Legislative Success:
2026 General Assembly Session & Congressional Action
- Career and technical training review (SB 592). VMA supported this legislation which established a biennial review of career and technical training courses to keep workforce-development programs aligned with employer needs.
- Paid sick leave (HB 5 / SB 199). Requires employers provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for employees. VMA secured a maritime carve-out for employers whose employees are covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and party to an existing collective bargaining agreement, effective until that agreement expires or December 31, 2030, whichever is earlier.
- Warehouse Workers Protection Act (SB 120). VMA opposed this bill that would have duplicated existing worker protections while adding vague standards, private-right-of-action exposure, and regulatory uncertainty that could deter logistics investment. The bill was defeated.
- Warehouse Workers Protection Act (HB 1451). VMA opposed this bill that would have treated routine performance standards as quotas and expanded disclosure, recordkeeping, and retaliation-liability exposure for employers. The bill was continued to 2027.
- Collective bargaining for public employees (HB 1263 / SB 378). This legislation would have repealed the prohibition on public employees from participating in collective bargaining. VMA secured an exemption for Virginia Port Authority to protect port competitiveness. The exemption was included, but the bill was ultimately vetoed by the Governor.
- Nondegree program accreditation (HB 551). VMA –supported this bill broadening the workforce credentials Virginia recognizes for in-demand jobs. Continued to 2027 for further refinement.
- $4M in federal funding for the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River (FY26). Fully funded the continued preconstruction, engineering, and design work in preparation for dredging.
- FY27 state budget outcomes. Secured approximately $20 million for continued development of a inland port in Southwest Virginia, $10 million in additional Business Ready Sites funding, and $3 million for Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) lead generation and marketing.
2025 General Assembly Session
- Drone protection for maritime facilities (SB 1272). VMA pushed to extend Virginia’s critical-infrastructure drone-trespass law to facilities regulated under the federal Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The bill made it a Class 4 felony to knowingly and without authorization fly an unmanned aircraft system over critical infrastructure or over a covered maritime facility.
- Rail funding flexibility (HB 1603). Removed the $4 million cap on Rail Fund monies, allowing up to 50 percent of the fund to be used on short line railways serving port and industrial sites.
- $60M for Business Ready Sites. Secured funding to prepare industrial sites across the Commonwealth for new and expanding employers.
- $325K for NOAA PORTS Program. Secured state funding to continue operating NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS) metocean data collection stations in the region after Navy funding was discontinued.
- Warehouse bill (SB 967). VMA opposed this bill that would have regulated warehouse and distribution-center performance standards, mandated disclosure of productivity data, and created new civil penalties and private enforcement that VMA viewed as a risk to logistics investment. The bill was defeated.
- Rail crew mandate (SB 779). VMA opposed this bill that would have required a minimum two-person crew on freight trains, raising rail-served operating costs for shippers moving cargo through the Port. The bill was defeated.
- Collective bargaining for public employees (HB 1264). This legislation would have repealed the prohibition on public employees from participating in collective bargaining. To protect port competitiveness VMA sought an exemption of Virginia Port Authority employees. The bill was defeated.
- Protected ballast-water discharge for cruise vessels. Defeated a State Water Control Board petition that would have prohibited ballast water discharge (BWD) by cruise vessels, preserving Norfolk’s competitiveness as a cruise port.
2024 General Assembly Session & Congressional Action
- $10M for the Southwest Virginia Inland Port study. Funded the study to plan a Southwest Virginia inland port, extending the Port of Virginia’s reach to inland shippers and rail markets.
- $4M in federal funding for the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River (FY24). Funded the preconstruction, engineering, and design work in preparation for dredging.
- Defeated bills that would have been harmful to Virginia exporters, restricted energy supply to manufacturers and increased the costs of freight transportation on rail.
- Secured millions in annual and one-time investments to fund Virginia's International Trade Plan, Virginia Business Ready Sites Program, and the Mount Rogers Planning District Inland Port Feasibility Study.
2023 - After a successful year of advocacy, the General Assembly approved funding for the following:
- $150M devoted to complete widening Interstate 64 all the way to Richmond and the 1-95 corridor.
- $125M devoted to the Virginia Business Ready Site Fund, plus $75M to empower the Commonwealth to procure and prepare sites for large industrial development projects.
- $10M devoted toward developing an inland port in Southwest Virginia.
- $9M annually for Virginia's Talent Accelerator Program to help large new employers meet their workforce needs.
2022 - After several years of advocacy work, the Norfolk Harbor widening and deepening project was fully funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Originally started in 2019 with state funding, the project is expected to be completed late 2024, giving Virginia the deepest water on the East Coast.
2022 - The General Assembly approved funding for the following:
- $4.6M per year for Virginia International Trade Plan
- $150M for Virginia Business Ready Sites
- $2.5M for Offshore Wind Supply Chain Grant Program
- $266M for NIT North Densification
- $470M for I-64 Gap Widening
2022 - The Hampton Roads Workforce Council received an $11M USEDA Grant for maritime-related job training. The grant will be used to build and train a pool of workers with a focus on the “blue economy,” energy, and related cybersecurity.
2021 - $40M was approved by the General Assembly for the repurposing of Portsmouth Marine Terminal for Offshore Wind use, and funding was allocated for the creation of the state Office of Offshore Wind.
2021 - The General Assembly appropriated $1.35M towards the first-ever International Trade Plan for Virginia. Funding the International Trade Plan advances the goal to increase international trade output by nearly 50% within the next 15 years. The plan is built on two distinct efforts: first, expand the reach and impact of trade development services to existing Virginia businesses in every region of the state, and second, enhance Virginia’s focus, capabilities, and resources to support existing trade-intensive businesses in expanding and to attract new export-intensive companies to the Commonwealth.
2018 - Wider Deeper Safer® - America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 fully authorizes the Norfolk Harbor Project with a 50/50 state/federal cost-share and the General Assembly authorizes $350M for dredging of the Thimble Shoals Channel to 56 feet and the Atlantic Ocean Channel to a depth of 59 feet, and for the widening of the Thimble Shoals Channel to 1,400 feet. These new depths will allow for two-way traffic and accommodate ultra-large container vessels.
2016 - Historic $350M bond package approved to add the capacity to handle an additional 400,000 containers through Norfolk International Terminals.
2014 - Appropriation of $6.2M made that year for the planning and preliminary engineering for dredging the Norfolk Harbor to a depth of 55 feet and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River to depths up to 45 feet, and the strengthening of state laws pertaining to privatization of Virginia’s state-owned terminals.
For additional information: Historical Advocacy Milestones