Bacon's Rebellion

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What Is It About Adam Ebbin?

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Dick Hall-Sizemore
in ,

Sen. Adam Ebbin
Photo credit: Washington Post

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Governor Youngkin seems to have it in for state Senator Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria.

Of the 26 bills from the 2022 Session that the Governor vetoed, nine (35 percent) were bills sponsored by Ebbin. (Midnight yesterday was the deadline for the Governor to take action on bills passed in the last session.) From another perspective, the Governor vetoed all of Ebbin’s bills that passed, with one exception, which he sent back with amendments.

It is not that Ebbin’s passed bills were highly controversial and the Governor’s vetoes are an expression of partisan disagreement. Of the nine bills vetoed, four passed both houses unanimously.    The most opposition that any of the nine bills encountered in the Republican-majority House of Delegates was 28 votes against one of them.

The reasons given by the Governor for these vetoes have not been posted yet on LIS.  Several were duplicates of other bills, which ordinarily might be a valid reason for a veto, especially if the patron of the other bill was a member of the party of the Governor. However, there were lots of bills which had duplicates and those of Ebbin seem to have been the only ones vetoed. In addition, the duplicate to one of Ebbin’s bills (SB 278) was HB 450, sponsored by a Democrat and which the Governor returned to the General Assembly for an amendment.

Clearly, the Governor is upset with Sen. Ebbin.

Could it be that his displeasure traces back to Ebbin describing publicly how Matt Moran, the lobbyist on paid leave of absence functioning as deputy chief of staff in the Youngkin administration, had threatened that all of Ebbin’s bills would be vetoed? It certainly looks like the Governor followed through on Moran’s threat.

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36 responses to “What Is It About Adam Ebbin?”

  1. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    Or the staunch opposition to gun rights, parents’ rights, etc.? Well Dick, how about an unfilled FOIA request – you know its illegal. I’d say that has a lot to do with it. Now I hope you are going to show the opposite side during the past year when the D’s were in control. I have a SLEW of examples. Don’t paint this as some LGBTQIA issue. I’ve spoken for bills from Danica Roem (who incidentally has done bills specifically for constituents that shows a connection to the regular folks). The R party has a Log Cabin connection. Yes they’re supported by a lot of R’s.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I do not know anything about your reference to a FOIA and fail to see how it would be relevant to this discussion.

      I did not mention anything about LGBTQIA and do not imply that is a factor in the vetoes.

      As for the past two years when the Democrats were in charge, there were no vetoes in 2021 and 4 in 202o. Of the four in 2020, three were on bills sponsored by Democrats.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        So, just plain obstructionism.

      2. vicnicholls Avatar
        vicnicholls

        How many R bills even got thru the General Assembly? Well I said that because there’s been no advertisement but only on Senator Ebbin. Given the D propensity to make everything out a particular demographic issue/phobia issue, I wanted to head it off at the pass.

        As for the FOIA reference, its because a handful of D Senators are refusing FOIA’s. Senator Ebbin is one of them. In other words, retaliation.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          Hundreds of Republican bills were passed; none were vetoed. Here is a listing of the passed bills if you want to take the time to count all the Republican bills.

          https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+lst+SGN

          I still don’t know what FOIA requests that Democratic Senators are refusing or even why the Governor would be retaliating for that. Especially when the Governor has been refusing FOIA requests himself.

          https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/03/23/citing-foia-exemptions-the-youngkin-administration-is-withholding-hundreds-of-pages-of-documents/

          1. vicnicholls Avatar
            vicnicholls

            I know where to find the listings. I’ve had both R and D give me the same non answer, but in terms of complete ignores, its been the top echelon of D Senators.

            I’ve not had a problem working with the Youngkin admin.

            Next, since it was premature that all the bills and reasons weren’t listed, are you doing another report to go thru each one of those?

        2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          Hundreds of Republican bills were passed; none were vetoed. Here is a listing of the passed bills if you want to take the time to count all the Republican bills.

          https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+lst+SGN

          I still don’t know what FOIA requests that Democratic Senators are refusing or even why the Governor would be retaliating for that. Especially when the Governor has been refusing FOIA requests himself.

          https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/03/23/citing-foia-exemptions-the-youngkin-administration-is-withholding-hundreds-of-pages-of-documents/

  2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    I will wait see what statements and gripes come out from the players involved. Seems like typical Richmond to me. The Confederate Congress met in our capitol building. Nothing seems to have changed just ask Marse Robert.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1cf69bc7d3ae4ebbdd28130e8fb522b4e5c2fc695c09ceae12dea044ad12e678.jpg

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Should have been unicameral!

