General Assembly - Week 4 Recap: Valleys and Mountain Tops
It is evident, based on this fourth week of the General Assembly Session, that there are going to be many valleys with some mountaintop moments to remind us of God’s faithfulness. The week went from mourning the passage of two radical abortion bills (HB 980 and SB 733) that strip away two decades of pro-life achievements, to celebrating the defeat of a bill (HB 1051) that would have repealed the religious conscience protections for faith-based child placement and adoption agencies, which would have meant their closure. Next week, we anticipate a number of bills that pertain to parental rights, religious liberty and the economic and social health of Virginia to be debated and voted on in the full House and Senate.
Here are the highlights for the week which include some things we can celebrate, the disappointing news related to life and religious liberty, as well as some bills (both good and bad) that are still alive in committee or about to be voted on by the full House or Senate. Note, in particular, that most of the bad bills had bi-partisan support, and in some cases near unanimous support. Please keep an eye on your own Delegate and Senator to see how they're voting.
Things to Celebrate….
Stricken – Fundamental Reproductive Rights – SB 635 (D-Surovell) would have declared a fundamental right of abortion for every pregnant "person.". At the request of the patron, the bill was stricken.
Carried Over to 2021 - “Death Tax” – SB 637 (D-Surovell) would have reinstated the estate tax, commonly known as the “death tax,” which applies a special tax on property left as an inheritance for a person’s family when they die. After opposition testimony, the bill was taken by for the year.
Defeated - Repeal Conscience Protection for Christian Adoption Agencies – HB 1051 (D-Levine) sought to repeal Virginia's longstanding conscience rights protection for religious child placement and adoption agencies. After holding a second hearing on the bills to present additional data, and major mobilization of affected agencies, it failed to report out of the subcommittee when no Delegate would “second” the motion to pass it! Click HERE to read more.
Defeated – Child Abuse Involving “SOGI” – HB 580, sought to add to the definition of “abused or neglected child” a child whose parent “allows to be created or inflicted upon such child a physical or mental injury on the basis of the child's gender identity or sexual orientation.” This bill was designed to take children away from parents who would not affirm an “LGBTQ” status for their child. Miraculously, at the request of the Patron, the bill was “Tabled” (i.e., defeated).
Carried Over to 2021 - Repeal VA’s School Choice Program – HB 521 (D-Bulova) would have repealed the entire school choice tax credit program, thus eliminating Virginia’s only school choice program, which currently provides high quality private school scholarships to around 5,000 kids from low-income households. The patron requested the bill to be carried over to next year after we helped mount a major pressure campaign against it.
Passed House - Requiring Online Posting of FLE content – HB 1394 (R-Leftwich), a bill that TFF drafted and initiated, requires each local school board to make sex-education materials available to parents on the school division’s official website either on its public domain or through a parent portal. The bill passed the full House 77-22.
Passed Senate Judiciary Committee – SB 920 (R-Peake), a bill which we initiated that would make any clause within a surrogacy contract that requires an abortion or “selective reduction” void and unenforceable, establishing a much-needed protection for surrogate mothers from being forced to kill the child inside of them. The bill passed Senate Judiciary Committee 12-1 (with 2 abstentions), and will now be voted on by the full Senate.
Disappointing news….
Passed House and Senate - Expanded and Unsafe Abortion Access – HB 980 (D-Herring) passed the House 52-46 and SB 733 (D-McClellan) passed the Senate 20-20, with the Lieutenant Governor casting the tie-breaking vote. These bills mean: non-doctors performing abortions, no real informed consent, no ultrasound required before the abortion, no 24-hour wait between the ultrasound and the abortion, no safety regulations or oversight for abortion centers, and no penalties for abortionists who fail to comply with any requirements. HB 980 and SB 733 now move to the other chamber.
Passed House - Statewide “Transgender” Policies in Schools – HB 145 (D-Simon) passed the House 62-36 and will direct the Department of Education to develop model policies for all local school divisions on how they must handle “transgender” students in facilities use, pronoun use, etc.. An identical bill, SB 161 (D-Boysko), passed the Senate 23-16. Click HERE to read more.
Passed House – Repeal Statute Prohibiting Same-Sex “Marriage” – HB 1490 (D-Guy), which repeals the dormant statutes that prohibit same-sex “marriage” and civil unions in Virginia, was passed by the full House 63-34. The same bill in the Senate, SB 17 (D-Ebbin), passed the Senate 25-13.
Passed House Courts of Justice Subcom. – Legitimizing Suicide – HB 1063 (D-Kory) abolishes the common-law crime of suicide. The bill passed a House Courts of Justice subcommittee 7-1.
