Virginia lawmakers to meet in unusual circumstances

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia lawmakers are set to hold a one-day legislative session outside the Capitol as they grapple with how to handle fallout of the coronavirus.

House Delegates plan to meet under a canopy outside the Capitol while the Senate is meeting at a giant event space at the Virginia Science Museum a couple of miles away. Lawmakers will be seated far apart and are asked to wear masks instead of germ-carrying ties to help prevent the spread of the virus.

They are set to take up Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed changes to legislation passed earlier this year. Northam has proposed plans to delay some long-sought Democratic priorities until more is known about the pandemic’s effect on the economy, pushing back decisions on whether to give teachers and state workers raises, freeze in-state college tuition, and implement other new spending in the budget recently passed by lawmakers.