The House on Tuesday reconsidered and passed House Bill 5013, a controversial measure that allows law enforcement officers to be held liable in court for actions taken while on duty without qualified immunity as a defense.
The bill was originally defeated by the House on Friday (47-Y 48-N 3-A) with several Democrats opposing their party to vote in opposition. The bill was also defeated last Monday in the Appropriations Committee before being reconsidered and advanced.
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House Democrats passed eight different policing reform bills during its Friday session, leaving Republicans lawmakers feeling ignored and unheard by the majority.
The policing bills spanned from banning no-knock search warrants and the use of neck restraints by law enforcement to requiring that officers report any wrongdoings by their colleagues or be subject to discipline.
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The Virginia House of Delegates was under Republican control for more than twenty years. This year, the Democratic party is in control of the House of Delegates, along with the Senate, and the Governor’s Mansion. This is the first time in three decades in which one party has had complete control.
The Republicans left the present Democrat controlled house with the title of being the number one rated state to do business, according to CNBC. We were also rated the third safest state in which to live and first in recidivism in the United States.
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The House Committee on Courts of Justice advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow for the early release of violent offenders by implementing a new earned sentence credit program.
The bill bars prisoners convicted of capital murder and most acts of violence involving minors from earning credits, but, conversely, includes first-time offenders convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, carjacking, rape and child pornography, among others.
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Before a bill to end qualified immunity was advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday, Delegate Jeffrey Bourne (D-Richmond City) called the language used by Republican opposition to the legislation examples of systemic and institutionalized racism.
“I hope everyone on this committee has listened to the type of language that has been used, the types of language that has been used to talk about why we should oppose this bill is exactly the types of systemic and institutionalized racism we are trying to dismantle,” Bourne said during the committee meeting.
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Monday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host John Fredericks welcomed special guest and Virginia House of Delegates member Marcus Simon to talk about Amendment One and the issues surrounding it for the re-districting in Virginia.
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Monday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host John Fredericks was joined by the Virginia House of Delegates 84th District member Glenn Davis who commented on the inefficiency of the Zoom meetings for the House of Delegates and the inability for businesses to open up in Virginia Beach.
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Delegates in the House Committee on Appropriations voted against a bill Monday that removed qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, making them liable to lawsuits.
The Bill, HB 5013, sponsored by Del. Bourne (D-Richmond City), was defeated in Committee after failing to get enough votes to advance to the House floor.
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The House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions killed two bills Tuesday morning that would have allowed Virginians to opt out of a potential COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The bills, HB 5016 and HB 5070, gave individuals and parents the option to object on religious ground to a vaccine mandate by the Health Commissioner, who has authority to institute immediate immunization during a public health crisis, such as COVID-19, under Virginia law.
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Monday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host John Fredericks welcomed Republican Virginia House candidate Scott Taylor to the program to discuss what he saw on the campaign trail and the momentum for Trump.
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While the House continued its quick, procedural sessions, the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee continued to advance bills centered around criminal justice reform and policing.
Before the Senate convened in-person in its new home for the 2020 special session at the Science Museum of Virginia, the Judiciary Committee held a meeting where it reported and referred more bills.
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Thursday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks was joined by Virginia House Delegate member Glenn Davis to speak about the Democrats move to Zoom meetings and keeping their per diem.
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It was relatively quiet during day two of the Virginia General Assembly special session as the House adjourned after less than an hour of meeting, while the Senate was more lively during member’s points of personal privilege.
Wednesday marked the first day the House held session electronically, with Speaker Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax County) and the House Clerk in the actual chamber of the Capitol building. The Senate, just like on Tuesday, held its session at the Science Museum of Virginia.
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The Senate and House of Delegates met separately in Richmond on Tuesday, officially kicking off the special session of the General Assembly.
Despite a bevy of bills and promises of swift action, the House and Senate primarily discussed operation and procedural resolutions for the Special Session going forward.
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