Gov. Ralph Northam has signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, a sweeping package of measures to boost renewable energy.
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer McClellan D-Richmond and Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, requires that by 2045, all of the energy sold by the state’s electric utilities comes from renewable sources like wind and solar.
The measure had the backing of a broad coalition of environmental groups, the state’s utilities and the renewable energy industry.
The package also would expand the private solar market in Virginia, boost the state’s energy efficiency standard, and call for a study to determine the “social cost” of carbon.
The measure also would make it easier for Dominion Energy to obtain regulatory approval for its massive offshore wind project planned off the coast of Virginia Beach. The project’s estimated cost nears $7.8 billion and would be paid by Dominion’s customers in Virginia.
“This is the most significant clean energy law in Virginia’s history,” McClellan said in a statement the Northam administration distributed. “The bill that the governor signed will make Virginia the first southern state with a 100 percent clean energy standard
Northam also is seeking technical amendments to the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act that requires Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
He said that measure, sponsored by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria and Sen. Lynwood Lewis, D-Accomack, creates a Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund to be funded by the sale of emissions allowances.
The governor proposed technical amendments to clarify how the fund would operate. The amendments provide for forgiveness of loans used in low-income geographic areas
“These new clean energy laws propel Virginia to leadership among the states in fighting climate change,” Northam said.
Also Sunday Northam announced actions to increase access to the polls in Virginia, saying he has signed measures to repeal the voter ID requirement, make Election Day a state holiday and allow no-excuse absentee voting.
“Voting is a fundamental right, and these new laws strengthen our democracy by making it easier to cast a ballot, not harder,” Northam said in a statement. “No matter who you are or where you live in Virginia, your voice deserves to be heard. I’m proud to sign these bills into law.”
Earlier Sunday, Northam announced actions on criminal justice measures. For instance, he said he has proposed an amendment to a marijuana decriminalization bill sponsored by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, calling for a work group to report the results of a study on the potential legalization of marijuana in November 2021.
He also said he has signed measures sponsored by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County and Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, to permanently halt the suspension of driver's licenses for unpaid fines or court costs.
Northam also said he has signed bills sponsored by Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond and Del. Joe Lindsey, D-Norfolk, to raise the felony larceny threshold from $500 to $1,000.
Voting bills
Northam's actions on the voting bills underscore the political change in Virginia since Democrats won control of the General Assembly in the 2019 legislative elections. Northam signed bills that Democrats had proposed for years but were defeated when Republicans controlled the legislature.
The governor signed bills sponsored by Lindsey and Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, to remove the requirement that voters show a photo ID before voting. Democrats say voter ID laws make it harder for low-income people and minorities to vote. Then-Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, signed Virginia's photo ID law in 2013, terming it a protection against potential voter fraud.
Northam also signed bills sponsored by Lindsey and Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, to make Election Day a state holiday. The measures repeal the state holiday in honor of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Virginia has marked a state holiday for Lee’s birthday since 1889. It added Jackson to the Lee holiday in the early 1900s.
In the mid-1980s, the state began marking the federal holiday to civil rights martyr Martin Luther King Jr. on the same day, as Lee-Jackson-King Day. In 2000, Gov. Jim Gilmore, a Republican, called for splitting them into separate holidays.
Northam has put a particular emphasis on racial inequities since the blackface scandal erupted in February 2019 and prompted many Democratic lawmakers to call for him to resign.
The governor also signed bills sponsored by Herring and Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, to allow early voting 45 days before an election without requiring an excuse. Virginia currently requires voters to give the state a reason why they cannot vote in person on Election Day, such as a work, family or school obligation or a trip out of town.
The governor also signed: a bill sponsored by Lindsey that extends the close of polling hours on Election Day from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; measures sponsored by Del. Josh Cole, D-Fredericksburg and Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, to implement automatic voter registration for people accessing service at a Department of Motor Vehicles office or the DMV website; and bills sponsored by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax and Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, that expand the timelines for obtaining absentee voting applications and returning absentee ballots.
Criminal justice bills
Northam's move to sign the increase of the felony larceny threshold brings Virginia in line with a majority of other states and the District of Columbia, many of which have raised their thresholds even higher, research from the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts shows.
“Every Virginian deserves access to a fair and equitable criminal justice system,” Northam said in a release announcing the actions. “These bills combat mass incarceration, increase support for returning citizens, and ensure that those who have paid their debt to society have a meaningful second chance.”
Legislators will return to Richmond April 22 to take up Northam's proposed amendments to legislation, including the state budget.
Herring's bill would decriminalize simple possession of marijuana and create a $25 civil penalty. Northam supports the bill, under which simple possession would no longer carry the threat of a criminal conviction and potential jail time.
The bill creates a work group to study the impact of legalization of marijuana. Northam proposes to require that report by November 30, 2021.
Current law imposes a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day jail sentence for a first offense, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Criminal justice advocates argued that the legislation does not address the racial disparity in marijuana enforcement that exists across the state.
The ACLU of Virginia and other groups have opposed Herring's legislation, favoring bills to legalize simple possession. Those efforts were shut down by the House Courts of Justice Committee, which did not back legalization proposals from lawmakers like Dels. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, Lee Carter, D-Manassas, and Steve Heretick, D-Portsmouth.
No legalization bills were filed in the Senate, killing the chances of such a measure.
Herring's bill would seal the records of convictions and prohibit employers from inquiring about past convictions.
Northam proposed to add an emergency clause - meaning the measures would take effect upon his signature and not on July 1 - to bills sponsored by McClellan and Lindsey that would make people sentenced by juries between 1995 and 2000 eligible for parole consideration.
Virginia abolished parole in 1995, but juries were not instructed of the change until 2000 following a court ruling.
