In the General Assembly this week is ‘Crossover’, the legislative halfway point of the Legislative Session. At this stage, a bill that started in the House must be passed by the House to then ‘cross over’ to the Senate, and legislation that started in the Senate has to have been passed by the Senate to ‘cross over’ to the House. Once legislation passes from the chamber of introduction, it begins the legislative process over again in the opposite body.

As many of you know, we have had historic turnover in the General Assembly ahead of this legislative session, with 18 new State Senators and 35 new Delegates. Your Government Relations team worked hard throughout the election cycle ahead of Session to get to know many new members and identify new REALTOR® Champions. In the 2023 general election, RPAC-backed candidates had a 97.7% win rate. Those successes have seen immediate benefits for Virginia REALTORS® as we’ve reached the halfway point in the General Assembly with all Virginia REALTORS® sponsored bills intact.

The Virginia REALTORS® Public Policy Committee evaluated more than 230 filed bills in the General Assembly, taking positions of support, oppose, or amend on over 120 of those. It’s also a testament to our incredible Legislative Counsel Erin Kormann who spends a tremendous amount of time meeting with legislators working to amend their bills to negate any impact on Virginia REALTORS®.

The great news for Virginia REALTORS® is that our Legislative Agenda is in fantastic shape as we ‘cross over’ to the second half of the Session. Despite having sixteen pieces of legislation, our bills all passed unanimously in the Senate, and most passed unanimously in the House of Delegates. At the halfway point, our legislative agenda is very well positioned. Your lobbying team, Senior Vice President for Government Relations Mary Lawson, Legislative Counsel Erin Kormann, and Vice President for Association Advocacy D.J. Spiker have been a strong, consistent voice for the Virginia REALTORS®. Learn more about just how the Government Relations Team works on behalf of REALTORS® in Virginia.

We’d also like to give a special thanks to those elected officials who are carrying our Legislative Agenda this session: Delegates David Bulova, Jackie Glass, Michelle Maldonado, Irene Shin, Marcus Simon, and Rodney Willett; Senators Adam Ebbin, Mamie Locke, Emily Jordan, Jeremy McPike, Russet Perry, David Suetterlein, Schuyler VanValkenburg, and Angelia Williams Graves.

Also, a big thank you to those of you that have taken time out of your busy schedules to visit us here in Richmond for our local association Days on the Hill! We enjoyed having you here to visit the Capitol and advocate on behalf of our industry.

Despite the record turnover in the General Assembly, 2024 is shaping up to be another strong legislative year for the Virginia REALTORS®. Stay tuned for more updates on our social media platforms, and onto the second half of Session!