The Virginia General Assembly will gavel in to commence their “short” 45-day session on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, but legislators and the VBA have been at work in preparation since the conclusion of the last session.  The efforts undertaken in the time outside of session can help provide a clearer path once the committee meetings and floor debates begin. Anticipatory groundwork in policy research and development, stakeholder input and feedback solicitation, and education and cultivation of legislative buy-in are critical to setting up for legislative success once the sprint starts and elected officials are determining the fate of thousands of bills over the course of a few weeks.

The fall state legislative meetings held in six regions throughout the Commonwealth were highly valuable touchpoints in preparing for the General Assembly’s return. The opportunity for almost one hundred and fifty bankers to interact with their local delegates and senators and share with them the top state policy priorities for banking makes an impact that affects the decisions made in sessions. Bankers were able to share lived experiences on important issues such as check fraud, elder financial abuse and secure payments that will hopefully stay in legislators’ minds as they cast their votes. If you were not able to join in those meetings, the policy overview handout provided to legislators can be found here and we hope you will join us next year.

While proposed legislation comes from many sources – constituent issues, trade groups like the VBA, business or single-issue organizations, or ideas borrowed from other states – the legislature has various commissions and work groups that develop, fine-tune, and evaluate possible new laws in the months between sessions. The VBA has been actively engaged in the proposals percolating through the Joint Commission on Technology and Science relative to artificial intelligence and blockchain usage, as well as the Virginia Housing Commission on tax credits and other affordable housing plans. Being able to participate in sharing the banking industry’s perspective, concerns, and guidance lays the foundation for when actual bills are before legislators for a vote.

The adage “plan the work, work the plan” starts with the preparation. As January nears, that phase comes to completion and we shift to execution of our session advocacy. Your VBA team will be leading the charge at the Capitol in Richmond, but you are a critical part of that through continued proactive banker engagement. Plan to join us for VBA Banker Day on January 9^th in Richmond to meet with your area legislators at the beginning of the session. Sign up to participate in our grassroots call-to-action alerts and receive our Legislative Bulletin updates during session. With 2025 bringing yet another election for all 100 seats in the House of Delegates, as well as statewide offices, VBA BankPAC is the unified voice of the industry in the political realm as we prepare to again support pro-banking candidates. Your involvement has been essential to the preparation and will continue to be in the work to come as well.