No Hearing - Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (Support) – SB 1001 (R-Chase) which would have banned abortions after the point at which a baby in the womb can feel pain (generally 20 weeks), will not be heard in committee this year. This is inconsistent with Senate tradition to hear each bill.
Bad Bills Being Voted on by the Full House or Senate next week…
Prohibition Against Talk Therapy – HB 386 (D-Hope) prevents parents from seeking counseling for their child who may be struggling with their sexual identity or is experiencing unwanted same-sex attractions, by prohibiting licensed counselors and therapists from helping them in this way. An identical bill, SB 245 (D- Surovell), passed the Senate 21-18. Click HERE to read more.
SOGI Nondiscrimination – HB 1663 (D-Sickles) rolls many of the “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI) bills into one giant bill, and incorporates these as specially protected statuses in public and private employment, public accommodations, housing, appointments, credit, and the Virginia Human Rights Act. It also creates both civil and government-initiated causes of action to sue people claimed to be in violation. And it adds draconian and far-reaching powers to the Attorney General to subpoena, investigate, and prosecute anyone in relation to any claims of such discrimination. This is clearly designed to target and destroy any dissenters from the sexual revolution. The bill passed House Appropriations 14-8.
SOGI Nondiscrimination Targeting Religious Organizations – HB 1049 (D-Levine) – specifically targets all faith-based organizations who contract with the state by adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as special protected statuses in employment, public accommodation, public contracting, apprenticeship programs, housing, banking, and insurance, as well as the Virginia Human Rights Act. The bill was passed by the House General Laws Committee 16-6.
Sex Change on Birth Certificate By Request – HB 1041 (D-Simon) allows anyone to legally “change” their birth sex on their official birth certificate by doing nothing more than make a simple request to the State Registrar using a form, along with a simple doctor’s note. It passed 13-9 in committee. An identical bill, SB 657 (D-Boysko), passed the Senate 24-15. Click HERE to read more.
Mandated Health Coverage for “Transgender” Services – HB 1429 (D-Roem) would prevent any health carrier from denying or limiting coverage or imposing additional costs for coverages to any person (including children) for “transgender” health related treatments including “gender reassignment surgeries.” It also defines "Gender identity" as “an individual's internal sense of gender, which may be male, female, neither, or a combination of male and female.” It was reported by the House Labor and Commerce 13-9.
Required Training on “LGBTQ” Cultural Competency – HB 581 (D-Guzman) requires the Dept. of Human Resource Management to “develop an online training module addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) cultural competency” and mandates all state employees to take the training. It was reported by the House Appropriations Committee 13-9.
Gambling Expansion (Internet Lottery and “Charitable” Gaming) – A House committee passed, HB 1383 (D-Bulova) that allows lottery tickets to be sold over the internet, which will dramatically expand the Lottery that hurts poor people the most. The bill was reported by House Appropriations 12-2. SB 387 (D-McPike) significantly broadens the scope of chartable gaming by allowing them to put pull tabs and other gaming devices anywhere, including places that sell alcohol. It passed the Senate General Laws committee 14-0.
Bad Bills still in a committee...
“Day of Tears” Repeal – HR 6 (D-Convirs-Fowler) would recognize January 22 (anniversary of Roe v. Wade) as the “Day of Women” and repeal a past resolution that recognized it as the “Day of Tears” to honor the unborn lives lost to abortion. Click HERE to read more.
Gambling Expansion (Sports Betting, Internet Lottery, Video Game Machines) – HB 896 (D-Sickles) and SB 384 (D-McPike) legalizes sports betting at both a central location and online. SB 922 (R-Norment) allows lottery tickets to be sold over the internet. Also moving its way through the committees is SB 971 (D-Howell), which allows the Lottery to regulate and tax the so-called “games of skill,” as well as the Governor’s bill, SB 1063 (D-McPike), which will allow gambling video game machines to be placed in virtually every convenience store, bar, and gas station in Virginia. All of these bills have been rereferred to the Appropriation Committees for each chamber (i.e., House or Senate). This does not include the casino bills that will be heard next week.
Legalization of Recreational Marijuana – SB 2 (D-Ebbin) would decriminalize (effectively the same thing as "legalizing") marijuana in Virginia. It passed the Judiciary committee 10-3, and has been rereferred to the Senate Committee on Finance & Appropriations.
Required Social Justice Curriculum – SB 853 (D-Boysko) requires the Dept. of Education to develop a model curriculum and teacher training on social justice, including bigotry, hate, historically underrepresented groups, dehumanizing injustice, etc.. The bill was rereferred to Senate Finance & Appropriations.
And the list of bad bills goes on …
Now, more than ever, it’s vital that we come together in prayer for our Commonwealth and the future generations who will have to endure the repercussions of these destructive legislative actions.
