NORFOLK, Va. — Lawmakers will take up the car tax and gun violence prevention during their upcoming General Assembly session.
The session is scheduled to begin Wednesday, but due to a water outage, the General Assembly building was closed Tuesday, and it's unclear whether it will open on Wednesday.
On the car tax, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has proposed a car tax rebate plan aimed at providing relief to certain drivers, suggesting rebates of either $150 for drivers who earn less than $50,000 or $300 for joint filers earning below $100,000.
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"This is an opportunity for those who are struggling to make ends meet," said Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle.
The budget for this legislative session is anticipated to be one of the most hotly debated topics.
Democrats canceled a press conference Tuesday due to the water outage, but members of the NAACP expressed skepticism about the proposal.
"Now, don't get me wrong. We would love to see the elimination of the car tax in Virginia, but it is more than a slogan. It takes a lot of study and assessment, and we have not seen that yet," said Rev. Cozy Bailey, the Virginia State Conference NAACP president.
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With Democrats in control of the legislative branch and Republican Gov. Youngkin still in place, controversial bills on both sides are not expected to become law.
Democrats are renewing their efforts to legalize the retail sale of marijuana, even though Youngkin has previously vetoed the bill. They are also advocating for a three-day waiting period for gun purchases.
Chesapeake Del. Cliff Hayes has called for the waiting period to pass for multiple years after the Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting, where the gunman bought the weapon used in the shooting earlier on the same day.
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"All kinds of statistics show that if there is a cooling-off period, there are fewer homicides as well as fewer suicides," said Hayes.
Meanwhile, Republicans are proposing stricter penalties for people convicted of using a gun during a violent felony for a second time, seeking to raise the sentence from five to ten years.
"It's going to take guns off the streets and out of the hands of people who we all agree should not be in possession of and using firearms in the commission of a crime," said Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham County).
This year marks their short session, currently scheduled to last for 46 days.
