General Assembly sends bill to governor ensuring no water cutoffs in health, weather emergencies

RICHMOND − Four years ago when COVID-19 hit, state health officials stepped in to make Petersburg reconnect delinquent water customers at least until the crisis was over

That effort started the ball rolling on legislation in the 2024 General Assembly that is now heading to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk.

The Emergency Utilities Protection Act would prohibit water shutoffs during below-freezing or scorching temperatures and during public-health crises, such as the COVID pandemic. Monday afternoon, that measure cleared its final legislative hurdle in the Virginia House of Delegates, and it now awaits the governor’s action.

Last week, the Senate version of the EUPA was passed out.

After Monday’s 78-19 vote in the House, the measure’s patrons issued a joint statement praising the passage.

“This legislation is an increased protection for all families to ensure Virginians have access to essential utilities when it is needed most” Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, said in the statement. Her House counterpart, Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax County, called the vote “a significant milestone to protect Virginians from the harsh realities of utility disconnection during times of crises.”

For Aird, the legislative victory is something she witnessed from both sides of the General Assembly coin. She represented Petersburg in the House of Delegates in 2020, and her attempts to get the state Department of Health involved in blocking the city from cutting off water amid the pandemic triggered quite the battle that pitted her against Mayor Sam Parham.

Related: Petersburg: State needs to see entire water picture

In the 18-month period prior to COVID’s arrival, Petersburg shuttered water service to 731 customers. By the time COVID began creeping across Virginia in March 2020, the city reconnected roughly 44% of those through payment plans, but 56% remained waterless after COVID completely set in.

Then-Ward 1 Councilor Treska Wilson-Smith had suggested Petersburg suspend cutoffs for the duration of the pandemic and reconnect those still in arrears, prompting Parham at the time to call the request “an act of socialism.”

That prompted Aird to ask then-Gov. Ralph Northam to intervene. Northam directed the state health department to order water-service reconnection for everyone until the pandemic was lifted. It also escalated a war of words between Aird and Parham, with the former calling the disconnection “inhumane” and the latter calling Aird’s actions “a political ploy.”

The following year, in 2021, Aird sponsored a successful legislative resolution declaring access to water as “a human right.”

Monday, Aird called passage of the EUPA “a result of years of dedicated effort, stakeholder engagement and comprehensive data analysis, [and] ensures no Virginian will face utility disconnection during the state's most vulnerable times.

“I’m proud that because of this legislation we can ensure that no family has to suffer through disconnections from essential utilities when access to them is most critical,” she said in the statement.

Shin, who joined the House in 2022, said she had worked for the Act’s passage since her first election.

“The passage of this legislation is a testament to years of effort and partnership with community and faith organizations,” she said. “I am relieved to finally see the Commonwealth adopt these sensible safeguards to protect our most vulnerable neighbors.”

Monday’s House vote was largely bipartisan. Locally, Dels. Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie County, and Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield County, supported it, while Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, voted against it.

When the state Senate cast its final vote Feb. 27, only one senator, Republican Timmy French of Shenandoah County, dissented.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Assembly approves bill guaranteeing no water cutoffs during crises