as Chief Patron for this bill.
  • Expand Automated Speed Enforcement. This initiative, on which we are partnering with Families for Safe Streets and Sports Backers, would expand times and/or places when and where speed cameras can be used. They are currently limited to active school and work zones. Where implemented, speed cameras in Virginia and elsewhere have led to dramatic reductions in speeding drivers. Versions of this issue will be carried by Senator-elect Danica Roem and veteran Delegate Betsy Carr.

What to expect and how to help:

  • Join VBF during our December membership drive.
  • Look for future online actions:
    • This year we are prioritizing a high-energy support petition for bike safety issues. We expect to release it before New Years. Please prepare to sign, share with your organizations and club, and post on social media. This effort is to allow us to get our support to legislators before bills are even heard in committee.
    • Email actions for bills as they are scheduled in subcommittees and committees, and then continue through the process. The session moves quickly, and each opportunity to weigh in to support will last less than 24-hours. Engage with action requests ASAP!

Thanks for all you do, and we look forward to an exciting session ahead.

Brantley Tyndall
President, VBF