      1. James McCarthy Avatar
        James McCarthy

        Excellent observation.

  3. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    Really, it is 9 out of 16 Senate bills vetoed which were Adam’s, more than half. Does seem to be a pattern…Wonder what passed between Ebbin and Youngkin or what Ebbin did to bring this reminder (which it seems most Senate Democrats could use) that dissing a Governor has consequences. Look, no question, no previous Governor (not caught with an embarrassing yearbook photo) has been treated with as much nastiness as Youngkin. Just plain nastiness. Should have been 116 Senate Democrat bills. They are sitting on the budget bill merely to allow near-daily Twitter attacks that “Youngkin cannot pass a budget.” Politics above all.

    Up to last night another constant theme was that Youngkin would fail to act on all the pending legislation by midnight, again, just being ugly. Well he clearly got around to their bills on time.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I am consistently reminded that my my refusal to engage in Twitter, or any social media, except for BR, if that counts, is a good decision.

      This seems petty on Youngkin’s part, particularly for bills that had no opposition in either chamber. It will do nothing to help relations. As for budget sitting, it takes two to pass the budget, and the House is doing its share of sitting.

      1. vicnicholls Avatar
        vicnicholls

        “It will do nothing to help relations.” Neither does the Democrat blowing out of so many Republican bills and then bragging about it obnoxiously on social media like a 5 year old. I’ve seen simple mistakes turn out to be knife fights to kill on the part of D’s. In spite of the fact that the D’s lost the whole shebang to R’s, a few months ago, showing that folks dont’ approve of the actions or bills, they decided to stonewall.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          The Republicans in the House of Delegates killed many bills submitted by Democrats. It sounds as if you think that, because the Republicans won the governorship and the majority in the House of Delegates, Senate Democrats are supposed to automatically vote for Republican bills. It does not work like that; never has. Just look at Republican opposition to Democratic measures over the prior two years when Democrats were in the majority.

          1. vicnicholls Avatar
            vicnicholls

            R’s in the house are not tweeting like 5 year olds how they will stop bills.

            Dick you certainly must not have been listening or watching during the General Assembly because I have enough of the ones who testified on there, and General Assembly workers and members, that I do know what goes on.

          2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
            Dick Hall-Sizemore

            You are right–I do not follow Twitter and I do not intend to start.

          3. vicnicholls Avatar
            vicnicholls

            You dont watch the General Assembly either.

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    “As an openly gay man, Ebbin has made history several times through …”

    You have to ask?

    https://www.glaad.org/blog/lgbtq-records-candidates-virginia-governor

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I don’t think that was a factor in this situation.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Well, ya nevah know.

        On the lighter side…
        “The CME released Monday might yield a minor (G1) geomagnetic storm on April 14, meaning that there could be minor impacts on satellite operations and weak fluctuations in the power grid, according to SpaceWeather. The aurora may become visible at lower latitudes than usual, as far south as northern Michigan and Maine.”

        In addition,
        The largest comet, 80 miles across, is headed innour direction but will miss by 1 billion miles.

        AND
        Magic ‘shrooms found to be long term beneficial for depression! Nature provides…

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        I suppose you could check Dawn Adams’ and Danica Roem’s rates of success…

  5. CJBova Avatar
    CJBova

    Dick, Maybe you should have waited for the Governor’s explanation for the vetoes. Six duplicated bills the Governor did sign, one duplicated two other bills the Governor recommended amendments to.

    For SB 286 Historic districts; required disclosure for buyer to beware, due diligence, the Governor said: This legislation adds unnecessary language into the Code where clear protections are already in place to notify potential home buyers of further requirements when making changes to historic homes.

    For SB 389 Support of parents by children repeal provision, the Governor bottom line was: For those undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, there is a grave risk of unforeseeable and unintended consequences, which may harm people going through some of the most difficult times in their lives.

    None of this looks like payback to me.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      For SB 389, if the Governor thought that the issue he raised were that important, he could have sent the bill back with recommended amendments to fix the problem.

