RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Senate on Wednesday passed two bills removing the registration fees for Virginia National Guard Specialty Plates for currently serving and retired members of the Virginia National Guard Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, during a special session of the General Assembly.

House Bill 2261, introduced by Del. Scott Wyatt (R-97), passed the House of Delegates unanimously on Feb. 3 and passed the Senate 31 to six with one abstention. The approved bill removes the fee for the issuance of specialty plates depicting the National Guard “Minuteman” and the words “National Guard.” Previously, the Virginia National Guard specialty plates were discounted 50 percent.

“We can’t thank Delegate Wyatt and the other patrons of this bill enough for their hard work and dedication to making this bill a reality,” said Maj. Andrew j. Czaplicki, VNGA president. “It may seem like a trivial thing, but the gesture of gratitude from our local government means so much to our Soldiers and Airmen.”

Similarly, H.B. 1796, introduced by Del. Wendell S. Walker (R-23), which removes the vehicle registration fees for retired Virginia National Guard members, passed the House of Delegates on Feb. 3 unanimously and the Senate on a vote of 28 to nine with one abstention.

Both bills are expected to be signed into law with an expected effective date of July 1, 2021.  See the full text of H.B. 2261 here and H.B. 1796 here.

Despite the successes of H.B. 2261 and H.B. 1796, Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed increase to the Virginia National Guard Tuition Assistance Program met unfortunate administrative delays.

Following Northam’s State of the Commonwealth Address on Jan. 13, 2021, Sen. David M. Marsden (D-37) introduced a budget amendment in the Senate that nearly doubles the program’s budget totaling $6,272,500. Due to the timing and rules of the General Assembly, the budget amendment was unable to be considered in the House of Delegates budget proposal.

However, as the budget has not yet passed either chamber, there is a narrow window for the amendment to be implemented. A Joint Conference Committee is expected to be appointed to negotiate the differences between the House of Delegates and the Senate versions of the budget bills. During this conference, the Governor may lay our his priorities for the budget to members of the committee.

“Governor Northam has been a strong advocate for the Guard,” Czaplicki said. “The increase to tuition assistance funding would be a huge benefit to Soldiers and Airmen working their way through college.”

The median cost of tuition at Virginia colleges and universities is estimated at $12,545 per year for tuition and fees. The proposed increase would allow for up to 500 Soldiers or Airmen to take full advantage of tuition assistance whereas currently only 450 Guard Soldiers and Airmen receive partial tuition assistance each year.

“The tuition assistance program hasn’t received an increase to the budget in nearly 10 years and the last year’s increase of $250,000 was cut due to the pandemic,” explained Czaplicki. “It’s not fair to troops who signed a contract expecting tuition assistance at one rate, but not receive it when school starts.”

“Our Guard members have been a huge support with the pandemic and now with the threats of violence in Washington, and I look forward to working with the General Assembly to get this done,” Northam said.

Reporters, Editors & Producers: Leaders are available for interviews or to appear as subject matter experts on issues related to the Virginia National Guard Association. Email contact@vnga.us to schedule an interview or appearance.

About VNGA: Established in 1960, the Virginia National Guard Association is a recognized non-profit 501(c)(19) veterans’ service association representing over 10,000 Service Members of all ranks and status; enlisted, warrant and officer; traditional, active duty and retired.