Del. Richard Anderson reports on status of bills he introduced in 2017 General Assembly

MY BILLS: Now that my 15 bills have been considered by the House, a short summary and status of each bill appears below. A total of 10 of my 15 bills are currently in the Senate. Five of the 15 were either tabled or not acted upon by the House committee of jurisdiction. For more info and to track my bills, go to http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+mbr+H210C .

(1) HB 1716, Extension of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Commission: This bill extends the life of this important statewide body to July 1, 2020. This commission is chaired by our very own Courtney S. Tierney, director of the PWC Department of Social Services, and is vital to the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other related disorders. This bill is now in the Senate.

(2) HB 1718, Extension of the Virginia Commission on Civics Education: This bill extends the life of this important statewide body to July 1, 2019. I chair this commission, which educates students on their civic duty in a constitutional republic and enhances collaboration among civic education organizations across Virginia. This bill is now in the Senate.

(3) HB 1719, Wireless E-911 Fund: As requested by the Virginia Information Technology Agency, this bill extends the date (to July 1, 2018) when calculations are made on the distribution of funds to local 9-1-1 agencies. This bill is now in the Senate.

(4) HB 1720, Flags at Half-Staff: This bill specifies that flags on local government buildings must be lowered to half-staff to match the policy for state government buildings whenever military, law enforcement, and fire and rescue personnel are killed in the line of duty. This bill corrects a state policy that created confusion at the local level when PWC Police Officer Ashley Guindon died in the line of duty in early 2016. This bill is now in the Senate.

(5) HB 1721, Reduced Tuition for Active Duty Military Students: I carried this bill at the request of the Virginia Community College System to permit them to charge slightly reduced rates for active duty students who are pursuing degrees directly related to their military skills. This bill is now in the Senate.

(6) HB 1722, Presumption of Compensability for Colorectal Cancers in Firefighters: I carried this bill at the request of Virginia Professional Firefighters for these public safety personnel who have much higher incidents of colorectal cancer than the general population because of chemicals used in the firefighter career field. The House Committee on Labor and Commerce tabled the bill and will request a study before reconsidering the bill in the 2018 session of the General Assembly. I will again introduce and patron the bill next year.

(7) HB 1723, Notification of Refugee Resettlement: I carried this bill in an effort to define a procedure by which local refugee resettlement organizations would notify state and local officials of general information when refugees are processed through local facilities. Such a process would allow state and local elected officials to answer questions from residents and enhance transparency. After discussions with various stakeholder groups in Virginia, I asked that the bill be continued to the 2018 session of the General Assembly. Between now and then, I will meet and collaborate with stakeholder groups, to include law enforcement, Virginia ACLU, and Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, to determine the particulars of a workable bill or if a non-legislative option would achieve the same result.

(8) HB 1724, In-State Tuition for Members of the Virginia National Guard: This bill would extend to members of the Virginia National Guard the same in-state tuition fees that are charged for active duty military members. The House committee of jurisdiction tabled the bill, and I will work with National Guard officials on an alternative approach for the 2018 legislative session.

(9) HB 1733, Removal of Public Officials from Office: This bill sought to align the process for removal of locally-elected officials in Virginia with the process used in other states. Currently, the decision for removal is made by a circuit court judge and not by a vote of the residents of a given jurisdiction. The bill attempted to simply move the decision from a judge to registered voters in a locality; however, the House committee of jurisdiction decided to not act on the bill.

(10) HB 1738, Tax Exemption for Aviation Parts, Engines, and Supplies: I carried this bill on behalf of multiple aviation entities because few aircraft maintenance facilities exist in Virginia. According to a study by the respected London-based Price Waterhouse firm, ranked for seven consecutive years as the most prestigious accounting firm in the world, this initiative will attract large numbers of aircraft maintenance facilities to Virginia, double our $1.05 billion aviation industry and its 17,500 jobs, and significantly expand capital investment in Virginia. This bill is now in the Senate. As a rated pilot, chair of the House Science and Technology Committee, and chair of the General Assembly Aviation Caucus, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome so far.

(11) HB 1762, Taxicab Technology Modernization Act of 2017: I carried this bill on behalf of taxicab companies across Virginia. It modernizes statewide taxicab technology by permitting operators to retrofit their fleets with modern GPS technologies that replace legacy electromechanical devices now used to compute fares. This bill is now in the Senate.

(12) HB 1834, Distracted Driving: I carried this bill to combat the deadly practice of distracted driving, which last year resulted in the death of 175 people on Virginia roads and the injury of 14,700 additional people. The bill failed by one vote in the House Courts of Justice Committee, just as a similar bill died in the Senate by a single vote. I will continue to work with DMV, law enforcement agencies, and Drive Smart Virginia on another bill in 2018 because it has broad support in PWC and across Virginia. In a statewide poll last week by Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy, my proposals were supported by three of every four voters. The poll of 1,002 voters was conducted during January 15-28 and has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

(13) HB 1913, Cigarette Trafficking: As a member of the Virginia State Crime Commission, I patroned this bill after several years of study, discussion, and effort by the Commission. The bill has broad support among state agencies, law enforcement, commonwealth attorneys, and other stakeholders and is broadly believed to be the final pathway to ending the felony crime of cigarette trafficking across state lines. This bill is now in the Senate.

(14) HB 2302, Duties of the Virginia Board of Veterans Services (BVS): This bill is the culmination of work by the Virginia BVS, on which I serve. It provides greater flexibility to the BVS chairman in organizing the BVS, streamlines the BVS decision process, and extends the number of terms that a delegate or senator may serve on the BVS. This bill is now in the Senate.

(15) HB 2425, The Virginians with Disabilities Employment Act of 2017: I carried this bill on behalf of Virginians with disabilities to accurately measure the number of disabled Virginians currently employed by state government agencies. The goal is for Virginia to be a leader in employing Virginians with disabilities. I have had a long-term love for the contributions of this unique group of Virginians, and I look forward to seeing this bill, which is now in the Senate, make its way to the Governor for signature.

WE’RE HERE! Please don’t hesitate to contact us at our Richmond office between now and February 25th if we can assist in any way at all (the number is 804-698-1051). After February 25th, we’ll be back at our 51st House District legislative office in Woodbridge (the number is 571-264-9983). You can also reach us by email at:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (my direct email address)
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (my legislative aide, Tommy Herbert)
We’re here for you 24/7/365, so please connect if you have a need—or if you simply want to talk. If you’re in Richmond, come see us in Room 406 of the General Assembly Building next to the Virginia State Capitol. And when we’re back home after February 25th, we’d be happy to sit down with you at your home or at a place of your choosing.

Thank you for the honor of serving you at home and in Richmond!