The House of Delegates met this past Wednesday to pass a number of bills and send all remaining legislation to “conference committees.” We are much closer now to completing the work of this Special Session.

Here are some of the bills passed this week:

  • HB5029 from Delegate Delores McQuinn to mandate a law enforcement officer intervene to stop use of excessive force by another officer
  • HB5045 from Delegate Karrie Delaney to ban sexual relations between officers and arrestees
  • HB5051 from Delegate Marcus Simon to require decertification of a law enforcement officer who is terminated or resigns for violation of law, serious misconduct in violation of statewide standards of conduct, or during an internal investigation
  • HB5069 from Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy to ban the use of neck restraints by law enforcement except if immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person
  • HB5108 from Delegate Elizabeth Guzman to diversify the Department of Criminal Justice Services and its Committee on Training by requiring that some members be representatives of a civil rights organization, minority community interests, a mental health service provider, and the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission
  • HB5109 from Delegate Patrick Hope to standardize and enhance training by criminal justice academies and establish required in-service training standards for law enforcement officers

We will continue our work during this upcoming week with the goal of completing all conference reports for ongoing legislation and finalizing budget negotiations. Read about how our budget protects the Chesapeake Bay and how we’re fighting to expand access to broadband internet in Virginia.

Feel free to contact my office for any additional information regarding Special Session and continue to reach out with any other questions or issues we can assist with. Please be well and remember to exercise your right to VOTE. The deadline to register or update your voter registration in Virginia is October 13.