The Virginia General Assembly has had a busy week debating bills that might affect you if passed during this session. Here is a highlight of some of the week's news.
The Virginia House of Delegates passed HB 251 on Jan. 20. The bill draws new boundaries for the U.S. congressional districts in the Commonwealth. While the Virginia Senate and House have passed the legislation, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) still has to sign it, and the bill must then be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. The change is a process that takes place after every census in order to keep districts from being considered as gerrymandered.
The House gave early approval Thursday to a bill that would repeal the mandate stating that all young Virginia females would be required to obtain a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The virus has been shown to cause cancer before the girls enter middle school. This mandate to the 2007 law allows parents to opt out of having their daughters receive the vaccine. Supporters of HB 1112 said it minimizes the "intrusion" of government when it comes to parents making choices for their children.
Del. Bobby Orrock (R-Caroline County) has introduced a piece of legislation that might require you to put down that Big Mac you get at the McDonald's drive-thru when you're behind the wheel. HB 532 would make it a traffic offense to engage "in an activity that is not necessary to the operation of the vehicle and that actually impairs his ability to operate the vehicle."
That means behavior such as texting, eating, applying makeup or anything similar could get you fined. Orrock said that most people are guilty of the bill but that when being distracted, people are at a higher rate to injure someone on the road. Even though an anti-texting bill was already introduced this session, Orrock's legislation would further the provisions that would be considered illegal. The House referred the bill to the Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety.
The Commonwealth may be a bit closer to allowing hunting on Sundays. Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk) introduced SB 464, which would allow the Sunday killing of wild animals on private land. The bill passed the Senate on a 29-11 vote Thursday with much of the opposition coming from Republicans. The bill challenges a current law prohibiting Sunday hunting on private and public land for all animals except raccoons, which can be hunted until 2 a.m. Sundays. The bill has been sent to the House, and if passed, it could go in effect as early as the fall 2012 hunting season.
For up-to-date Virginia legislative information, visit http://lis.virginia.gov/.
