RICHMOND – Delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas has proposed a bill that would allow full-time faculty members to carry guns on college campuses.

House Bill 91 would ban policies by public institutions of higher education that prohibit full-time faculty members with Virginia concealed handgun permits from packing heat.

The Republican lawmaker’s rationale is that faculty members with guns could deter violence on campus. However, others believe the measure could backfire.

“I do not think the bill should be passed, but not because I am anti-gun,” said John Aughenbaugh, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. “My concern is how would the policy be implemented and specifically how would we ensure that all faculty members carrying concealed weapons have the necessary training to use firearms properly.”

Most college campuses have policies restricting firearms.

Aughenbaugh said proponents of firearms on campus believe such a policy would reduce tragic events, such as the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. However, Aughenbaugh said he’s not convinced.

“We do not know if having more firearms, especially without the requisite training and limitations, would increase the number of shootings on college campuses,” he said.

Some students are concerned about HB 91 and the effect it could have on campus life.

“Initially, it would make me feel a little nervous knowing that there is possibly a loaded gun in the classroom,” said Zachary LaRoche, an international studies major at VCU.

“Rationally, I would not feel that my life is in danger. I think I would actually feel safer knowing that a certified concealed weapons user was in the room.”

Marshall’s bill is awaiting action by the House of Delegates Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee.

RICHMOND – The Virginia House of Delegates has voted to repeal the law requiring girls to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine before entering the sixth grade.

On a 62-34 vote Friday, delegates passed House Bill 1112, which would rescind the state law mandating the HPV vaccine.

Sixty Republicans and two Democrats voted in favor of the bill. Thirty Democrats and four Republicans opposed HB 1112.

The measure was sponsored by Delegate Kathy Byron, R-Lynchburg. She opposed Virginia’s 2007 HPV vaccination law and has campaigned to overturn it. She said that the vaccine has not been adequately tested and that the General Assembly acted hastily in passing the requirement.

Last year, Byron also proposed legislation to repeal the HPV vaccination law, and her bill passed the House. However, it died in the Senate Health and Education Committee, which was dominated by Democrats at the time. This year, Republicans have the upper hand in the Senate as well as the House.

After passing the House, HB 1112 was sent to the Senate for consideration. On Monday, the bill was referred to the Senate Health and Education Committee.

Virginia was the first state requiring girls to receive the HPV vaccine.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease, and at least half of sexually active people get the virus during their lifetime. HPV, which is spread by sexual contact, causes genital warts and cervical cancer.

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil as an effective vaccine against HPV. Medical experts recommend that for the best protection, girls should receive the vaccine before becoming sexually active.

The state has supported the vaccine through local health departments and spends about $1 million a year. Last year, those departments provided 6,479 doses of the HPV vaccine to 11-year-old girls in Virginia.

Byron said parents, not the government, should decide whether girls should be vaccinated.

During Friday’s debate, Delegate Christopher P. Stolle, R-Chesapeake, a gynecologist, argued against HB 1112. Stolle said the current mandate “ensures that the vaccination will be provided by insurance companies and the state and by the health departments.”

He proposed an amendment to ensure that parents receive information about the vaccine; it was rejected.

In several states, there has been a debate over whether getting the HPV vaccine encourages girls to have sex. Only the Washington, D.C., has followed Virginia in requiring the vaccine. In both jurisdictions, parents can sign a waiver and decline to have their daughters vaccinated.

RICHMOND – A bipartisan coalition, including legislators and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, urged the General Assembly on Monday to increase penalties for human trafficking in general and underage sex trafficking in particular.

“Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing, if not the fastest growing, criminal activities in the country,” Cuccinelli said. “We’re here today to try to strengthen Virginia’s human trafficking laws so we can try to put an end to these types of tragedies.”

“One of the hardest aspects of the problem is identifying what it is,” Cuccinelli said, noting that law enforcement officers can mistake sex trafficking for “common prostitution.” He said officers across Virginia must be trained to know what to look for, a process that he said could take five or even 10 years.

