Mark Obenshain

Some of the laws that passed during this year’s General Assembly session did so with little fanfare. Others gained lots of attention initially but received little follow-up—and one lawmaker sponsored two such bills.  While you may not hear much about them now, they’re likely to become hot topics in the near future since that lawmaker is running for higher office.

Senator Mark’s Obenshain’s voter ID bill was one of the most talked-about bills this session. It eliminates varying forms of identification without photos that were just approved last year. Democrats still argue that this bill is overreaching and disenfranchises voters.  Obenshain says it is a common-sense bill that’s received broad support in some polls. But another bill that’s headed to the Governor’s desk revolves around the gun control debate.

“To keep confidential the concealed carry permit information which is another common sense privacy measure,”  he says.

This became a hot-button issue after Virginia and New York newspapers published the names of concealed-carry holders after the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shootings. Obenshain’s bill prohibits circuit court clerks from publicly disclosing an applicant’s name and other identifying information contained in a concealed handgun permit application. Obenshain is running for Attorney General, and he says these issues are part of the message that he wants to carry across Virginia as he moves into campaign mode.

–Tommie McNeil

A bill that is now under review by Governor McDonnell strengthens current state laws on stalking —although its sponsor says the law still needs to be even tougher.  Delegate Jennifer McClellan hopes her bill will encourage law enforcement to take reports of stalking and domestic abuse more seriously.

It would become a felony if someone convicted twice of stalking had also been convicted of committing violent acts against the same victim within five years.  It would also apply if the aggressor had violated a protective order within that period.

Currently, stalking is a felony after three offenses. This first hit home for McClellan when a University of Richmond student, De’Nora Hill, applied for a permanent protective order against her ex-boyfriend in 2005.  She was not able to get it before he shot her to death.  McClellan promised to submit the bill until it passed, which didn’t happen until this year.  She says it’s disappointing that it took so long:

“You know, the sad thing is after De’Nora then we had Yeardley Love. That wasn’t enough, and then this past year, Tiffany Green. Tiffany’s mother is a constituent and it just sort of reinforced why it was important. And to be honest it’s not quite done. I think we should still keep working to make it a felony after the second offense,” said McClellan.

McClellan says the costs related to enforcement prevented this from passing before now. She worked with state leaders to cut that cost in half by targeting only the worst offenders.

–Tommie McNeil

The passage of Virginia’s transportation-funding bill was not the only change of heart that took place in the General Assembly this session.  Another was tackling a growing traffic-safety hazard that did not even exist a generation ago—and making it a primary offense.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, it not only toughens current state penalties against texting while driving, but it targets similar communications.

Virginia’s most under-performing schools would be transferred to a new state Opportunity Educational Institution thanks to General Assembly passage of a budget amendment over the weekend.  The bill to create the new state entity had already been approved and sent to the Governor, but it would not have taken effect without the funding.  And the controversy over the bill did not end with its passage.

The bill requires schools that are denied accreditation and permits schools that have been accredited with warning for three years to be transferred to the Institution.  A new state Board, with all the powers of a local school board, would administer the statewide division.  Governor McDonnell says improving failing schools was one of his top priorities.

“… To create dramatic and sustainable reforms in our K-12 public education system so that every young person has a great school with a great teacher regardless of their home, background, age, or zip code.”

But it violates the state Constitution, says Robley Jones with the Virginia Education Association.
“The Constitution says that the school boards and in their various divisions have supervisory authority over the schools.  And this bill takes the supervisory authority away from those local school boards and gives it to a state entity.  And we do anticipate litigation.”

Jones says some local school boards will likely sue.  The $150,000 provided are less than the Governor requested, so he said he may propose additional funds.

–Anne Marie Morgan

Department of Justice figures suggest that about 40% of all firearms used in crimes are obtained via straw purchases.

Those statistics inspired a gun-rights advocate and state lawmaker to sponsor a “straw purchase” bill that has now passed both houses of the General Assembly.  As Tommie McNeil reports, his goal is to help reduce the number of incidents like the Newtown and Virginia Tech shootings.

Senator Tom Garrett says in most recent mass shootings, the shooter had some documented level of instability prior to the incident.  In the case of William Spengler, who set his New York house ablaze so that he could target firefighters, he was already prohibited from owning a firearm, but someone acquired a weapon for him. While Garrett says this incident has escalated the argument about gun control, he also says there’s been too much focus on the inanimate object and not on the people responsible for senseless acts of violence.

“This will hopefully help to send the message that we take this seriously that there’s real time coming if you buy a gun for someone that you know is prohibited by law from having that gun, and also will help to get people who do this off the streets.”

A straw purchase of a firearm is already a felony in Virginia, but this law stiffens the penalties and imposes mandatory minimum sentences for both the person who obtains the weapon and the recipient. The bill now heads to the Governor.

-by Tommie McNeil

Virginia attorneys general would have the power to investigate and prosecute violations of election laws under legislation that has been approved by the state Senate.  As Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, the controversial new authority survived by the slimmest of margins.

