Delegate Phillip Scott: Weekly Newsletter

Edition LXXVI

Friends, the sixth week of session has come to a close, and session is almost over.   This past week, I had three bills heard in Senate Committees.   HB1869- This bill would have held the General Assembly to the standard set in 2002 for boards and commissions created under the executive branch. After Jan 1, 2003, these boards and commissions were required by law to have a sunset clause. This bill would have duplicated that language for all legislative branch boards and commissions. It would also have directed the State to review all boards and commissions created after 2003, which did not have the required sunset clause, and report back to the General Assembly so proper action could be taken. Every single Senate Democrat and the majority of House Democrats voted against this bill which would have held them to the standard of the law. It failed in Senate Committee.   HB1871- This bill would have extended the validity period for concealed handgun permits. It would also have allowed you to update any identifying information. Senate Democrats and House Democrats tried to make the renewal process more than it is by saying it is a chance for the government to check and ensure you can still have a CHP. The bill would have reduced the workload on our circuit courts, and it failed in Senate Committee.   HB1877- This bill would have reduced early in-person voting to 14 days, and the facts and data show that most people have voted in the last 14 days. Forty-five days of in-person places a major financial burden on local government, and it failed in Senate Committee.

Delegate Nick Freitas carried the Born Alive Act again this year. If you are unfamiliar with this bill, it would require doctors to provide care and treatment for children born alive after a failed abortion attempt. This is a child that is alive outside of its mother. There are no other restrictions on abortion in the bill. But it died in Senate Committee.   Democrats want to make abortion about reproductive rights. Abortion is not about that. Women have reproductive rights. They are free to marry whomever they wish. They can date who they want to. They can have sex with whomever they want. These are reproductive rights. Let us not confuse rights with responsibility. Abortion is about killing an unborn child to escape the responsibility of being a parent. Slavery was not about plantation owners' rights. Slaver was about owning another person. We are all created in God's image. We all have the right to life. The circumstances of how a person was conceived or the economic level they will grow up in should never dictate that person's value, born or unborn.

HB1400 Budget Bill

I talk little about the Budget in my newsletters. However, this is at the request of a constituent.   There may be things in the Budget you like and things you do not like. Maybe a bill you like requires state funding, and you want to ensure funding for that bill is provided. It may have been in the House Budget but not the Senate. Who do you contact to have your voice heard? As always, reach out to your Delegate or Senator. You can also reach out to the Budget Conferees. For the Senate, they are Senators Howell, Barker, Saslaw, Norment, Lucas, Hanger, Locke, Newman, and Deeds. For the House, they are Delegates Knight, Austin, Bloxom, Brewer, Torian, and Sickles. Click here to get their contact information on the Virginia General Assembly website.   What does it mean to have a bill in conference? It means that the Senate and the House agreed on the idea of the bill but not the wording. For the Budget, the House has line items for specific things with specific amounts. Suppose the Senate version does not include that line item or has a different amount. In that case, the Budget Bill goes into conference. In conference, the final wording of the bill is debated and decided. Then it goes to each chamber for final vote.

2023 Session Update Videos