The Virginia Chamber of Commerce experienced great success during the 2019 legislative session, defeating anti-business bills which, if passed, would have cost Virginia employers almost $18 billion annually in burdensome regulations, unnecessary mandates, and higher operational costs.   We were also successful in saving over 156,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.   As a result of the pro-business laws that were passed during the General Assembly session, about $730 million was added to Virginia’s economy, helping the state be more competitive for economic growth.  Learn more about the success of the 2019 legislative session here.

Also this year, the General Assembly passed legislation and the Governor signed into law, bills that will improve Virginia’s legal climate.  This legislation will help businesses avoid frivolous lawsuits and eliminate unnecessary or overly burdensome costs within the legal system. The new regulations are listed below and went into effect on July 1, 2019:

• HB2197/SB1486 allows depositions and affidavits to support a motion for summary judgement in cases where the case is between business entities and the amount at issue is $50,000 or more.

• HB2167/SB1457 establishes a process for deposing certain corporate offices with a publicly traded company or a major subsidiary.

Looking to the future, the Virginia Chamber plans to work with the Virginia Supreme Court to evaluate the efficacy of establishing a business court to hear complex business litigation.  A business court will greatly improve Virginia’s legal climate.  Such a court will have judges with the necessary expertise to deal with complex business disputes, afford predictability of business case law, offer speedier case resolution, and provide the opportunity to reduce litigation expenses.

Click on this link to better understand these legal reform efforts as discussed by the Chairman of the Virginia Chamber’s Board of Directors, Charlie Meyer, and the Virginia Chamber’s General Counsel, Keith Martin.