Virginia’s legislative session is halfway over. Here’s where bills stand.

It’s a dangerous time to be a bill in the General Assembly.

The legislative session reached its halfway point Tuesday, meaning bills that didn’t cross over to the other chamber are now dead — but even those that passed one body with strong support aren’t safe.

The legislature is currently divided, with a Republican-held House of Delegates and a Democrat majority in the Senate that has dubbed itself the “blue wall.”

The result: Lots of bills are either dead or about to be killed.

Here’s a breakdown:

Education

Two education bills from Virginia Beach Republicans passed the House with a vote along party lines and have been referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Health.

Del. Karen Greenhalgh’s bill would ban transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams at K-12 schools and universities.

Del. Tim Anderson’s bill would require schools to create a database of library books that contain graphic content. Parents could view it and instruct schools to prevent their children from accessing certain material.

Neither is expected to pass the Senate.

Another bill from Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, would have provided universal free breakfast and lunch to public school students. The measure, co-sponsored by Anderson and Newport News Democrat Shelly Simonds, failed to cross over.

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Gun violence

Amid growing gun violence and a wave of high profile shootings in Virginia, Democrats in both chambers have pushed for gun control.

More than a dozen gun safety bills were introduced in the House — but only one made it to the other side this week.

A bill that would allow a $300 tax credit for the purchase of safety equipment, such as safes or trigger locks, received nearly unanimous support and was referred to a Senate committee.

Among the House bills that were nixed before crossing over: A measure from Chesapeake Democrat Cliff Hayes that would have enacted a waiting period on firearm purchases to help prevent impulsive violence, and another from Norfolk Democrat Angelia Williams Graves that would have required gun purchasers to complete a safety training course.

House Republicans have asserted their commitment to protecting gun rights.

“Hundreds of thousands of citizens defend themselves with firearms yearly, and anti-gun politicians bear the responsibility for what happens to them when they no longer can,” Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, recently wrote on Twitter.

On the Senate side, gun safety bills fared far better, but some that crossed over have already been tabled by Republicans in House subcommittees — including a bill from Sen. Jennifer Boysko that would have required firearms in homes with minors to be stored unloaded in a locked device or compartment.

Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, told The Virginian-Pilot the black-or-white conversation around guns must stop.

The senator explained he was raised in a family that had firearms but also respected the need for precautions and safety measures.

“(Boysko’s bill) allowed you to go back home and still say you never voted to restrict anyone’s right to purchase a gun,” Mason said. “It just puts best practices in place and helps pass direction to inexperienced new gun owners.”

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Veterans

The General Assembly took action last year to appeal to veterans, passing a law that allows those 55 or older to deduct from their taxable income tens of thousands of dollars in military retirement pay.

A House bill this year, co-sponsored by Greenhalgh, Virginia Beach Republican Glenn Davis and Norfolk Democrat Jackie Glass, would have gone a step further and lifted the age restriction.

It passed the House with bipartisan support. But Democrats on the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations — including Mamie Locke of Hampton and Louise Lucas of Portsmouth — weren’t supportive, voting Wednesday to pass the bill by indefinitely.

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Freedom of Information Act

Legislation that would exempt the Fort Monroe Authority from complying with certain provisions of the Freedom of Information Act looks likely to reach the governor’s desk.

The authority is a political subdivision that oversees development on the state’s property at the fort, which ceased to operate as an Army base in 2011.

Two identical bills would allow the authority to withhold “trade secrets, proprietary information or financial information” from a private individual or entity for the purposes of complying with agreements of a commercial or residential real estate nature.

Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Hampton Republican on the authority’s board of trustees, introduced the bill in the House. Locke, another board member, carried it in the Senate.

Both bills passed their respective chambers with bipartisan support, though some legislators and transparency advocates have raised concerns.

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Housing

A familiar housing bill from Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, returned this session but made less progress than last year. The bill would have given localities the authority to sue negligent landlords to fix problems that endanger tenants’ health, such as mold or rodent infestations.

It was unexpectedly vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022 after receiving strong bipartisan support. The governor argued the powers of enforcement through the state building code are sufficient.

This year, the bill failed to garner enough Republican support to make it out of the House. Price said Friday she would continue fighting for the rights of tenants to live in healthy environments.

“I continue to be committed to responding to residents’ concerns especially for safe and affordable housing, which should not even be a partisan issue,” she told The Pilot.

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Solitary confinement

Due to a bipartisan effort from Davis and Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, legislation that would reform solitary confinement in prisons looks likely to reach Youngkin’s desk.

The bill would put in place various guardrails and require, with some exceptions, every person in prison be offered a minimum of four hours of socialization per day.

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The environment

A bill that would have removed Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was shot down by Senate Democrats before it could cross over.

RGGI requires energy producers to buy allowances for each metric ton of carbon they produce. The companies can only buy a limited number, which decreases each year to encourage a shift to renewable energy production.

However, Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter has said the administration will work to pull out through a regulatory process.

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Campaign reform

An attempt to tighten Virginia’s lax laws on campaign spending died in a House subcommittee, with one legislator arguing it was unnecessary because donors shouldn’t give money to politicians they don’t trust.

Two identical bills from Fairfax Democrat Marcus Simon and Colonial Heights Republican Mike Cherry would have banned politicians from using campaign donations on personal expenditures.

Several delegates from Hampton Roads co-sponsored Simon’s bill, including Anderson, Price, Simonds and Glass.

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com