VCC Spring 2021

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S pring 2021 14 the commonwealth’s right to work laws, Republicans said. However, lawmakers pointed out that several provisions of the bill are subject to reenactment in the 2022 General Assembly session. Northam’s amendments called for public health education. The amendments will fund a public awareness campaign on the health and safety risks of marijuana. Law enforcement officers will be trained to recognize and prevent drugged driving with the latest amendments. Legislators approved budget amendments to help fund the initiatives. Legislators spoke in favor of the governor’s educational campaign. Others worried about an increase of drugged driving. Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, said that law enforcement will not have time to prepare how to identify drugged driving. He cited a study that found 70% of marijuana users surveyed in Colorado said they drive while under the influence of marijuana. “I think this is another time where we are putting political expediency, political agenda over what is right for the safety and security of our citizens,” DeSteph said. Northam’s amendments allow for certain marijuana-related criminal records to be expunged and sealed “as soon as state agencies are able” and to “simplify the criteria” for when records can be sealed. Lawmakers okay recreational marijuana possession, cultivation from page 13 The expungement of marijuana-related crimes was originally set for July 1, 2025. The law will also allow individuals convicted with marijuana offenses to have a hearing before the court that originally sentenced them, Virginia NORML, a group that seeks to reform the state’s marijuana laws, stated in a post. That portion of the bill must be reenacted in 2022, the organization stated. “We are sending a message to our kids that it is okay to do drugs in Virginia now,” said Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield. “As a mom of four young adults I don’t like that message. I think it is selfish. I think it is reckless, and I think it is irresponsible.” Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said later that “the kids are already smoking marijuana.” She called it “a non-starter of an argument against the bill.” Howell, a parent of two, spoke in favor of passing the bill. “If we have to wait another three years, I will be in my 80s before I can do legally what I was doing illegally in my 20s.” Sam Fowler is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University. Fowler is majoring in digital journalism with a minor in political science. He is a reporter with VCU’s Capital News Service. On the first day of Black History Month, legislators advanced a bill to help ensure voter protection for Virginia citizens. House Bill 1890, also known as the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, cleared the House in a 55-45 vote and the Senate in a 21-18 vote. The bill was signed by the Governor in mid-March. Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, modeled the bill after the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Price’s bill aims to eliminate voter suppression, intimidation and discrimination through changes in voting laws and practices by election officials. “Though the original Voting Rights Act was passed on the federal level in 1965, there are still attacks on voting rights today that can result in voter suppression, discrimination and intimidation,” Price said during the bill’s hearing. “We need to be clear that this is not welcome in our great commonwealth.” The bill prohibits localities from influencing the results of elections by “diluting or abridging the rights of voters who are from a protected class.” The measure defines the protected class as a group of citizens protected from discrimination based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group. The bill also requires voting materials to be made in languages other than English if certain criteria are met. “HB 1890 requires that changes to voting laws and regulations be advertised in advance for public comment and evaluated for impact on Black, Indigenous and people of color communities,” Price said while speaking about the bill. The bill allows the attorney general to sue if a locality or official violates election laws. Fees or fines that are won in the lawsuit will go to a Voter Education and Outreach Fund established pursuant to the bill’s passage. The fine for a first offense can not exceed $50,000 and fines for a second offense can not exceed $100,000. Barbara Tabb, president of the Virginia Electoral Board Association, believes that attaching fines to the bill has the potential to scare off election officers. “This will result in definitely a much harder time in recruiting our election officials,” Tabb said. “That’s my concern about it.” Price said this bill is important because the attack on the Voting Rights Act has not stopped since 1965. She said the landmark law was “gutted” on the federal level with the Shelby County v. Holder case in 2013. “What this [HB 1890] will do is restore some of those protections and allow for Virginia to say, ‘We believe in the full Voting Rights Act and we know that it’s needed,’” Price said Legislators have passed a number of recent laws to make voting easier, including making Election Day a holiday, allowing early, in-person voting and permitting no-excuse absentee voting. Price said she compiled examples of voter suppression ranging from moving polling places off public transit lines, or from a community center to a sheriff’s office. “Voter suppression doesn’t always look like taking a box of ballots and throwing it out,” she said. “It can be implicit, it can be unintentional.” Price said she worked with several groups to ensure the bill ends discrimination and voter suppression. In addition to community advocates, she consulted with lawyers currently representing impacted voters, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Advancement Project and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Senate Bill 1395, the Senate companion bill introduced by Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, also passed. Cierra Parks is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University majoring in mass communications and psychology. Parks is a reporter for VCU’s Capital News Service. She is also a contributing editor for Virginia Capitol Connections . Lawmakers Advance Voting Rights Act of Virginia By Cierra Parks D B A V A . C O M DAVID BAILEY 1108 East Main St., Ste 1200 Richmond, VA 23219 804-643-5554 office 804-405-8108 cell dbailey@capitolsquare.com V V