For Immediate Release:
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(434) 989-3197 | lfrancis@valcv.org
With new Conservation Majority in place at General Assembly, Scorecard evaluates largest legislative agenda since 2021
RICHMOND – Today, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters released its 2024 Conservation Scorecard, which ranks all 140 members of the legislature based on their votes on key environmental legislation during this year’s General Assembly session. The 2024 edition marks the 25th Scorecard by the organization, which was founded in 2000 with the goal of securing a Conservation Majority across state government, passing good environmental policy, and holding lawmakers accountable for their votes at the General Assembly.
The full 2024 Scorecard can be viewed and downloaded here.
“Our Scorecard is integral to our organization’s mission, and this year’s edition shows just how much can change when the legislature is in the hands of lawmakers who put the environment first. We are incredibly grateful to the Senators and Delegates who worked to protect our clean air, clean water and protected lands in 2024,” said Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. “This was the most productive legislative session we’ve seen since 2021 and saw us making progress toward a clean and healthy environment. We came far from getting everything we wanted at the General Assembly, but as we head toward 2025, an important electoral year in Virginia, we’ve laid important groundwork that we hope to build on as we do everything we can to elect Virginia’s next Conservation Majority and get back to work delivering the good environmental outcomes that Virginians deserve.”
This year’s Scorecard does not include, as it has in the past two years, rankings of our Governor, as Virginia LCV opted to publish a standalone Gubernatorial Scorecard this fall. Still, having a Governor hostile to progressive environmental policy did impact what we were able to score this year as well as our overall legislative success.
When you look at the number of bills that were passed and signed into law, the 2024 Legislative Session was the most productive General Assembly we’ve had since 2021 when we had a Conservation Majority across state government. This was also the largest proactive legislative agenda we’ve faced since 2021, which saw us taking positions on more than 100 bills and ultimately scoring 23 votes in the Senate and 21 votes in the House.
But unlike 2020 and 2021, this year’s Scorecard evaluates an agenda built around the need to compromise and govern. As such, there were few recorded votes on more progressive or controversial legislation – these either died in subcommittees, were continued over to next year, or kicked to various commissions for further analysis.
The votes we score also reflect increased bipartisanship at the General Assembly – with much fewer scored bills passing or dying by party-line votes, a change from the past two sessions where Conservation champions only controlled the Senate and carried out a mostly defensive policy agenda.
Sixty-four lawmakers, 13 Senators and 51 Delegates, scored a perfect 100-percent score in 2023, earning the designation of “Legislative Hero” for voting alongside Virginia LCV’s position on top conservation priorities every time this year.
2024 Legislative Heroes
Senator Lashrecse Aird
Senator Lamont Bagby
Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy
Senator Creigh Deeds
Senator Adam Ebbin
Senator Barbara Favola
Senator Ghazala Hashmi
Senator Stella Pekarsky
Senator Russet Perry
Senator Danica Roem
Senator Saddam Salim
Senator Suhas Subramanyam
Senator Angelia Williams Graves
Delegate Bonita Anthony
Delegate Alex Askew
Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
Delegate David Bulova
Delegate Katrina Callsen
Delegate Betsy Carr
Delegate Nadarius Clark
Delegate Laura Jane Cohen
Delegate Joshua Cole
Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler
Delegate Rae Cousins
Delegate Karrie Delaney
Delegate Michael Feggans
Delegate Debra Gardner
Delegate Jackie Glass
Delegate Cliff Hayes
Delegate Dan Helmer
Delegate Rozia Henson
Delegate Phil Hernandez
Delegate Charniele Herring
Delegate Patrick Hope
Delegate Michael Jones
Delegate Karen Keys-Gamara
Delegate Paul Krizek
Delegate Amy Laufer
Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling
Delegate Alfonso Lopez
Delegate Michelle Maldonado
Delegate Marty Martinez
Delegate Adele McClure
Delegate Delores McQuinn
Delegate Candi Mundon King
Delegate Cia Price
Delegate Sam Rasoul
Delegate Atoosa Reaser
Delegate David Reid
House Speaker Don Scott
Delegate Holly Siebold
Delegate Briana Sewell
Delegate Irene Shin
Delegate Mark Sickles
Delegate Mark Simon
Delegate Shelly Simonds
Delegate Kannan Srinivasan
Delegate Rip Sullivan
Delegate Josh Thomas
Delegate Luke Torian
Delegate Kathy Tran
Delegate Jeion Ward
Delegate Vivian Watts
Delegate Rodney Willett
Another eight Senators earned scores between 75 and 99 percent in 2020, earning the designation of “Legislative Leader” for their prioritization of key conservation issues.
2024 Legislative Leaders
Senator Jennifer Boysko
Senator Mamie Locke
Senator Louise Lucas
Senator Dave Marsden
Senator Jeremy McPike
Senator Aaron Rouse
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell
Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg
Virginia LCV also recognized five lawmakers for their individual leadership this year on different environmental issues. These went to Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville), Senator Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg), Delegate Michael Webert (R-Fauquier), Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax), and Delegate Michael Feggans (D-Virginia Beach).
About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.
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