Holly Austin Smith, who was the victim of sex trafficking when she was 14, was on hand to thank the officials and offer her own experiences for consideration.

“The man who lured [me] into running away and then trafficked and raped [me] ended up serving 365 days in jail,” said Smith, now a marine biologist in Virginia.

Smith, who was forced into child prostitution in Atlantic City, N.J., has become a leading advocate for human trafficking victims by sharing her 1992 ordeal. She has been urging states to address the problem.

The Virginia General Assembly is considering several bills to do that. One is House Bill 1074, sponsored by Delegate Timothy Hugo, R-Centreville, and Sen. Thomas Garrett, R-Bumpass.

HB 1074 would make solicitation of a minor either a Class 6 or 5 felony, based on whether the minor was older or younger than 16 years old at the time. Currently, the offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Cuccinelli highlighted an aspect of trafficking that has been a hot topic in law enforcement for years: gang activity.

“MS 13 … is probably the worst gang we’ve got in Virginia,” he said. “They have done a cost-benefit analysis and found that sex trafficking of minors is lower risk for higher money than pushing drugs.”

The attorney general noted that it’s not just immigrants and illegal residents being trafficked. “[Gangs] are dabbling in the people who are born here and grow up here as well,” he said.

Virginia was named by the Polaris Project, a nonprofit dedicated to combating human trafficking, as one of the most improved states in 2010 in regards to laws and penalties regulating human trafficking.

According to Polaris, Virginia statutes fulfill five of the 10 categories believed critical to a comprehensive anti-trafficking system. Legislation filed for this session of the General Assembly would help fulfill more of those categories.

Besides HB 1074, legislators have introduced:

• HB 546, which would mandate harsher punishments for gang-related offenses.
• HB 1200, which would require that the toll-free phone number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (888-3737-888) be posted in businesses that provide adult entertainment.
• HB 1188 and Senate Bill 259, which would train Virginia Department of Education personnel to help them better identify trafficking victims.

RICHMOND – If some state lawmakers have their way, Virginians seeking social service benefits may have to submit to mandatory drug tests before receiving public assistance.

A House subcommittee has rolled several similar proposals into House Bill 73, which is sponsored by Delegate Dickie Bell, R-Staunton. It would allow local social services departments to conduct drug tests if they have “probable cause” before allowing an applicant to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Prospective clients who do not pass the mandated drug test would be ineligible for TANF benefits for a year.

The TANF program helps pay for family expenses, with the goal that families gradually become financially independent.

Besides Bell’s legislation, four other House bills proposed drug testing for social service recipients: HB 955, by Delegate Robert Bell, R-Charlottesville; HB 249, by Delegate Benjamin Cline, R-Amherst; HB 598, by Delegate Anne Crockett-Stark, R-Wytheville; and HB 221, by Delegate Chris Head, R-Roanoke.

Last week, the health and human resources subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee combined all of the bills into HB 73.

That legislation says the government would pay for the drug tests. It also includes provisions for substance abuse treatment for aid recipients who fail the tests. Those points seek to address criticisms raised by opponents of the drug testing requirement.

Holly Coy, director of programs at the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, said the bills are an attempt to make sure government money isn’t wasted. But she fears the proposals defeat the purpose of social services programs.

“While (the bills) seem rather benign, the implications it has on Virginians is that in some cases, those individuals who are most in need of services are unable to get them,” Coy said.

Bell said he introduced the bill because of concerns voiced by his constituents in House District 20, which includes Staunton, Waynesboro and Highland County and parts of Augusta and Nelson counties.

But Anita Harris, assistant director of Shenandoah Valley Social Services, said she doesn’t believe that substance abuse is an issue for her department.

Harris said it’s possible that participants are using drugs or other substances, but other requirements in the program would make it difficult to be eligible while having a serious substance abuse problem.

