Bills to be voted on

This week the Virginia General Assembly was called into "special session." The  House  has yet to begin its work. It is planning to vote Sunday to transition to an all-virtual session and then it will begin taking up bills.

The  Senate adjourned Thursday and will return to Richmond next week to continue work for the special session. The Senate shot down a bill that would've done away with mandatory minimum punishments in Virginia. Eight members of the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee voted to kill the proposal and refer it to the Virginia Crime Commission for further study. Three senators voted to keep it alive, including the Committee's Chairman Sen. John Edwards (D-Roanoke), who introduced the bill.

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Thank you to Rob Bell for this information on bills that are up for a vote and information on contacting your legislators : 

Assaults on Police: SB 5032 would remove the mandatory sentence for assaulting a police officer, even when the officer was injured. This means someone can punch a cop, and unless there is an even more serious felony, there is no requirement that the offender serve a jail sentence. In recent weeks, Richmond police have reported being attacked with bricks, batteries, and rocks. Bills like this  will further endanger law enforcement officers. Senate Committee Republicans voted against the bill, but it passed on a party-line vote.

Releasing Violent Offenders Early: Meanwhile, SB 5034 would retroactively reduce sentences for thousands of prisoners. While the current version of the bill excludes some serious offenders, it would still allow the early release of others, including (1) Offenders who created or sold child pornography, (2) Offenders who organized or profited from child prostitution, and (3) Offenders convicted of 3rd offense domestic assault or strangulation. I believe that these are dangerous offenders who should serve their entire sentences as imposed by the judge or jury. Again, Senate Committee Republicans voted no, but this measure passed on a party-line vote.

After two decades of truth in sentencing, Virginia has achieved the 4th lowest violent crime rate and #1 lowest recidivism rate of all the states in the country. These laws have helped keep Virginians safe -- and it is a terrible 

To learn who your legislators are go to https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

for their contact information https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php

If you want to watch the debate live (or later on recorded video), go to the House 
https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/committees/commstream.html

and for the Senate
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

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Please contact your Senator  and Delegate that :

If it comes to you for  a vote, vote NO to SB 5032 and any and all other bills that would be detrimental to our law enforcement officers and make it difficult for them to do their job or any that would reduce their funds but rather give them a badly needed raise.  

And \

If it comes to you for  a vote,  vote NO to SB 5034 which would put all Virginians at greater risk for being a victim of a criminal assault.  

Thank you for your help.

Sue Long
Committee Chair for Support Your Local Police (Law enforcement officers)
and keep them under local control and independent of federal controls.