Virginia@: Fwd: Legislative Update: February 23, 2021

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Fwd: Legislative Update: February 23, 2021

-----Original Message-----
From: Office of Senator Ryan T. McDougle <senator@ryanmcdougle.com>
Sent: Tue, Feb 23, 2021 10:12 am
Subject: Legislative Update: February 23, 2021

Senator Ryan T. McDougle

Legislative Update: February 23, 2021

Friends,

The General Assembly is approaching the end of the 2021 Special Session. Unlike the previous special session, Democrats chose an end date for this session to conclude on March 1st.

As we enter the last days of Session, final determination still needs to be made on hundreds of bills. Moreover, House and Senate negotiators must reach an agreement on a package of amendments to the 2020-2022 Biennial Budget. Despite my frustrations with the inefficiencies with this year's legislative process, I will be working with my colleagues to do everything we can to ensure the March 1st deadline is met.

Last Tuesday, Virginia's statewide COVID-19 vaccination registration system went live. Despite initial issues with the site crashing, the site appears to now be stable. The Virginia Department of Health has stated that individuals who have previously registered with a local health district or an employer are already on the centralized list, so there is no need to register again.

To pre-register for the vaccine or check your status, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or click the button below.

Click here to pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine

The transition from registering at local health departments to a centralized registration system has been rocky to say the least. However, our most significant frustration continues to be the inequitable distribution of doses throughout the Commonwealth. As the second table below shows, certain health departments are receiving substantially less doses than their counterparts in other areas.

Source: Virginia Department of Health -- Updated: 2-22-2021

The Senate of Virginia continues working in person out of our temporary chambers at the Science Museum of Virginia. Considering we've been using the venue to conduct Senate sessions since the 2020 Reconvened Session last April, our surroundings no longer seem quite so temporary.

While the Special Session is wrapping up, I still encourage you to call or email my office to express your thoughts on a particular bill or if I can be of any assistance to you. You can call 804-698-7804 or email senator@ryanmcdougle.com.

It is an honor to work on your behalf in the Senate of Virginia.

Sincerely,