For example, participants must complete 30 job searches a week until they find regular employment to keep their TANF benefits, Harris said.

“If they have substance abuse problem that keeps them from doing that, they’re going to be ineligible anyway,” she said.

Harris’ bigger concern is what might happen to children whose parents are deemed ineligible for TANF.

“That’s the Catch-22,” Harris said. “They do the drug testing and they’re out of the program, but what happens to the children?”

Under the bill, money would be paid to a third party to ensure that children in the family would still be cared for.

Bell’s bill explicitly states that the drug tests would be paid for by the department – a cost that could range from $40 to more than $100, according to Harris. (State budget analysts estimated the cost of a formal drug assessment/test at $345.)

Harris said the costs of drug testing could reduce the amount of money Social Services can spend on other areas, such as transportation to help participants get to work.

“It’s a very expensive program to try to do locally,” Harris said. She said the department estimated a yearly cost between $26,000 and $67,000 for local offices.

Statewide, the cost would be about $1.6 million next year and $1.3 million the following year, according to the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget. Those figures include the money the state would save in TANF benefits.

Another bill before the House would require anyone seeking unemployment benefits to provide the results of a drug test from an accredited lab.

HB 148, sponsored by Delegate Margaret Ransone, R-Kinsale, says, “Any individual who fails or refuses to provide the results of such a test or who tests positive for the use of a nonprescribed controlled substance shall be ineligible to receive benefits.”

Ransone’s bill has been assigned to the House Commerce and Labor Committee.

RICHMOND – A bill requiring a woman to get an ultrasound before having an abortion has cleared a crucial committee and been sent to the Senate floor for a vote next week.

All eight Republicans on the Senate Education and Health Committee voted in favor of the measure, Senate Bill 484, which was sponsored by Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Winchester. All seven Democrats on the panel voted against it.

After Thursday’s 8-7 vote, the proposal will be considered by the full Senate on Monday.

SB 484 says that before a pregnant woman gets an abortion, an ultrasound exam must be performed and the woman must have an opportunity to view the sonogram image of her fetus and hear the fetal heartbeat.

“Twenty other states have done it. I think you’ll ultimately find that most states will do it. It passes with a huge amount of bipartisan support,” Vogel said. “Almost 60 percent of women support it. … Why wouldn’t you want to be more educated about the procedure you’re going to undertake?”

Opponents say the proposed law would interfere with a woman’s right to have an abortion and with the doctor-patient relationship.

“It’s a major step back for women’s health issues,” said Sen. Ralph Northam of Norfolk, a doctor. “I’m also concerned as a provider that this is the government getting in our business and telling us how we should practice medicine.”

Northam, a professor of neurology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, was among the seven Democrats on the Senate Education and Health Committee who opposed SB 484.

Historically, Democrats have controlled that committee and the Senate as a whole and have been able to stop many bills they saw as attacks on abortion rights. This year, the Senate is split 20-20 between Democrats and Republicans, and Republicans have a one-vote on the Senate Education and Health Committee – which was all they needed to advance the bill.

Four bills before the General Assembly this year would mandate an ultrasound before an abortion. Sen. Ralph K. Smith, R-Salem, a member of the Education and Health Committee, proposed such legislation – SB 279. It was incorporated into Vogel’s bill before the committee’s vote.

Two Republican delegates – Mark Cole of Fredericksburg and Kathy Byron of Lynchburg –also are sponsoring ultrasound measures: House Bill 261 and HB 462. Such legislation is likely to pass the House, which is dominated by Republicans.

Northam said he believes that a sonogram requirement would make it more difficult for a woman to obtain what is a legally available procedure.

“It severely and significantly affects the provider-patient relationship,” Northam said. “That is a decision that should be between the physician and the patient, and the government should have nothing to do with it.”

Vogel said that the purpose of her bill is informed consent and that she does not want the legislation to get tangled up in the debate over abortion.

