The 2016 Session of the Virginia General Assembly has reached the halfway point, known as “cross-over.”  All passed House bills will now go to the Senate for their consideration and all passed Senate bills come to the House for consideration.  Last week I gave an overview of the general session, and today I have a brief update on my personal bills.

I introduced nineteen bills this session and two House Resolutions, of those 14 have passed the House.

HB 157- Agriculture and Consumer Services, Department of; approval of guidance document prior to adoption.

HB 158 – Grass cutting; Caroline County may apply its ordinance to portions of agricultural land

HB 310 – Allows our mobile dental clinics to better serve underserved and elderly citizen.

HB 311 – Insures EMS providers can cross State borders and serve emergency needs.

HB 312 – Make patients records more accessible by medical providers.

HB 313 – Allows the medical provider who actually administered the immunization to sign the verification form.

HB 314 – Allows private school trained personnel to administer emergency medicines as is allowed in public school.

HB 315 – Allows 2 retired Conservation police officers to purchase their hand gun.

HB 340 – Private animal shelter; Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall adopt regulations.

HB 557 – School efficiency reviews; scope and costs.

HB 558 – Onsite sewage systems and private wells; evaluation and design.

HB 559 – Repeals certain obsolete reporting requirements by Social Services

HB 1270 – Establishes a companion animal care advisory committee

HJ 160 – Study, licensing of dogs and cats, report.

HB 340 – my bill, has created much controversy due to misrepresentation of its effect. The bill is intended to clarify what a Private Animal Shelter may do in their normal operation.  Under the current definition, as cited by the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies in a flyer from early Jan. 2016, “Current law does NOT prohibit euthanasia or return of pets to owners by private animal shelters.  Before and after enacting SB1381, private shelters have the same authority under 3.2-6548 to adopt, transfer, return to owner, and euthanize animals”.  Therefore, the language of HB340 now will direct the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to determine the “purpose of adoption” criteria of a Private Animal Shelter, soliciting input from all those in the animal welfare community.  Without passage of HB340, the Department would have no authority to address this issue and, private animal shelters would have the same authority as before the passage of SB1381.  I see my bill as being complimentary to the efforts of last year, providing an open and transparent process.

Other measures which we have heard from many of you about and which I have supported include:

HB 1163 – establishes reciprocity with most other states that have a concealed carry permit program.  The legislation also prevents individuals who have had a Virginia permit revoked from having an out-of-state permit recognized in Virginia. The Superintendent of the Virginia State Police has 60 days after the bill becomes effective to enter into reciprocity agreements. HB 1163 passed the House 72 to 26.

HB 1386 – requires the Virginia State Police to be available at every gun show to administer voluntary background checks for private sales.  HB 1386 passed 96 to 3.

HB 1391 – dealing with firearms and domestic violence has also passed with the help of the attorneys for domestic violence claims in the House (96-3). This bill would prohibit anyone from possessing firearms who has a protective order for a domestic violence offense.  This legislation is limited to permanent protective orders granted by judges after a full hearing with the opportunity for representation by counsel alongside with the attorneys for domestic violence charges, which ensures due process protections for all parties involved.

 HJR 3 – a much debated issue, deals with making application to Congress to call for a Convention of the States to propose amendments to the United States Constitution for the sole purpose to restrain the overreach of power by the federal government and requiring a balanced federal budget.  The bill has passed the House of Delegates and is now being considered by the Senate.

HJR 1 – proposing a change to Virginia’s Constitution that could allow for more public charter schools.  Under Virginia law, only local school boards can approve public charter schools.  Thus far, only 9 charters have been approved in the state since the law was enacted 18 years ago.  If the measure is approved by the voters, the General Assembly would still have to enact legislation next year to address financing and other details.  The State of Board of Education would only become involved if the local school board has denied the application and if the charter applicant has strong community support and has a high-quality application.  The bill has passed and is now being considered in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.

GO Virginia – HB 834 and HB 846 – The House passed legislation creating the GO Virginia initiative. GO Virginia is a business-led, bipartisan initiative to provide a new framework for strengthening Virginia’s economy by encouraging collaboration between business leaders, the education community, local government, and state government.

HB 477 – Veteran Care Centers. This legislation is part of our effort to establish two new veteran care centers, one in Hampton Roads and one in Northern Virginia, to help provide veterans with more quality long-term healthcare options.

Further, on Sunday, February 21, the House Appropriations Committee will unveil the House budget (HB 30) for the 2016-2018 biennium. The House budget will be a conservative, responsible spending plan that protects taxpayer dollars while carefully investing in the core functions of state government like K-12 education, public safety and transportation. We want to invest in our priorities, but believe Virginia must be cautious and prudent with your tax dollars.

I have welcomed many visitors from the district and I am always glad to discuss issues and legislation of interest to you.  As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me at delborrock@house.virginia.gov.  You may also call my Richmond office at 804-698-1054 with any concerns or questions.

Best Regards,

Bobby