Legislators, the public, and lobbyists alike are starting to get the hang of the new General Assembly building, and legislation is now flowing through the committee process. While we have only been in Richmond a few weeks, it feels like we have been here for much longer. 

Last Wednesday, I took the gavel of the Public Safety Subcommittee for the first time. Over the course of the next month, the Senate Finance Committee will be working to report the Senate’s Budget to the full body for its consideration. 

Under the leadership of Democrats in the General Assembly, over the last four years, minimum salaries for state level public safety officers increased $10,769 on average for entry level positions and $19,918 on average for the highest ranked positions. This includes correctional staff at the Department of Corrections (DOC) and Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Virginia State Police (VSP) officers, and also deputy sheriffs and regional jails officers. 

Between 2021 and 2023, we also provided significant bonuses for law enforcement and public safety officers. That included $4,000 for DOC and DJJ correctional staff, and $3,000 for deputy sheriffs and regional jail officers. We also provided $5,000 bonuses for VSP officers, as well as up to $2,000 for relocation expenses, and bonuses of between 2.0 and 8.0 percent of an officer’s salary. All of these were in addition to normal bonuses provided by agencies within their existing operating budgets. 

As the new Chairman of the Public Safety Subcommittee of Senate Finance, I look forward to continuing that track record of investment to keep Virginia communities safe. 

THIS PAST SUNDAY, I hosted a Town Hall at Alexandria City High School along with Delegates Charniele Herring, Alfonso Lopez, and Adele McClure. Special thanks to Virginia public radio journalist Michael Lee Pope for moderating our discussion.

We fielded numerous questions about the proposal to relocate the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards to an arena in Potomac Yard, including project financing, the potential transportation impact along the Rt. 1 Corridor, and other quality-of-life issues. For more information about the proposed arena project, please visit www.MonumentalALX.com 

In addition to discussing the Monumental proposal, we answered questions on an array of other topics, including the proposal to build a casino on the Silver Line Metro corridor in Fairfax County, gun violence prevention, and abortion access. 

Thank you again to everyone who came out; for those who are still looking to provide community input, you are still able to fill out my constituent survey, which can be found at adamebbin.com/survey 

It is my continued honor to represent the people of the 39th Senate District. 

My legislative email address is SenatorEbbin@senate.virginia.gov. You can also reach us at our new Richmond phone number 804-698-7539.