January

The Virginia 2022 Legislative Session spanned over 60 days. It began on January 12, 2022.

For this week’s post, I will be focusing on the events of the Legislative Session that occurred in January of 2022.

Three particular bills were proposed by the Virginia House of Representatives that were highly controversial yet extremely impactful.

HB 796, introduced on January 12, focused on the topic of voter registration. This bill was essential to the voting rights of the previously incarcerated. It restored political rights to individuals upon their release from incarceration. The passing of this bill was highly controversial, as many speculated that this would reduce individuals’ incentive to act according to the law. It stated that, upon their release, previously incarcerated individuals would receive the means for a voter registration application. The bill included that, if an incarcerated individual did not have the mental capacity to make their own decision to vote, they would not be eligible to register to vote upon their release unless that capacity has been re-established. If passed, this bill would become effective on July 1, 2022. After this date, during state-wide elections, a proposed constitutional amendment would show up on the voting ballot, addressing the issue of the restoration of political rights upon release from incarceration. Without a constitutional change, the bill currently conflicts with the Constitution of the state of Virginia. This bill was also noted to be a companion to SB 767, which outlined the process for the Department of Corrections handing over the appropriate information about the incarcerated individual to the Department of Elections in order to begin their voter registration process. The last action taken regarding the bill was it being left in the Committee on Privileges and Elections in the House on February 15th, 2022.

HB 1348, introduced on January 21, focused on the topic of marijuana-related offenses. It created a write of post-conviction relief for those convicted of certain marijuana-related offenses prior to the date of July 1, 2021. This type of writ of post-conviction relief stated that the incarcerated individual should not still be incarcerated for a crime that is no longer sentenced as harshly. It allowed these individuals to petition for a modification of their sentence if they find themselves still incarcerated for these certain marijuana-related offenses by July 1, 2022. It stated that these petitions must be filed before July 1, 2026, because this bill was introduced with an expiration date of July 1, 2027; at that point, the bill would expire and the legislation would be re-assessed. This bill was also highly controversial due to its relevance to marijuana, which is a psychoactive drug with both benefits and downsides: it can be highly addictive and have significant long-term effects, yet it can also alleviate symptoms of certain illnesses. The reason the bill would be re-evaluated every 5 or so years is because marijuana-related offenses are constantly re-assessed and sentences are changed accordingly as time goes on and a stronger conclusion is come to with a regards to how marijuana affects individuals and society. The last action taken regarding the bill was it being left in the Committee for Courts of Justice in the House on February 15th, 2022.

HB 1349, introduced on January 21, focused on the topic of abortion. It outlined the treatment and care procedures for medical care professionals for a born alive human infant after an abortion procedure, as well as the penalty for healthcare professionals for failing to properly care for the born alive human infant. The penalty was outlined as a Class 4 felony and being subject to disciplinary action from the Board of Medicine. This proposal was controversial, as it not only covered the topic for abortion, but it laid out a whole new felony offense charge for medical care professionals. As it stands under current Virginia law, a healthcare professional would be charged with a Class 4 felony if they performed an unlawful abortion. Therefore, it would make sense under this law that if the abortion was performed by the healthcare professional after the infant was born alive, they would be charged with a Class 4 felony. Some were opposed to this because it would have an impact on the number of people and beds needed in jails. However, after an analyzing the impact of this bill, the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission (VCSC) determined that “the impact, if any, is likely to be small”. The last action taken regarding the bill was it being left in the Committee for Courts of Justice in the House on February 15th, 2022.

I chose to cover these three bills because I believed they covered topics that were highly controversial, yet made a strong impact on our society. Hundreds of other bills were proposed and even passed during the Virginia 2022 Legislative Session in January. For more information on which issues were discussed, visit https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+lst+INT.

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January

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