Rip's Session Report - Week Nine
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And just like that, the General Assembly finished its work (almost) and adjourned Saturday evening. It was a typically whirlwind session conducted at warp speed. It was also an incredibly productive session, which included nineteen of my bills passing, with one still in play in the ongoing budget negotiations.
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I am proud of the work we accomplished over the past nine weeks. We delivered to the Governor a long list of bills building a more affordable Virginia by lowering the cost of housing, energy, medicine, and childcare.
The only thing left to finish is the budget. More on that below.
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As always, my team and I are here to support you. Do not hesitate to reach out to us by using the link below.
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A number of Delegates – including me – with Attorney General Jay Jones, during the last few days of session.
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My muffler bill (it had the fancy name “Noise Abatement”) was brought back from the dead and passed! It now goes to the Governor.
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HB 894 works to strengthen anti-bullying in our private schools.
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Even though we have adjourned, a budget impasse relating to data centers has delayed the approval of a General Assembly approved budget.
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The Fairfax Casino bill unfortunately passed the General Assembly. The bill now goes to the Governor office for further consideration.
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The muffler/noise abatement bill (HB 55) passed both chambers and is on its way to the Governor. As a reminder, this is legislation that will give some localities (including Fairfax) the ability to use new technology that will fine drivers who have illegally modified their vehicle to make excessive noise.
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There was some drama with this bill. The first Senate vote went against us and defeated the bill by a vote of 18-22. I was able to work with the Fairfax Senators and persuade a couple of Republican Senators who originally opposed the bill to bring the legislation back. We held those new supportive Republican votes and the bill passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 21-19.
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This bill followed a rather unconventional path, but I am glad we persisted and it will become an effective tool to help to rid our community of those annoying and dangerous loud mufflers in Fairfax County.
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Some of my favorite bills are the ones brought to me by constituents based on their personal stories.
HB 894 was brought to us by a former 6th District constituent whose child dealt with bullying in a private school– and his parents didn’t even know it was going on.
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It is important that all schools –private or public – have a consistent set of policies to address cases of bullying. I was proud to carry this bill that protects students in vulnerable situations.
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While our public schools have a codified set of policies to handle instances of bullying, there is a lack of consistency with anti-bullying policies in private schools in Virginia.
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These situations can cause students serious harm, and it is important to make sure every school in Virginia is dealing with these delicate cases appropriately.
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HB 894 requires policies relating to bullying/cyberbullying prevention be at all private schools in Virginia, include parental notification requirements for confirmed cases of bullying.
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I am pleased that HB 894 passed and is on its way to the Governor. It was an honor to carry this bill on behalf of former 6th District constituents, and I am hopeful about the positive impact it will have.
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Nineteen of my bills passed the General Assembly.
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We have important challenges facing the Commonwealth and I am proud to have carried these bills to help meet some of those challenges.
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2026 Virginia Budget Update:
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The headline coming out of the session is that we adjourned without agreeing upon a budget.
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The Senate proposed simply repealing the exemption, while the House proposed keeping the exemption but conditioning it on strict new requirements mandating energy efficiency, clean energy use, and weaning the industry off of the loud and polluting diesel generators that data centers use for backup power —the idea that began with my bill HB 897
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The fact that we have not yet agreed upon a budget is not unprecedented, and poses no issue with regard to the state’s operations. We are already scheduled to return to Richmond in April to consider the Governor’s actions on all of the legislation we have sent her, and we will add passing a budget to our work at that time.
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Image by Environment America
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"We are pleased to report that budget negotiations are moving forward and that we are making meaningful progress toward a final agreement that reflects the priorities of Virginians across the Commonwealth." - Chair Torian and Chair Lucas
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I am confident we will reach agreement, and hopeful that it will include addressing the impacts data centers are having on our communities and our state, requiring them to be part of the solution to those challenges.
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On the very last day of session–literally during the last hour– SB 756 passed the General Assembly and is on its way to be considered by the Governor. Its passage was filled with last minute drama.
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Apparently emboldened by the initial passage of similar but not identical versions of the bill by the House and Senate—which required a conference committee to work out those differences—the Senate passed a wildly aggressive version of the bill.
This version stripped all decisional authority from the Fairfax Board of Supervisors and, for that matter, the citizens of Fairfax County, by allowing a "temporary" casino in Tysons to be immediately built and approved by an obscure Commission called the MEI (Major Employment and Investment Commission) and allowing the “temporary” casino to operate for five years without any kind of referendum or local input.
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Sensing the backlash (which I helped lead) and likely defeat of that outrageous new language, the Senate conferees reversed course and withdrew that version.
The version that ultimately did pass allows for Board of Supervisor permission and requires a referendum from the citizens of Fairfax before any casino can be built in Tysons.
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I remain firm in my opposition to the Casino bill and plan to encourage the Governor to veto the legislation. 6th District constituents agree with me that this is bad policy and something our community vehemently does not want. I will continue to do everything that I can to defeat this bill.
If you have not already, see my extended comments on the topic which still hold true.
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Governor Spanberger's Fellows Program
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The program is an amazing workplace learning experience for rising college seniors, recent graduates, or individuals in graduate school.
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Participants are placed throughout the Governor's administration and get an unparalleled experience helping them understand how the state executive branch operates.
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I highly recommend this program to you or anyone you may know who may be interested/eligible. The deadline for applications is April 10th.
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Please feel free to check out my newsletters from previous weeks!
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That's all for our Week Nine Newsletter and our final session report for the 2026 General Assembly session. Thank you all for following along with this year's series of session newsletters.
My team and I work hard to keep you all informed on what is happening in Richmond. The support and engagement we have received this year has been appreciated and only inspires us to work harder for next year.
Stay tuned for my General Assembly recap and information on my upcoming Town Halls with Senator Boysko in Mclean and Great Falls.
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As always, please let me know if there is anything my office or I can do to support you.
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I’ll see you around the neighborhood.
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Office of Delegate Rip Sullivan
PO Box 994
McLean, VA 22101
United States
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