      And what about the four bills that had no opposition in either house, but were, nonetheless, vetoed?

      For Ebbin’s SB 393, the Governor said he was vetoing it because there was a House bill that did the same thing and, thus, the Senate bill was not needed. OK, I could accept that. There is no sense in cluttering up the Acts of Assembly with duplicate bills, although that is the common practice. However, SB 195, sponsored by Sen. Mason , a Democrat, and SB 335, sponsored by Sen. Barker, a Democrat, also had House duplicates, sponsored by Republicans. The Governor signed all four of those bills.

      Yes, there is not doubt that there was retaliation going on against Ebbin.

      1. vicnicholls Avatar
        vicnicholls

        For what reason Dick? What did the bills discuss? Maybe a tough topic? Or, since it appears to me he had others looking at the bills, maybe they triggered something there? I still don’t have a listing of every bill with the reasons and your explanation of why you think its retaliation. Considering the contratemps between Lucas/Locke and the Gov., how the Senators reacted to the Gov, and they still got bills passed, what are you saying the issue is? You dont’ indicate a load of Del. Roem’s bills not passing.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          I am saying that the Governor (or his staff) targeted Sen. Ebbin. Maybe it was for dissing the Governor, as Steve Haner suggested, or for being the chair of the committee that killed the Andrew Wheeler appointment, as others have suggested. I don’t know. I don’t understand what Lucas, Locke, and Roem have to do with this discussion.

          1. vicnicholls Avatar
            vicnicholls

            Then he would have targeted the other folks I named Dick. That’s the issue. He would have more reason to target Lucas, Locke, Saslaw, etc. than Ebbin. Ye Gods, I certainly wouldn’t put him first in the crosshairs.

  6. VaPragamtist Avatar
    VaPragamtist

    If this RTD article is accurately reporting the facts (and that’s a big “if”), then it seems like silly, unnecessary measuring contest by the governor’s gaggle of government novices, led by the one guy in the PHB who has some experience but apparently much to prove.

    If there’s a policy reason to veto the bills, then veto the bills. If they’re being vetoed because the governor’s staff wants to stick their chests out, throw their weight around, and act like they live in an episode of House of Cards, then shame on them.

    I’m all for vigorous debate and disagreement on the issues; but our elected officials (and by extension, their staff), should act like statesmen.

    1. vicnicholls Avatar
      vicnicholls

      Then go talk to D Senators’ Lucas, Locke, Saslaw, Howell, Hashmi for starters. Postulate your own reasons. Even Lucas had one of her bills stymied in the House and all it was was bullying because she didn’t get what she wanted, which was trying to keep folks in ofice in Ptown, the murder/crime capital of Va.

  7. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    Ebbin is frequently on the wrong side of things. For example, he opposed Sen. Chap Petersen’s bill that would have made political donations from Dominion illegal.

    Virginia politicians like Ebbin, Saslaw, Howell and Norment need to go. If Youngkin cuts them off at the knees – good for Youngkin.

  8. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    Dick, I have put the text of the vetoes, the veto bills together, and I’m not seeing where there is any issue between the Governor and Senator Ebbin. I sent that to Jim Bacon, maybe he will publish it in response.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Of course, the Governor is not going to say in his explanation that I am vetoing this because I am mad at Sen. Ebbin.

      1. vicnicholls Avatar
        vicnicholls

        As I recall it was your side who started it off on the Parole Board. Welcome to politics.

    2. VaPragamtist Avatar
      VaPragamtist

      The Governor has three options: sign the bills, veto the bills, or do nothing. To veto a bill (actively rejecting the action of the legislature) because an identical bill was signed is a spurious rationale, especially when that action wasn’t taken uniformly for all redundant legislation.

      Youngkin’s staff wanted to make a point. Let’s not be obtuse and pretend we don’t all see the political games being played. It’s just unfortunate that when Republicans finally get a (last?) chance to lead the Commonwealth, they revert to games no one outside of Capitol Square cares about.

      1. vicnicholls Avatar
        vicnicholls

        “spurious rationale”? Horsedump. They should have settled that during the session, like they do other bills. The fact they didn’t says something on the General Assembly. No matter what, Senator Ebbin STILL basically got all his bills passed in one way shape or form except for one. What is all this bellyaching for? The mans’ stuff is still enacted into law.

