The Virginia House and Senate held marathon sessions Tuesday as the legislators rushed to meet the midnight deadline for approving bills and sending them to the other chamber.
Any bills that did not receive consideration by midnight in the chamber where they were introduced died, though legislators have many ways to revive favored proposals.
In its session that began at 11 a.m. and stretched well into the evening, the House handled several measures dealing with illegal immigration, including legislation making harboring or transporting illegal aliens a felony offense, encouraging state and local police to become certified to enforce federal immigration law, making it harder for businesses that hire illegal aliens to renew their business licenses, and giving state and local police more power to detain illegal aliens.
The Senate met for about five and a half hours Tuesday, passing a cornucopia of bills that included legislation restricting local government’s eminent domain powers and a measure that allows betting on prerecorded horse races to raise money for transportation. The racing bill goes to the House, which already has killed a similar bill, but senators are hoping to convince House members that the proposal is a good way to raise transportation revenue.
“This is not quick fix, but is an opportunity to generate as much as $350 million for transportation,” said Sen. Thomas Norment, R-James City.
Both chambers passed bills that would end the electric deregulation era in Virginia and impose restrictions on power companies in the commonwealth. The bills would give the State Corporation Commission the power to set the rates utilities could charge, but the House version gives the SCC more authority than the Senate bill does.
