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Out of office

Virginia’s General Assembly session ended its regularly scheduled 60-day run on Saturday. The work of the legislature is far from over, however—the divided assembly has not yet agreed on a state budget and has left a number of bills on the table. Once the budget is complete, a special session can be held later in the year to continue ironing out the remaining bills.

For the moment, let’s take a look at some notable bills the six state delegates and senators who represent Charlottesville and Albemarle have been able to pass so far.

Delegate Rob Bell (R) was the chief patron of a bill aimed at limiting the amount of information law enforcement has to turn over under the Freedom of Information Act. The bill passed with broad Republican support and a handful of Democrats, including both Deeds and Hudson, on board as well. The bill means criminal investigative files can’t be disclosed to requesters unless the requesters are family of the victim or an attorney petitioning for the accused party’s innocence. The bill had been opposed by the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, but supported by the families of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington.

Delegate Matt Fariss (R) put forward a bill to increase the penalty for stealing a catalytic converter from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony, increasing the potential penalty to one to five years in prison. Fariss’ bill was tabled in the House, but the Rustburg delegate was a sponsor on a very similar bill from Bell that did make it through. The bill passed the Senate unanimously but was more controversial in the House, where it advanced 57-38.

Delegate Sally Hudson (D) was the chief patron of more than two dozen bills, but almost all were squashed in the Republican-controlled House, including bills to fund school renovation via local sales taxes and to allow localities to conduct local elections through ranked-choice voting. She was the chief co-patron of two unanimously passed bills that will make hospital pricing more transparent.

Like Hudson, Delegate Chris Runion (R) had some tough sledding in the divided legislature—his bills to tighten ballot access and weaken civilian police oversight bodies passed the Republican House but died in Democrat-controlled Senate committees. Runion was the chief patron of a unanimously approved bill requiring the state’s Department of General Services to prioritize purchasing recycled plastic when it acquires plastic for use by state agencies.

Senator Creigh Deeds (D) was the chief patron of a bill that bans health care providers from collecting debt from patients until after the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, a state program to help victims with medical expenses, has had a chance to decide if those patients are eligible for relief. The bill comes the year after UVA hospital received national negative attention for its aggressive bill collection practices. Deeds’ bill passed the Senate 24-15, with much of the Republican caucus opposing, but passed the House 91-7.

Senator Bryce Reeves (R) proposed multiple bills aimed at loosening gun laws. His initiative to allow concealed carry without a permit was killed in a Senate committee, but he did pass a bill declaring that retired law enforcement officers can purchase service weapons without undergoing a criminal background check. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and the House 61-37.

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In brief: Preview local bills, COVID surges

But today I am still just a bill

Virginia’s 2022 legislative session kicks off Wednesday, January 12, in Richmond. Each legislative session, lawmakers are allowed to prefile a number of proposed bills before the session starts. Legislative tracker LegiScan shows that 268 bills had been prefiled as of January 10. Republicans, who control the legislature after November’s elections, have been the more active of the two parties in prefiling thus far. Below, take a look at some of the bills that Charlottesville and Albemarle delegates and senators have submitted.

Delegate Rob Bell (R)
House Resolution 2 honors the service of longtime Republican Delegate and Speaker of the House Kirk Cox.

Delegate Matt Fariss (R)
House Bill 51 would make it a Class 6 felony, punishable by one to five years in prison, to steal a catalytic converter. Currently, it’s just a misdemeanor.

Delegate Sally Hudson (D)
House Bill 71 would prohibit public utilities from contributing to political candidates.

Delegate Chris Runion (R)
House Bill 149 would add a hurdle to absentee voting by requiring witnesses to provide their name, date of birth, residence, and the last four digits of their social security number. Currently, witnesses only need to provide a signature.

Senator Creigh Deeds (D)
Senate Joint Resolution 8 honors the life of former Waynesboro delegate Pete Giesen, who died last year.

Senator Bryce Reeves (R)
Senate Bill 127 would require presenting a photo ID to vote. Currently, voters with a non-photo ID can vote after signing a statement promising that they are who they say they are.

COVID surges

The Blue Ridge Health District has seen a record-breaking coronavirus surge in the last two weeks. On December 30, the district reported 482 new cases, topping the previous record of 453, which was set the day before. Before Christmas of 2022, the most new cases the department had reported in a single day was 245 in February of 2021. Vaccination and booster shot appointments are available all week long—visit vdh.virginia.gov to get started.

Photo: Blue Ridge Health District

In brief

Shine on

This week, the Albemarle Planning Commission considered a special use permit for a new hotel on Pantops. The plan was submitted as The Overlook Hotel—the same name as the haunted hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining. No word yet on whether the new lodge will be possessed by the ghosts of murdered twins.

Oh truck

Just 10 days into 2022, the bridge on the Corner sheared the top off its first truck of the year. The 10-foot-high 14th Street bridge has long menaced unsuspecting trucks, but had a slow 2021: Only one vehicle got lodged under the metal overpass, according to truck-tracking CBS19 weatherman Travis Koshko. The bridge is determined to make up for lost trucks, it seems.

City sued over land use map

Eleven anonymous plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville, alleging that the recently adopted Future Land Use map—which raises the maximum allowed housing density on certain parcels throughout the city—should be nullified for violating the Virginia code. One couple “purchased their property due to its location in a single-family neighborhood that was suitable for young children,” but the next owners of the property could build up to 12 units on the lot. Oh, the horror!

The Future Land Use Map was approved last year.
Photo: City of Charlottesville

UVA boosts booster mandate

UVA has moved its booster mandate up to January 14. Initially, all students, faculty, and staff were required to get a booster shot by February 1, but the school’s administration cited the dramatic recent surge in cases locally as the reason for the earlier deadline.

