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Virginia lawmakers faced a compressed schedule at the General Assembly after a water crisis disrupted legislative business at the Capitol. Although Wednesday marked the eighth day of the session, it was only the third day of legislative work in the building.

Bills were beginning to move into committees and subcommittees for hearings. Among the first scheduled was HB 2077, which would make Virginia’s federally and state-recognized tribes eligible for grants from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund.

Several other proposals introduced or revived during the session address public lands, workers’ compensation and gambling oversight.

The reintroduced Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act, HB 2059, would direct at least $200 million in recordation tax revenue and at least $30 million in bond proceeds toward Virginia trails, parks, battlefields and other public lands. It would also help protect farm and forest land threatened by development and establish a “Get Outdoors” fund for communities seeking to expand access to outdoor spaces.

Another returning bill would extend workers’ compensation eligibility to injuries and illnesses caused by repetitive, sustained physical stress. Virginia is described as the only state without that coverage.

Separate legislation developed with firefighters and law enforcement officers would expand benefits for anxiety and depressive disorders from one year to two years. Workers’ compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder would increase from 52 weeks to 500 weeks.

HB 2498, developed in coordination with Sen. Bryce Reeves, would create an independent Virginia Gaming Commission to oversee every form of legal gambling in the commonwealth. The proposed agency would consolidate regulation and enforcement while emphasizing responsible gambling and treatment and prevention programs.

The proposal’s backers contend that new gambling legislation—including efforts to establish a casino in Tysons Corner—should be paused until the commission is operating and capable of evaluating and regulating additional projects.