A view of Richmond, VA by Taber Andrew Bain licensed under Creative Commons.

From Governor Ralph Northam’s historic rail expansion deal to his administration’s first budget, a plethora of exciting new policies are on the horizon that could transform the way Virginia handles housing, transportation, and climate change.

How much of the Governor’s agenda becomes a reality, however, will be determined by legislators in the Commonwealth’s General Assembly—and they have their own priorities for shaping the state. Here are the big issues we’ll be watching this session.

Housing

Perusing the legislation introduced so far, one begins to notice a top motif in the sphere of housing policy: inclusion. A nationwide review by Princeton University two years ago revealed Virginia policy had created the worst eviction crisis in the country. With five of the 10 worst cities for evictions, legislators seem poised to act to create a more inclusive housing market this year.

If delegates in the House get their way, then LGBTQ people, veterans, victims of domestic abuse, and recipients of housing vouchers or other government subsidies could all become protected classes this session.

Beyond making sure all demands for housing are treated equally, expect much of the debate to focus on how Virginia can increase its supply. Delegate Ibraheem Samirah introduced an entire housing agenda that would upzone all single-family lots to accommodate two families, legalize Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), allow localities to address derelict structures, provide new homebuyers educational materials, and initiate reporting on the state’s housing needs. Such big, structural change won’t come about without correspondingly loud debates, however.

Image by John Mueller licensed under Creative Commons.

Transportation

In the world of transportation, the General Assembly has the potential to pass a whole slate of bills, many of which neatly align with the goals of Vision Zero. Bikers will be cheered if legislators finally allow speeding cameras to deter drivers from going more than 10mph over posted speed limits. With 30% more killings of people on bikes by drivers since 2016, the cycling community is demanding action this year.

Other bills would steepen the fines and class of misdemeanors for drivers who hit pedestrians and wheelchair users. Several tweaks as to how the state manages scooters and micromobility are also expected.

Last year many advocates of Vision Zero (and the family and friends of those killed by drivers) were devastated when Republicans killed Virginia’s proposed hands-free bill. What survived was a ban on using a handheld device while driving only through a workzone. 2020 could be the year in which the General Assembly finally passes a hands-free law based on the bounty of bills already introduced.

A study on creating a transportation authority for Planning District 16 (Greater Fredericksburg) could also prove promising if it selects transit and multimodal solutions rather than the expected road repaving.

Other bills to create dedicated transportation funding for Central Virginia, to allow Hampton Roads to spend its money on anything but roadbuilding, and to permit GRTC to implement camera enforcement of bus-only lanes to reduce bunching on its Pulse BRT route could make a late appearance. Legislators have until January 17 to submit their final bills, and longtime General Assembly watchers know it’s not uncommon for important or especially contentious bills to get filed in the eleventh hour.

A look at US greenhouse gas emmisions. Image by US Environmental Protection Agency.

Lastly, a handful of proposals show lawmakers are waking up to the reality that the transportation sector represents Virginia’s single largest source of carbon pollution at 40% of the state’s emissions—11% higher than the national average. Electric vehicle rebates and regulations to promote charging stations are mooted. Other bills would allow school systems to electrify their bus fleet and use the vehicles’ batteries to store excess power from solar production.

The flurry of bill filings over the last few weeks shows that Virginia’s legislators are teeming with ideas to address the Commonwealth’s housing crunch, to improve our transportation systems, and to begin to tackle our contributions to the climate crisis. How many of these proposals pass will come down to the advocacy and engagement of their constituents.

Wyatt Gordon is the senior policy manager for land use and transportation at the Virginia Conservation Network, and an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Urban Planning. He's a born-and-raised Richmonder with a master's in Urban Planning from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a bachelor's in International Political Economy from American University.