Virginia General Assembly 101 (2026): How to Follow a Bill & Get Involved (with Rob Poggenklass). скачать в хорошем качестве

Virginia General Assembly 101 (2026): How to Follow a Bill & Get Involved (with Rob Poggenklass).

The Virginia General Assembly 2026 session starts Wednesday, January 14, 2026, and many people want to follow bills (or influence them) without getting lost in the process. In this episode, James Abrenio sits down with Rob Poggenklass (Justice Forward Virginia) for a practical, citizen-focused explainer: how to use the Virginia Legislative Information System (LIS), what “pre-filing” means, how bills move through committee and subcommittee, how floor readings work, what crossover and sine die actually mean, and how to testify (including virtual testimony tips). If you’re planning to attend Lobby Day or you just want to track a bill from idea → committee → floor → governor, this is your playbook. What you’ll learn • The best way to use LIS (lis.virginia.gov) to find bills and track progress • How to find bills by legislator, committee, or issue area • Why “the calendar” looks incomplete early on (and when the full official calendar drops) • The key dates that matter: budget amendments, crossover, budget crossover, sine die, reconvene • The reality of committee scheduling changes and how to avoid wasted trips • Virtual testimony: how it works, and why registration windows can be short • What happens if the two chambers pass different versions (conference committees) • Practical advocacy tips: how to be effective before and during session ________________________________________ Key Resources Mentioned Virginia LIS (Legislative Information System): https://lis.virginia.gov/ Virginia General Assembly site (& Live Streams): https://vga.virginia.gov/ DLS official calendar (pre-file / early schedule): chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/calenda... George Mason legislative calendar: https://relations.gmu.edu/2026-genera... VPAP (find legislators, money, politics): vpap.org Cardinal News: https://cardinalnews.org/ Virginia Mercury: https://virginiamercury.com/ Virginia Scope (Brandon Jarvis): https://www.virginiascope.com/ Justice Forward Virginia: https://justiceforwardva.com/ ________________________________________ Chapters / Timestamps 00:00 – Sharing resources (LIS + calendars) 02:49 – Intro: Session start date, purpose of the episode 04:34 – What is LIS and why it’s the core tracking tool 05:39 – Finding bills by legislator; what “pre-filed” means 07:44 – Why pre-filing matters; how DLS drafts bills (“sausage-making”) 12:12 – Finding bills by committee & issue area 14:52 – Official GA calendar: why it ends early / when the full calendar appears 16:34 – GMU legislative calendar walkthrough + key dates to highlight 18:15 – Crossover explained (and why it matters) 20:29 – Governor action deadlines + reconvene session 24:26 – Helpful public resources: VPAP + Cardinal News + Virginia Mercury 27:22 – Bill lifecycle overview: committee → subcommittee → committee → floor 28:25 – Where to find schedules + live streams / recordings 31:10 – Scheduling delays: what to expect and how to mitigate 32:14 – Virtual testimony: House vs Senate differences; registration windows 35:09 – Why lawmakers can seem impatient (“feelings week”) 41:00 – Subcommittee vote outcomes; how “dead” is dead? 45:05 – “Study” letters and why bills get punted 47:14 – Floor process: first/second/third readings + voting 51:40 – Amendments and conference committees 55:28 – After testimony: how to stay impactful as a citizen 58:33 – Opposition advocacy: stopping bills in one chamber vs the other 01:01:17 – House vs Senate dynamics (even within the same party) 01:06:43 – Final advice: don’t be intimidated; start early in the off-season 01:09:28 – Find your legislator; how to make outreach effective 01:11:06 – The simplest framework: problem → solution → people affected 01:12:39 – Wrap-up and next steps If you find this video informative, make sure to subscribe, like, and share the video! You can also find James on Bluesky at @jamesabrenio.bsky.social‬ Notice : JamesPod is an Abrenio Law podcast. Any information we provide is for general information purposes only. No one should construe this information as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information does not create an attorney-client relationship.