  9. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    @disqus_FMFCn3ile7:disqus and Steve Haner: I compiled the Governors’ vetoes of all 26 bills he vetoed together. I didn’t mark which one was Senator Ebbins’ and which ones weren’t.

    Next step was to pick only Senator Ebbins’ bills. Both the text file with the Governors’ veto comments and csv list of bills are attached. The list and the veto reasons:

    SB271 – HB421 was signed, SB271 no longer needed.
    SB278 – HB450 amendments did the same thing as this bill.
    SB280 – HB414 was signed, SB289 no longer needed.
    SB286 – Clear protections are already in place.
    SB288 – HB1006 was signed, SB288 no longer needed.
    SB311 – HB281 was signed, SB311 no longer needed.
    SB389 – In a bankruptcy budget, court allows necessary/reasonable expenditures which could stop someone from covering the expenses within the budget of the debtor.
    SB393 – HB381 was signed, SB393 no longer necessary.
    SB655 – HB270 and SB219 amendments did the same thing as this bill.

    So out of those 9 bills, 5 were signed and no longer needed, 3 had amendments to other bills doing the same thing. SB286, one of the 2 left, already is written in law. The last one was SB389, and this indicated a bankruptcy special situation the Governor planned for.

    So why is any one indicating a problem with Senator Ebbins’ bills?

    Here is the PDF for you: https://www.baconsrebellion.com/app/uploads/2022/04/2022-Session-Gov-veto.pdf

    1. vicnicholls Avatar
      vicnicholls

      and here is all the text of the vetoes:

      HB 573 Additionally, the legislation establishes that the accrual date for actions on such a contract is 30 days after the later of (i) issuance of the initial invoice or the due date stated in such invoice to the patient or person legally responsible for payment or (ii) if the patient voluntarily enters into a payment plan with the provider, 30 days after the default date contained in such payment plan.
      Medical debt significantly impacts many individuals in our Commonwealth, and I am committed to reducing this burden on Virginians. Unfortunately, this legislation would create unintended consequences and have significant implications on financial regulations in the Commonwealth by inadvertently capturing other forms of debt other than medical debt.
      I commend the Patron on prioritizing this important issue and look forward to working on this to find solutions to ensure that defined statutes of limitations can clearly resolve medical debt owed directly to health care providers.

      HB669 Although this legislation has the commendable goal of promoting the health and safety surrounding pools in the Commonwealth, there is currently a working group focused on similar considerations. Coordinating existing work to maximize effectiveness would reduce duplicative work and make appropriate use of the taxpayers resources.

      HB670 Chapters 29 and 30 of the Acts of Assembly – 2020 Special Session 1 allow localities to adopt law-enforcement civilian oversight bodies to make binding disciplinary determinations, including termination and involuntary restitution. This legislation enables law-enforcement civilian oversight bodies under the County Manager form of government to delegate all the powers entrusted to them, investing unilateral and expansive authority, to a single individual appointed directly by the governing body.
      Additionally, this legislation does not delineate the qualifications of the politically-appointed independent policing auditor. Furthermore, the prohibition against any person currently employed as a law-enforcement officer from service on a law-enforcement civilian oversight body conduces the appointment of an independent policing auditor without any formal input from a law enforcement officer.
      Investing in a single politically-appointed individual the power of judge, jury, and executioner without any input from law-enforcement officers or delineated qualifications for such individual constitutes an undue burden for those who protect and serve the community.

      HB675 Smoking and tobacco use are among the leading causes of chronic health problems that result in higher healthcare costs. This legislation would force insurance companies to recover costs associated with tobacco users by raising premiums on non-tobacco users. The ability to reduce premiums by quitting smoking is also a valuable incentive to encourage healthier habits.
      Requiring non-tobacco users to cover the increased healthcare costs associated with tobacco use is not a policy I can support.

      HB802 This legislation contains unnecessary and duplicative provisions, already established under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), that provide effective powers to localities to enforce violations of the USBC.
      It is also important to note that the existing USBC powers provide enforcement authority to localities to enforce the USBC against both the landlord and the tenant, whereas House Bill 802 proposes only to provide localities powers to enforce the VRLTA against the landlord. Under the USBC and the VRLTA, landlords and tenants both have responsibilities to maintain safe, decent, and sanitary housing.
      It is neither clear why this language is necessary to enforce already existing provisions of state law, nor what the additional language contained in the legislation seeks to accomplish beyond what is already authorized in the USBC.
      Landlords should be held accountable for unsafe and hazardous living conditions in which their tenants live. The existing regulations from the USBC, specifically Section 105.6 and the implementing regulations in 13VAC5-63-485, address the policy objective of the underlying legislation.

