Lawmakers return to Richmond — in person and online — to kick off session in shadow of security concerns, coronavirus, elections

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) opened her chamber’s online-only session shortly after noon with a call for civility.

“These uncertain times have been exploited by some for political gain and to undercut faith in our institutions and our democracy as a whole,” Filler-Corn said, speaking from a House chamber empty of all but staffers as members watched via videoconference. “Let me say clearly, as keepers of the people’s trust, we all must lead with the responsibility and integrity that the public deserves.”

State officials said late Tuesday that they were closing Capitol Square and canceling any events that had been scheduled there next week, as well as closing some streets around the Virginia Capitol over the next few days for security purposes.

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The Capitol building was already locked down because of the pandemic, with the Senate meeting across town at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Downtown Richmond was largely quiet Wednesday morning, with only a few dozen demonstrators outside the museum on busy Broad Street, most of them rallying for paid sick leave for workers amid the pandemic.

Democrats, who control both chambers, gaveled in shortly after noon under unusual circumstances. In the House, the sergeant-at-arms delivered the ceremonial golden mace as if everyone was there, and the clerk reminded members online to mute their microphones.

In the Senate, everyone wore masks except Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), who has refused, saying she has a health issue that prevents her from wearing one. She sat behind a three-sided plexiglass barrier.

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The museum offered a cavernous room for senators to maintain social distance. An empty desk — draped in black — served as a somber reminder of the dangers of the coronavirus, marking the loss of Sen. A. Benton Chafin Jr. (R-Russell), 60, who died Jan. 1 after being hospitalized with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The Senate voted unanimously to allow senators to participate remotely in limited circumstances, a reversal from the chamber’s position during the special session. Democrats had been pushing for the change, and Republicans, who had been opposed, relented after Chafin’s death. Two senators were absent because of the coronavirus. Sen. Lynwood W. Lewis Jr. (D-Accomack) was recovering from covid-19 and Sen. Jill Vogel (R-Fauquier) was being tested for it, said Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax).

The Senate opened with bipartisan and occasionally tearful tributes to Chafin, a southwestern Virginia lawyer and farmer described by his former seat mate, Sen. John Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake), as “a shining example of a wonderful gentleman.”

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Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was slated to present his annual State of the Commonwealth address via video at 7 p.m.

The House of Delegates, which began experimenting with meeting online during special sessions last year, was firming up plans that called for holding virtual committee meetings every morning and convening floor sessions every afternoon at 4.

Republicans planned to execute a parliamentary move to restrict the duration of this year’s session to 30 days, instead of the customary 46 days in an odd-numbered year. Even-numbered years feature 60-day sessions. Filler-Corn’s office said the short-year sessions have been extended by about two weeks for at least the past 50 years, under both major parties.

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“Our Republican colleagues want to work less,” Del. Alfonso H. Lopez (D-Arlington) said after GOP members of the House moved to block the extended session. Invoking the perils of the pandemic as a reason to stay in session longer, Lopez said Republicans were guilty of “cynical ploys and obstruction.” He concluded, “If Republicans have a better place to be, they should let the rest of us do our job.”

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The House eventually passed a resolution setting the session’s length at 30 days but left open the possibility of the governor extending it by calling a special session. The Senate had not taken up the length of the session by 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Filler-Corn ticked off a long list of legislative priorities for the session, including setting aside money to get coronavirus vaccines distributed more quickly; extending paid family sick leave; making health care more accessible and affordable; improving access to unemployment insurance; and supporting small businesses.

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Saslaw echoed that list and added “restoring as much money as we can to K-12 [education] and higher ed,” along with several criminal justice issues. “That’s going to keep us busy,” he said.

House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said that Democrats already had more than 80 days in last year’s special legislative session to get things done and argued that an additional 30 days should be enough to focus on issues related to the pandemic and economy.

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“But it seems my colleagues on the other side have their own agenda that goes well beyond the pandemic,” he said, accusing Democrats of emphasizing issues such as legalizing marijuana to make “life a lot easier on criminals and a lot harder on police.”

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Gilbert condemned the violence that took place at the U.S. Capitol last week after President Trump urged his followers to stand up against a presidential election that he falsely said was stolen from him. But Gilbert called for calm from his fellow lawmakers.

“Everybody needs to take a deep breath and really ratchet down the rhetoric,” he said. At the same time, he said a GOP priority will be “restoring confidence in our election system. I think what you saw last week was the culmination of a loss of confidence.”

Adding that he was “not talking about fraud” or “stealing elections,” Gilbert said that he felt laws passed last year by Democrats to increase access to voting — such as no-excuse early voting and removing the requirement of showing a photo identification to vote — had gone too far and undermined confidence in the system.

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That remains a sensitive topic after the events of Jan. 6 — particularly in the Senate, where Chase has drawn ire from both parties for praising the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol as “patriots.”

The Senate Democratic Caucus called for her resignation, but members disagreed about whether to push for censure — a punishment the General Assembly has imposed only once before, in 1987, to then-Sen. Peter K. Babalas (D-Norfolk). He was censured for casting a vote that spared one of his legal clients from increased state regulation.

Chase has dismissed the criticism, saying Virginia Democrats had “committed treason” by loosening restrictions on voting last year.

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In the House, some members called for the resignation of Del. Dave LaRock (R-Loudoun) after he defended Trump’s words ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection. LaRock responded with a fundraising email that doubled down on his position and urged critics to focus on “the needs of the colored community” instead of attacking him.

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With so many hot-button issues on the menu, Democrats said they were confident they could get around the Republican effort to hold the session to 30 days. Democratic leaders of the House and Senate were negotiating as late as Tuesday over how to keep the session going longer — such as by adjourning immediately and having Northam summon them back into special session, which would have no calendar limit.

A special session would also allow lawmakers to continue conducting political fundraising, which is prohibited during a regular session. That is key because all 100 seats in the House are up for election in November; senators next face the polls in 2023.

In addition, two senators and two delegates — plus Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D), who presides over the Senate — are running for governor, which is also on the ballot this fall. Five other lawmakers are running for lieutenant governor and two for attorney general. At least one more is mulling a run for federal office: Sen. Jen A. Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach) confirmed Friday that she is considering a challenge to Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) next year.