Currently, women seeking an abortion have the option to get an ultrasound.

Under SB 484, an ultrasound would be required to determine the gestational age of the fetus. The medical professional who performs the sonogram exam would have to get “written certification … whether the woman availed herself of the opportunity to see the ultrasound image or hear the fetal heartbeat.”

Vogel said she believes that the bill will draw enough bipartisan support in the Senate to pass and that it eventually will go to Gov. Bob McDonnell to be signed into law.

Northam reluctantly agreed.

“I would predict, and I can certainly never be in a position to speak for my fellow senators, but it will prevail on the floor in, I would say, probably like a 22-18 vote – in that ballpark,” Northam said.

The Family Foundation of Virginia, which opposes abortion rights, hailed Thursday’s vote as “the first passage of a substantial pro-life bill through the Senate Education and Health Committee in nine years.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, which supports abortion rights, said the bill “invades the doctor-patient relationship and forces a patient to undergo and pay for, in some cases, a procedure that may not be medically relevant or necessary.”

RICHMOND – About 250 members of the Richmond and Arlington dioceses participated Thursday in the Virginia Catholic Conference’s 2012 Catholic Advocacy Day. That was a record turnout for the annual event, said Jeffrey Caruso, the executive director of the VCC.

Caruso said he was “extremely pleased” by the number of participants.

During their talks with Virginia legislators, participants addressed issues involving abortion, stem cell research, criminal and juvenile justice, religious freedom, health care, immigration, education and the economy.

“I think the legislators appreciate knowing that their Catholic constituents are particularly involved in the legislative process,” Caruso said. “We’re certainly not 100 percent in agreement, but overall legislators were very welcoming and respectful. Hopefully we’ll see that same positive response regarding the bills.”

Catholic Advocacy Day began in downtown Richmond’s SunTrust Center at 8 a.m., with legislative visits starting at 10:30 a.m. and going through noon. Participants lunched in St. Peter’s Church, where they also observed Mass and discussed the day’s events.

Shuttle transportation allowed Catholics from across the state to participate in the annual advocacy day.

The VCC began sponsoring Catholic Advocacy Day activities in 2005.

RICHMOND – Drug offenders in Buchanan County may soon have an alternative to a jail sentence under a measure proposed by Sen. Charles Carrico, R-Galax.

Senate Bill 317, which unanimously passed the Senate on Friday, would create drug treatment courts in Buchanan, Russell, Montgomery and Dickensen counties in Southwest Virginia and Goochland County in Central Virginia. Moreover, the legislation would establish a drug treatment court in Wise County that also would serve Scott and Lee counties.

Currently, Virginia has 30 special courts that handle charges involving drugs or driving under the influence by adults or juveniles. These courts give non-violent offenders the opportunity to have their charges dismissed upon completion of a stringent program of substance abuse treatment.

“The social policy of ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ is not working,” said Mike Mead, substance abuse coalition coordinator for Occupational Enterprises Inc., a nonprofit organization trying to address drug problems in Southwest Virginia.

Like many counties in that region, Buchanan is experiencing a surge in the illegal sale and usage of prescription drugs such as the pain medication Oxycontin.

“We got a unique situation here,” said Buchanan County Sheriff Ray Foster. “A lot of the drug people that I bust are in their 60s, their 70s. They take their medication and sell it.”

The illicit sales create an atmosphere conducive for other crimes such as larceny.

“You got these big mining cables that’s got a lot of copper in it. Get you a hundred foot of it, make you five, six hundred dollars,” Foster said. “That’s pills in the bank.”

Carrico is a retired state trooper who sponsored a bill this session to allow social services agencies to screen welfare recipients for drug use. He admitted to being an unlikely advocate for the drug court system.

“I didn’t feel like we should be coddling drug users,” Carrico said. “But after seeing the process that this individual has to go through in order to successfully complete the program, it’s a far cry from coddling them.”