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On the agenda

By Kristin O’Donoghue

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors met Monday morning with area House of Delegates Representatives Rob Bell, Chris Runion, Matt Fariss, and Sally Hudson, and state Senator Bryce Reeves, to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming year.

The board asked the legislators to pursue legislation that would enable the county to levy civil rather than criminal penalties for violations of local ordinances, expand the county’s authority to use photo speed monitoring devices, and require agricultural buildings used by the public to be subject to minimum safety standards.

By amending Virginia law to institute a schedule of civil penalties, localities would be empowered to decriminalize numerous activities.

“As a former prosecutor, defense counselor, and criminal trial judge during my time in the Navy, I have long been troubled by overcriminalization of minor misconduct,” said Supervisor Donna Price.

Most representatives present expressed a desire to meet with the police department to discuss their perspective on the proposal.

The second proposal calls for an expansion of the use of speed cameras, specifically to target secondary roads with speed limits above 35 mph where speeding has been identified as a problem.

Hudson wanted to ensure that the cameras would be placed equitably, and not target certain neighborhoods. Supervisor Ned Gallaway said the camera locations would be determined by safety concerns and reports from the police. Like the proposal regarding civil penalties, proponents of the measure say it would free up law enforcement officers to do other critical police work.

The third proposal would beef up safety standards for agricultural buildings used by the public, which requires changing the legal definition of “farm building or structure” and adding a new designation for “public use agricultural buildings.”

“This is about people and safety,” said Supervisor Diantha McKeel.

The delegates also shared their priorities for the session.

Reeves wants to focus on combating illegal gambling, which he says is taking place across the commonwealth under the guise of “charitable gaming,” in addition to restoring funding to state police.

Bell hopes to address crowding in state hospitals, and wants to extend a policy instituted during COVID that assists those with special needs by allowing the parent to be the paid provider for the person in need of services.

Runion wants to pass the Virginia Tuition Aid Assistance Grant for private education, work on digitizing historical records, and respond to the over-capacity problem observed in local and regional jails.

With the virus still mutating, Hudson said she believes that the commonwealth should focus on providing support to people who have offered essential services during the pandemic.

She said the rising cost of living in Virginia was a recurring theme on the campaign trail, and that she’ll be working on the consumer protection front to lower the cost of energy and prescription drugs, and to protect patients from medical debt.

“These are things we can do to make it easier to make ends meet,” she said.

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In brief: Neo-Nazi battle, minimum wage raise, Landes and Galvin decide, and more

Who’s head neo-Nazi?

James Hart Stern, a black activist, claims he had taken over the National Socialist Movement and filed a motion February 28 accepting liability in the August 12-related lawsuit Sines v. Kessler. But the longtime head of the neo-Nazi group, Jeff Schoep, sent C-VILLE an email March 8 saying Stern had no legal standing with the org. Meanwhile, a judge has given Schoep until March 18 to find a lawyer.

UVA raises minimum wage

The university will up its minimum wage to $15 an hour for 1,400 full-time employees January 1. That means 60 percent of the lowest-paid workers will see a boost. The rest are contract workers and the school says it’s still working on that.


Quote of the week

“As a university, we should live our values—and part of that means making sure that no one who works at UVA should live in poverty.”—UVA President Jim Ryan


Landes looks for new job

Steve Landes

Delegate Steve Landes will not seek a 13th term representing the 25th District. Instead, he’s running for Augusta County clerk of circuit court, which pays $138,000 compared to the $17,640 part-time legislators make in General Assembly. Albemarle farmer Richard Fox, Augusta Supervisor and former county Dem chair Marshall Pattie, and Bridgewater GOP member Chris Runion will face off at an April 27 firehouse primary for the Republican nomination.

 

 

Kathy Galvin

So does Galvin

As Delegate David Toscano prepares to step down from his seat in the House of Delegates, another familiar face is gearing up for a campaign to replace him in the 57th District. City councilor of eight years Kathy Galvin will challenge UVA professor Sally Hudson for the Democratic nomination.

Surprise resignation

Barry Neulen took the job as head of the Emergency Communications Center six months ago, when the team of 911 dispatchers was severely understaffed and desperate for help. He’s faced criticism for multiple decisions, including hiring former military buddies to help train new recruits—which employees applauded, and Police Chief RaShall Brackney questioned. Neulen abruptly resigned March 11, and UVA’s executive director of emergency management, Tom Berry, will serve in the interim.


Recycle this!

With a few new changes in the local recycling scene, it can be hard to keep up with where to toss your antifreeze, and where not to store your styrofoam.

In:

The Ivy Material Utilization Center—er, the dump—now has expanded recycling services, which are free to city and county residents. You may now recycle the following:

  • Compostable food waste
  • Newsprint and magazines
  • Motor oil
  • Antifreeze
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Glass food and beverage containers
  • Mixed brown paper
  • Aluminum beverage cans and steel cans

Out:

But come July, the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority will no longer accept No. 3 through No. 7 plastics at the McIntire Recycling Center, at least until there’s a market for them again. According to a RSWA staff report, the Chinese market is closed and there’s no viable domestic one. So if you’ve recently “recycled” those plastics in town, they’ve likely been shipped to Raleigh, North Carolina—and tossed in the trash. Here’s a sampling of what won’t be accepted come summer:

  • PVC pipe
  • Sandwich and grocery bags
  • Styrofoam
  • Squeezable condiment bottles
  • Tupperware
  • Yogurt containers
  • Prescription bottles
  • Bottle caps
  • Plastic cutlery
  • Baby bottles