      HB820 In 2020, the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity completed a disparity study which found that from 2014 to 2019 the Commonwealth had considerable disparities for women- and minority-owned businesses in contracts and procurement with institutions of higher education and state government.
      Taxpayer dollars should not be used to highlight the failings of previous administrations. Instead, we must use our crucial resources to eliminate these disparities and to cultivate an environment that is conducive to higher wages, employment, and business ownership for minorities and women.

      HB1004 Selective Service eligibility remains an ongoing issue, with concerns about who should and should not be compelled to register. However, while these questions remain unanswered by Congress, it is premature for the Commonwealth to remove the requirement for Selective Service eligibility for tuition assistance.

      HB1197 Fundamentally, the Department of Juvenile Justice is a corrections agency. There have been numerous reports indicating that, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, juvenile violence and crime, especially in schools, is increasing. This increase has made schools less safe, and many parents have made it clear they no longer believe school is a safe place for their children.
      We must work to make our schools safer, and the rehabilitative services offered by the Department of Juvenile Justice under the purview of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security ensures young people who commit violent crimes are held accountable and given the resources and education they need to fully and permanently reenter society.
      In the view of this administration, a study of the feasibility of moving this agency is unnecessary. If the General Assembly would like to move this agency, it should pass legislation directing as such.

      HB1270 This is an unnecessary work group without clear policy direction from the General Assembly. The Department of Social Services previously prepared waiver requests to allow individuals in custody at state or local correctional facilities to apply for SNAP benefits prior to release in 2016 and 2021; in neither case was the waiver submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. If the General Assembly would like the Department of Social Services to submit this waiver, it should pass legislation directing as such.

      HB1298 While I strongly believe in the value of amateur sports, we must recognize the rapidly changing landscape of amateur athletics and online economies.
      The claim that this bill is necessary to protect minors from predatory contracts ignores that minors in Virginia are generally prohibited from entering into contracts without parental consent. Virginia High School League policy also restricts paid endorsement deals.
      Further, this bill is a premature prohibition that fails to recognize the continually evolving marketplace for content creation and monetization and could have the unintended consequence of limiting young people from engaging in economic activity via social media unrelated to their athletic performance.

      SB250 While this legislation has the important goal of providing funding for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) nonhazardous solid waste management program, it increases the cost of doing business in Virginia with pass-through costs to consumers. The bill was necessitated after prior administrations borrowed money from other DEQ funds over an eight year period to pay for management of the nonhazardous solid waste management program.
      Additionally, this legislation indexes fees annually based on the change to the Consumer Price Index, which increased 7.5 percent from January 2021 to January 2022, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 1982.
      The burden of increased costs this would place on Virginians is too great, especially given the record budget surpluses of the Commonwealth and the accelerated inflation that everyday Virginians are experiencing. And I will not raise fees simply to erase eight years of mismanagement by prior administrations.

      SB271 During the 2022 Session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 421. Given my signature to the companion legislation, this bill is no longer necessary.

      SB278 I have recommended amendments to House Bill 450 that accomplish the same purpose of this bill.

      SB280 During the 2022 Session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 414. Given my signature to the companion legislation, this bill is no longer necessary.

      SB286 This legislation adds unnecessary language into the Code where clear protections are already in place to notify potential home buyers of further requirements when making changes to historic homes.

      SB288 During the 2022 Session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 1006. Given my signature to the companion legislation, this bill is no longer necessary.

      SB297 This legislation creates unintended consequences that could harm small healthcare providers by creating additional legal liability. The bill could also result in higher health care costs for Virginians.

      SB311 During the 2022 Session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 281. Given my signature to the companion legislation, this bill is no longer necessary.

      SB347 Although this legislation has the commendable goal of promoting energy efficiency, the requirements included in this legislation could, through an arbitrary declaration of the public interest, increase energy costs on Virginians. As a result, the Commonwealth’s energy policy moves further away from a cost-effective, all-of-the-above strategy with strong regulatory oversight administered by the SCC.
      Energy policy should be established by the General Assembly but not at the expense of consumer protection and strong regulatory oversight through the constitutionally-established SCC. Public interest declarations unnecessarily restrict the constitutional authority of the SCC and should be used rarely, if ever.