According to a recent report by state officials, only 46 percent of Virginians who began drug court treatment programs graduated. (The graduation rate for DUI treatment courts was 74 percent.) However, those graduates had much a much lower chance of returning to drugs or crime.

The report said the recidivism rate for drug treatment court graduates was 20 percent, as opposed to 49 percent for those who didn’t complete the program.

“It’s a tough process … And there are some that say, ‘I’d rather be in jail,’ ” Carrico said.

Advocates for drug courts say the program can help offenders become productive citizens at minimal expense to the state.

Funding for the new courts would come from state and federal grants.

Greg Hopkins, president of the Virginia Drug Court Association, pointed out additional cost benefits.

“In 2001, adult drug court programs saved an average of $5,680 per participant with a net benefit of $2 per every dollar spent,” Hopkins said. “That’s good because you’re looking at how much money the localities are saving better than just locking somebody up.”

After clearing the Senate, Carrico’s bill now goes to the House.

Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, submitted a companion House bill – HB 136. It hit a snag earlier in the legislation session: The bill was tabled by a subcommittee of the House Courts of Justice Committee.

RICHMOND – Virginians are one step closer to being able to hunt on Sundays. On a 29-11 vote Thursday, the Senate passed a bill that would allow Sunday hunting on private land.

Sen. Ralph Northam, a Democrat from Norfolk, introduced Senate Bill 464. Originally, it would have completely lifted the state’s ban on hunting on Sundays. A committee folded into SB 464 legislation by Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, to permit Sunday hunting “on private property, either as a landowner, the landowner’s spouse or the children of the landowner, or with the written permission of the landowner.”

At the request of Sen. Charles Carrico, R-Galax, senators further amended the measure to prohibit hunters from hunting within 250 yards of a place of worship.

Of the 20 Democratic senators, 17 for the bill and three voted against it.

Of the 20 Republican senators, 12 voted for the bill and eight voted against it.

“I’m glad that the Senate acted decisively today to roll back an archaic restriction on a constitutional right in Virginia,” Petersen said after the floor vote.

The bill would rescind a state law that prohibits hunting on Sunday on public or private land, declaring it a “rest day for all species of wild bird and wild animal life, except raccoons, which may be hunted until 2:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings.”

Gov. Bob McDonnell said last week that he agrees with lifting the ban on hunting on Sundays on private property.

Opposition to lifting the ban has come from groups such as the Virginia Farm Bureau and the Virginia Humane Society.

Petersen noted that the National Rifle Association supports his efforts to eliminate the ban on Sunday hunting. According to a survey, two-thirds of licensed hunters in Virginia support hunting on Sundays, Petersen said.

The bill now goes to the Virginia House of Delegates. If passed, the measure could open up Sunday hunting as early as next hunting season.

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How they voted

Here is how senators voted on SB 464 (which included the “private lands” provision and the restrictions against hunting near churches).

YEAS — Barker, Black, Blevins, Carrico, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Garrett, Herring, Howell, Lucas, Marsden, Marsh, McEachin, McWaters, Miller, J.C., Miller, Y.B., Norment, Northam, Petersen, Puckett, Puller, Reeves, Saslaw, Stanley, Stosch, Vogel, Wagner, Watkins — 29.

NAYS — Colgan, Deeds, Hanger, Locke, Martin, McDougle, Newman, Obenshain, Ruff, Smith, Stuart — 11.

RICHMOND – Now that Democrats no longer control the House or the Senate, Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, is hoping the General Assembly will pass his bill defining a human embryo or fetus is a person under the law.

House Bill 1 would provide that “unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth.”

The bill, which is before the House Courts of Justice Committee, says that this “personhood” status starts “from the moment of conception.”

Marshall said HB 1 is significant for several reasons.

“We have a situation in Virginia where a pregnant woman can be shot, and if you kill the baby, it’s feticide. But she can’t recover damages separately in a civil lawsuit,” Marshall said. “That’s kind of an anomaly.”

