Rep. Ashley Bartley presents amendment to S313, removes DOC solicitation provision

Representative Ashley Bartley presented an amendment to S313 on May 26 that moves language from the Senate omnibus labor bill S230 into the House amendment while removing a solicitation provision that had raised objections. Bartley said the change was developed in consultation with the administration, House leadership and other committee chairs to avoid a potential veto.

Bartley, who identified herself "for the record" as "Representative Ashley Bartley of Fairfax," told the committee the Senate version included a section addressing solicitation at Department of Corrections (DOC) properties. She said the administration and some committee members opposed that solicitation language and that the amendment "removes the section 3 of S230, which was the solicitation language that has caused issues." The amendment retains other provisions from S230 that Bartley said provided greater support for state employees.

When a member asked whether the change would allow or prohibit solicitation, Bartley said it did neither; instead, the language would require the VSEA and the Department of Corrections to meet and discuss why DOC does not have a consistent solicitation policy. She noted DOC had planned its own policy "about 20 years ago" but "that has not happened," describing the change as a process-oriented fix rather than a change to a general solicitation ban.

The chair called a straw poll on the amendment; members were asked to raise their hands. The transcript records an informal count called out as "10" in favor after some back-and-forth. The transcript does not record a formal roll-call or a binding committee vote in these segments; the action recorded in the meeting was an informal straw poll.

Next steps: the transcript indicates the amendment was advanced by informal consent through the straw poll and that further procedural steps would follow on the House floor and in later negotiations with the Senate.