      SB389 Primarily, the Commonwealth’s filial responsibility law supports those who care for their elderly parents. In establishing a bankruptcy budget, the court allows for necessary and reasonable expenditures and the repeal of § 20-88 could prevent an individual from covering these expenses within the budget of their debtor.
      For those undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, there is a grave risk of unforeseeable and unintended consequences, which may harm people going through some of the most difficult times in their lives.

      SB393 During the 2022 Session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 381. Given my signature to the companion legislation, this bill is no longer necessary.

      SB422 Smoking and tobacco use are among the leading causes of chronic health problems that result in higher healthcare costs. This legislation would force insurance companies to recover costs associated with tobacco users by raising premiums on non-tobacco users. The ability to reduce premiums by quitting smoking is also a valuable incentive to encourage healthier habits.
      Requiring non-tobacco users to cover the increased healthcare costs associated with tobacco use is not a policy I can support.

      SB464 First, the overwhelming majority of witness subpoenas issued in criminal cases in the circuit courts are already publicly filed with the clerk of the local circuit court by the local Sheriff’s Office or other law-enforcement personnel who serve civil process. Rule 3A:12(c) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia requires any law-enforcement officer who executes a subpoena to “make return thereof to the court named in the subpoena.” Because witness subpoenas necessarily contain the witness’s name and address, Rule 3A:12(c) functionally mandates the public filing of the witness’s address, as well as the time and date on which the witness was served.
      Second, Virginia defense attorneys can already obtain witness names and addresses from the Commonwealth’s Attorney by requesting discovery under existing Rule 3A:11, which obligates the Commonwealth’s Attorney to “[p]rovide to the accused a list of the names and, if known, the addresses of all persons who are expected to testify on behalf of the Commonwealth at trial or sentencing.” Rule 3A:11(c)(1)(a) enables Commonwealth’s Attorneys to protect fearful victims, witnesses, and their family members by redacting their workplace, email, phone number, and residential address from discovery. Obtaining witness addresses is simple. The defense attorney can request discovery from prosecutors, obtain local electronic access to court files, or otherwise go to the courthouse to examine subpoena returns in the clerk’s office.
      At its heart, this bill seeks to increase prosecutors’ mandatory duties and subject criminal penalties on prosecutors for failure to comply. The effect of this bill will be to create an additional, and arguably frivolous, mechanism for criminal defense attorneys to prevent critical prosecution witnesses from testifying and enable defense attorneys to cast false doubt on prosecutors’ adherence to legitimate due process protections already established in Virginia law.
      The underlying bill is unnecessary and duplicative of other provisions of law and court rules.

      SB655 I have recommended amendments to House Bill 270 and Senate Bill 219 that accomplish the same purpose of this bill.

      SB706 Specifically, this bill is intended to prevent a traffic crisis such as the one that occurred on Interstate 95 on January 3, 2022 where semi-trailer trucks were immobilized by icy conditions, which prevented first responders from rescuing stranded motorists. However, the provisions of this bill would not prevent a similar incident from occurring. According to a report sponsored by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Virginia State Police, neither cruise control nor compression release brakes were found to have contributed to the traffic crisis.
      Additionally, this bill excludes enforcement mechanisms to support its provisions, except for a secondary offense only provable by after-incident data. Consequently, this bill would impose burdens on Virginia’s trucking industry, as well as interstate transportation, without any demonstrable public safety or transportation benefit. More broadly, the Code of Virginia should not be littered with traffic provisions that law enforcement is not authorized to enforce.

      SB722 The bill would allow localities to issue a fine and instruct police officers to tow vehicles if they are parked on or partially on a curb. It is unclear that this bill would be effective in combating these nuisances, as the connection between fines and towing for parking on a curb is dubious.
      Moreover, issuing a ticket and towing a vehicle because a driver parked on or partially on a curb is a steep penalty for an infraction that has no bearing on traffic safety or the ability of first responders to access public roadways or properties. The result would be needless fines and towing charges levied on drivers in Northern Virginia without any public safety or transportation benefit.

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