Virginia Lawmakers Use COVID-19 Relief To Boost Police Spending

VIRGINIA — Sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers in Virginia will receive bonuses of $3,000, while state police will receive $5,000 as part of a COVID-19 relief spending plan approved by state lawmakers on Monday.

The Virginia General Assembly approved a spending plan for $4.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, including funding for initiatives aimed at helping small businesses, increasing broadband access and replenishing the state’s depleted unemployment trust fund.

Also included in the passage of HB 7001, which distributes the billions of dollars in federal assistance from the American Rescue Plan, are the bonuses for law enforcement and corrections officers. The increase in spending on police comes as officials and activists continue to push state lawmakers to remain committed to police reform measures.

The budget will now be sent to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports the COVID-19 relief spending agreement passed by the General Assembly, Northam spokesperson Alena Yarmosky told The Associated Press.

“Law enforcement officers and first responders will get a well-deserved raise, and violence prevention programs have the support they need to keep communities safe,” Northam said in a statement Monday afternoon.

The spending plan does include the allocation of funds to improve accountability and transparency in law enforcement agencies across the state.

After the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, Virginia state lawmakers passed some modest police reform bills. Police officers can no longer use a chokehold on a person unless it is "immediately necessary to protect the law-enforcement officer or another person." The bill did not spell out how the police officer should be held accountable for using an illegal chokehold.

Lawmakers also passed a bill banning no-knock warrants, prohibiting police from serving search or arrest warrants without first knocking and announcing themselves.

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HB 7001 allocates about $3.5 billion of the $4.3 billion in funding provided by the federal American Rescue Plan. The remaining $761 million remains available for other pandemic-related spending and will be considered by the General Assembly when it convenes in January 2022.

President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law in March. It is a $1.9 trillion economic recovery plan that includes $350 billion in emergency funding for state, local, territorial and tribal governments.

Approval of the COVID-19 relief spending plan has been the main focus of a special Virginia legislative session that began last week.

The spending plan approved by the General Assembly also calls for helping small businesses avoid a large tax increase by using $862 million of the federal money to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund, which has been depleted by the large number of claims filed during the pandemic.

Another provision will require the Department of Motor Vehicles to resume walk-in service at its customer service centers throughout the state within 60 days. The DMV implemented an appointment-only system for in-person services at the beginning of the pandemic, a system that has drawn widespread complaints from customers.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.