Another round of ‘Momnibus’ bills are headed towards the governor this year

Following the success of last year’s “Virginia Momnibus” legislative package, a Democrat-led effort that brought several maternal health and childcare provisions to fruition, similar measures that were vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin advanced in this year’s General Assembly session and are heading to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

A flagship of the proposal package this year aims to set up a partially-state-funded childcare program for working parents. 

Senate Bill 3 by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Henrico, and House Bill 18 by Del. Adele McClure, D-Alexandria, would allow the state to match employers’ contributions to help families pay for childcare. 

Administering the program could cost the state about $154,000 thousand a year from its general fund, according to a fiscal impact statement by the Department of Planning and Budget. The state’s general fund is composed of resident’s income taxes, sales taxes and corporate income taxes. 

As lawmakers in both chambers negotiate their versions of the state budget, there could also be between $25 million and $50 million earmarked for the program over the next two years. 

Republicans have pushed back many times this session when Democrats suggested dipping into the general fund for programs like the childcare one, but Aird argues that the state setting up such programs helps with its affordability goals more broadly and especially aids those who need it most. 

“Affordability — the word that’s been plastered everywhere, you’ve heard it all session,” Aird said with a chuckle. “But you can’t have a conversation about affordability without talking about childcare.” 

She emphasized how her bill can help working parents and their employers by helping provide “stability.”

In a recent survey, eight out of 10 Virginia employers said that childcare challenges hinder both hiring and retention.  

Another proposal to support working parents has also been in the works. 

Senate Bill 2 by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax and House Bill 1207 by Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William, would establish paid family and medical leave that workers could use for up to 12 weeks. The idea is to support people that need to take time off to care for a family member, recover from surgery or have a child. 

Boysko said the framework would have been helpful when she and her daughter were recovering from a pregnancy complication and her daughter’s premature birth. Her daughter had to stay in a neonatal intensive care unit 20 miles away while Boysko was recovering and caring for her other child. Her husband’s company did not grant much time off for him to help his family. 

“I was still sick with no family around,” Boysko said. “It was an impossible situation and we couldn’t afford for him (to take time off).”

While the federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers with 50 or more workers to allow up to 12 weeks of leave, it does not require that employees be paid. Virginia’s version of the program can entail some state-funded setup and then the program would be jointly funded over time as both employers and employees pay into it. 

The bill is all but certain to be signed this year.

In her State of the Commonwealth speech in January, Spanberger said that “being pro-business and being pro-worker are not mutually exclusive” and added that “we will create a statewide paid family and medical leave program.” 

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, again carried a proposal to require unconscious bias training for medical professionals. The measure was vetoed last year but is likely to garner Spanberger’s signature this time around. Locke has touted it over the years as a critical component of enhancing Black maternal health. 

Studies show Black parents-to-be experience disproportionately negative health outcomes, often due to provider bias. Black women are also more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. This disparity has also been confirmed by Virginia’s Maternal Mortality Review Team. 

The training aims to help providers confront assumptions about their patients, particularly with regards to race, that can lead to delays in diagnosis, poor treatment or contribute to disparate health outcomes. 

House Bill 1400 and House Bill 1403 were pitched by Del. Margaret Franklin, D-Prince William. The former requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for maternal mental health screenings that can help combat postpartum depression. 

The latter renames Virginia’s Maternal Mortality Review Team as the Maternal Mortality and Severe Maternal Morbidity Review Team. This shift represents an expansion of tasks for the team to include a focus on severe maternal morbidity. Like the previous team’s work, the statistical data will be available on the Virginia Department of Health’s website. 

“It’s an exciting time to keep the ‘Momnibus’ going as a priority and to also be able to help so many families,” Aird said of all the measures.

As legislation makes it to her desk, Spanberger will have until April 13 to take action. She can choose to sign bills into law as they are, seek amendments or veto them. 

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