House of Delegates; salaries, contingent and incidental expenses.
Summary
House Resolution 2052 authorizes the Comptroller to draw warrants from the House contingent fund to pay for the House of Delegates’ operations during the 2026 Special Session I. It covers salaries for temporary employees and other contingent and incidental expenses, with those payments to be certified by the Clerk or a designee.
The resolution also sets the rules for member compensation during the special session. Delegates may receive session per diem only on days when they attend a scheduled floor session and an attendance roll call is taken. Legislative assistants are excluded from per diem, and members do not receive session per diem during recesses of the special session, although certain members may still be compensated for work on standing committees, conference committees, or other legislative bodies established by the General Assembly under existing law.
Impact
HR2052 affects internal House administration and compensation practices rather than substantive public law. It directs use of the House contingent fund for session-related expenses, establishes payment procedures for temporary staff and incidental costs, and clarifies when delegates are eligible for per diem during the 2026 Special Session I. The resolution primarily impacts House members, legislative staff, and fiscal officers responsible for processing legislative expenditures, while incorporating existing Virginia law governing compensation during recess periods.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and procedural in nature. The House agreed to it unanimously, with a recorded vote of 74 yeas and 0 nays, indicating broad support and little to no opposition. No committee debate or dissenting views are provided in the available record.
Contention
There is no recorded substantive contention in the available materials. The only potentially sensitive issue is compensation during a special session—specifically per diem eligibility during floor sessions versus recess periods and the exclusion of legislative assistants—but the unanimous vote suggests these provisions were accepted without dispute. The resolution also relies on existing statutory compensation rules, which may have been relevant to administrative clarity rather than policy disagreement.