A bill to limit and expand law enforcement’s use of license plate readers passed out of a Virginia House subcommittee, sparking questions during a debate about the age-old dance between government overreach and public safety.
House Bill 775 from Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, would institute statewide regulations governing the use of the technology and enable law enforcement to use them on highways managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
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Senate Democrats in Virginia joined to block two bills Thursday, one that would protect babies who survive botched abortions, and another that would require abortion facilities to provide women in the state with informed consent in writing prior to undergoing an abortion.
Democrats voted against HB 1795, a bill that would require medical care to be provided infants who survive an abortion – in the same way it would be rendered “to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,” and that abortion providers would “take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medical care.”
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Virginia House and Senate Democrats are urging House Republicans to support resolutions to allow voters to decide the fate of two proposed constitutional amendments: the automatic restoration of voting rights for felons and same-sex marriage rights.
To adopt a constitutional amendment, both chambers of the General Assembly must pass two identical resolutions two years in a row, with a House of Delegates election in between those years. If approved in the Legislature, the proposed amendment would appear on the general ballot during the fall elections. If supported by the majority of voters, the proposed amendment would be adopted.
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Virginia’s House and Senate passed another bill further decriminalizing marijuana. Under the bill, the drug’s scent would no longer be a sufficient cause for searching a vehicle.
The House passed the bill in a 51-45 vote. On Friday, the Senate approved to substitute some of the language of the bill.
Attorney General Mark Herring (D) will run for a third term, and is canceling his bid for the 2020 gubernatorial race, according to the Associated Press.
In December 2018, Herring told the Washington Post that he planned to run for the governor’s seat, but in February 2019, four days after censuring Governor Ralph Northam for his blackface scandal, Herring admitted to having worn blackface as an undergraduate, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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Virginia’s legislature will meet in a Special Session on August 18, and House Democrats are eyeing new laws and regulations that will place tighter regulations on Virginia police departments and officers.
In a statement released today, the House Democrats listed a myriad of points (detailed at the end of the article) they hope to address by introducing new legislation during the Special Session.
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