Public schools would be required to establish threat assessment teams and procedures under legislation that has advanced in the House of Delegates.  The measure is a recent recommendation of the Governor’s Task Force on School and Campus safety—which was created after the Connecticut school shootings.  It takes a practice already used at the college level and adapts it to elementary, middle, and high schools.

Under the bill, schools would form teams and implement best practices to assess students whose behavior could pose a safety threat to the staff or students.  They would also make plans for intervention, including referrals to community services boards or health-care providers for evaluation or treatment.  Delegate Joe Morrissey wondered about how threats would be defined and if the bill protects student privacy.  He was also concerned about students who are simply not well-behaved.

“What safeguards do we have that these voluntary members of this threat assessment team would not abuse their position to get the medical records of a 4th-grader who created some disruptive behavior?” asked Morrissey.

Delegate Scott Ligamfelter said local leaders would be in charge.

“I trust the principals and the senior leadership of people that have been put in authority of our schools.  They are consummate professionals.  They will be at the helm in selecting these very fine people.  I don’t think that they’re going to select people that are not capable to do this.”

To alleviate privacy concerns, the House deleted a reference to student criminal and health information.  The bill faces a final House vote before heading to the Senate.

–Anne Marie Morgan

Many lawmakers and advocates still have abolishing predatory lending practices in Virginia on their agenda… although it hasn’t been discussed much this legislative session. But one organization says that since the General Assembly passed reforms, fewer people have been trapped by the high-interest loans that were supposed to be temporary assistance for those with a financial crisis.

The Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending says the number of payday lending institutions has declined from 769 in 2008 to 267 in 2011.  470,000 loans were made in 2011 compared to 3.3 million in 2008.  But more title loan, Internet, and open-end credit lending agencies that charge high fees and interest rates are now doing business.  The Virginia Credit Union League’s Louis Wood says those lenders prey on people who think they have no recourse.  But he says most don’t know that credit unions offer alternatives.

“So often we’ll pair that with financial counseling and also with other products that help the borrower build credit or encourage savings. And you know our message to our consumers is this: If you are a member of a credit union, look to your credit union for those small dollar emergency loans. If you’re not yet a member of a credit union, there’s a credit union out there eager to serve you no matter what your financial need or financial situation,” says Louis Wood with the Virginia Credit Union League.

VaPerl members say they’re being proactive in educating people about alternatives to predatory lenders, but it will take time. They’re pursuing legislation to crack down on Internet lending—which IS illegal, but uses loopholes that must be closed.

–Tommie McNeil

The Virginia Senate has voted for a transportation-funding bill that increases the gas tax, removes most of Governor McDonnell’s proposals, and allows Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to raise extra revenue.  It now heads to a 10-person conference committee, where lawmakers who don’t like it could still make major changes.  Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil has the details.

“Blank stare” may be the best description of the demeanor of many lobbyists, media, and others who have any interest in what happened at the State Capitol Thursday.  It’s the day when members of the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate go through the grueling process of offering line-by-line amendments to the state budget.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, the most dominant theme seems to be the issue of Medicaid expansion.

Delegate Bill Howell

House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell has shot down the plan to redraw state Senate districts that was narrowly passed by the Senate two weeks ago.  Senate Democrats say it’s now time to move forward … and that their focus is on developing a transportation funding plan and hammering out a budget.

The redistricting plan had been lying dormant since last year, and was brought to the Senate on the day of the inauguration, which Democratic Senator Henry Marsh was attending. This gave Republicans a one-vote margin. The new plan was attached to a House bill and created a new minority-majority district and an advantage for some Republicans.  Democrats were appalled and hoped that House Speaker Bill Howell would toss the plan out.  He did.

“I think that the, a responsible upholding of the honor and integrity of the House and of the institution of the Speaker requires that I be consistent in my rulings and therefore, I am going to rule the Senate amendments are not germane and out of order.”

Senator Dick Saslaw and other Democrats had argued it’s unconstitutional.

“The small technical changes that the House has made would pass constitutional muster. Where you run into problems is if you did a wholesale redistricting which is what occurred here.”

Senate Republicans said they remain committed to creating a sixth majority-minority district as required by the Voting Rights Act, and said they’re confident that those new districts will be the ones under which the 2015 elections will be conducted.

–Tommie McNeil

Virginia voters would no longer be able to present some forms of identification at the polls that they used last year under legislation that has passed both houses of the General Assembly. As Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, the bills take slightly different forms, and one is subject to General Assembly funding for voter education and outreach. 

Governor McDonnell is asking the General Assembly to expedite the implementation of 24 recommendations just unveiled by his Task Force on School and Campus Safety.  Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports that while many of these proposals do not require additional funding, the Governor has released a list of priorities because revising the state budget is well under way.

Several bills that lawmakers argue are connected to everyday parental rights have advanced in the Virginia General Assembly. But they did not pass unanimously, and as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, they still must go through a second chamber before they could become state law.

A very frustrated Senator John Watkins has issued a written statement about withdrawing his uranium mining bill, but he does NOT deny that the issue could come up again before this General Assembly session is over. The usually candid Senator had very few words after a cancelled hearing on whether to create regulations to lift the ban on uranium mining in Pittsylvania County.  Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil explains.