The second week of the Virginia General Assembly’s special session began on Monday with both chambers advancing several pieces of legislation.
Committees in the House and Senate passed bills on Monday that would provide funding into increasing voter access across Virginia. The Senate Appropriations Committee met first in the morning and advanced legislation that would provide funding for ballot drop-off boxes and prepaid postage for absentee mail-in ballots.
The biggest sticking point for Republicans on the Committee was the legislation allowing someone to transfer the ballot from the voter to the box. Del Steve Newman (R) pushed hard against that, “No person should come between the ballot and a voter,” said Newman during the Committee meeting. “That has been sacred for forever.” Newman attempted to add an amendment to the bill that would require the person to drop off their own ballot in-person and make it a felony if they did not, but Democrats killed that attempt.
Sen. Creigh Deeds (D) said during the Committee meeting that 30 states already have ballot drop-off boxes in place and have presented no evidence of abuse. The bill eventually advanced out of Appropriations to the full Senate floor on an 11-5 vote.
The House of Delegates completed the five-day process early Monday afternoon of reading a motion on the House floor in order to suspend rule 81, allowing Delegates to meet and vote virtually during the current special session.
The House Appropriations Committee met quickly on Monday afternoon to take up the same legislation that the Senate did earlier in the morning. The House passed HB 5103, which would increase access to the process of voting, on a 13-9 vote. The House Democrats voiced the same concerns as their counterparts in the Senate. The Appropriations Committee adjourned after the vote.
The House General Laws Committee met following the Appropriations Committee on Monday afternoon to take up several different pieces of legislation. However, before discussing any bill, the Committee referred HB 5111, which is legislation to put a temporary ban on evictions, to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Next, they took up HB 5050, which would empower the Governor of Virginia to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for private businesses. The Committee voted 14-7 to advance HB 5050 to the Appropriations Committee.
The Committee then took up HB 5052, from Del. Bagby (D) which would make Juneteenth a legal holiday in Virginia. The Committee passed this bill unanimously.
Delegate Cia Price (D) presented her bill, HB 5064, which requires landlords to offer a payment plan before evicting a tenant. Price said that tenants will still be able to seek rent relief funds and that landlords that own less than four dwellings would be exempt. The bill advanced out of the Law Committee on a 13-9 vote.
The Committee then took up legislation sponsored by Chris Hurst (D), HB 5090, which would expand the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) powers involving criminal investigations. While speaking to the Committee, Hurst spoke of Kionte Spencer, who was shot and killed by Roanoke Police in 2016.
Hurst said that he was able to see the edited footage as a reporter at the time, but Spencer’s family has still not seen the video. The Laws Committee voted to advance HB 5090 to the Courts Committee for further review.
Del. Josh Cole presented HB 5106, which would block landlords from reporting things like missed payments or breaking a rental agreement to credit agencies during the pandemic. The Committee advanced HB 5106 on an 11-8 vote.
The Senate Rebahilitary and Social Services Committee also advanced several pieces of legislation that you can read about here.
The House Committee on Health is schedule to meet at 9:00 a.m. and the House Committee on Public Safety is scheduled to meet at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
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