Democrats have criticized HB 1 as an attempt to revoke a woman’s right to have an abortion. In past years, when Democrats controlled the Virginia Senate, such bills usually died in the Senate Education and Health Committee.

“This committee kills all abortion bills,” Marshall said. “In 21 years, I have seen only one bill go through the Senate Education and Health Committee.”

But Marshall is hopeful this year will be different. The Republicans not only control the House of Delegates, but last fall, they won two previously Democratic seats in the Senate. Now the upper chamber is equally split between the two parties.

That increases the chances that anti-abortion legislation will make it out of the Senate Education and Health Committee and to the Senate floor for a vote.

“Right now, it’s a swing issue.” Marshall said. “There’s a swing vote in that committee, and I can’t predict which way it will go.”

Democratic legislators have been quick to voice opposition to HB 1.

Sen. A. Donald McEachin, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, called the bill “an attack on women’s rights.”

Delegate Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, agreed. She said there is “overwhelming and legitimate concern” because the full ramifications of Marshall’s proposal have not been determined.

“The patron assumes many things with his legislation, in which the language is not consistent with scientific or medical terminology related to the process of becoming pregnant,” Herring said.

Herring said HB 1 could make certain forms of birth control illegal.

“It may outlaw some forms of the birth control which are FDA-approved, which in addition to acting as birth control also has uses such as treatment of endometriosis,” Herring said.

However, HB 1 states that “Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as affecting lawful assisted conception.”

Marshall said his bill is not detrimental to women’s health rights. He says that he doesn’t understand how his critics can say such a thing.

“As far as they know, roughly half of the kids aborted are females. How is saying that a mother can sue for the wrongful death of a female child an attack on women’s rights? They need to explain that.”

Cox, the Republican majority leader in the House of Delegates, said his major focus is simple: passing a state budget for the next two years. But he has other goals, such as ensuring adequate funding for programs such as the Virginia Retirement System.

“If every state employee wanted to retire today, which wouldn’t happen, we would only be able to pay 70 percent of them,” Cox said. “If every teacher wanted to retire, we would only be able to pay 65 percent. We have got to bring those numbers up.”

During the 60-day session, Dance, a Democrat, hopes to promote employment opportunities.

“One thing is certain,” Dance said. “It’s not the about the party politics with these issues; it’s about the business communities.”

Ingram, a Republican who has served in the House for two decades, wants to maintain government transparency. He opposes bills that would remove government notices from newspapers.

“I rely on newspapers for foreclosures, city and county zoning ordinances, among other things,” Ingram said. “I feel people need to know and we need to keep the government as open as possible.”

Cox: Craft a Budget, Help Military

Cox said he hopes Virginia will be able to set aside $600 million in its rainy day fund by 2014. Rainy day funds are a type of savings account governments can tap for emergencies.

Cox also wants to eliminate what he sees as budget gimmicks, such as the accelerated sales tax, a requirement that many businesses pre-pay their July sales tax in June to boost the state’s year-end revenue. And he wants to limit new state programs.

Cox said the state’s Federal Action Contingency Trust fund also will be used to offset cuts from the federal government. Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed adding $20 million to this fund.

“You don’t want to create new programs that don’t make any sense,” Cox said. “We are going to support the FACT fund and really push for that rainy day fund.”

Another budget issue is the Virginia Retirement System, the pension plan for state employees. Because of the stock market slump and other factors, VRS doesn’t have enough money to pay future retirees.

More employee contributions will be required to fix VRS, Cox said.

“We can’t control the stock market; however, we can control what goes into contributions,” Cox said.

Historically, state employees have not had to contribute to the VRS. Last year, the state required employees to contribute 5 percent toward VRS but matched that with a 5 percent pay raise. This year, McDonnell has proposed a 1 percent increase in state employee contributions without a corresponding salary increase. State employees say that amounts to a pay cut.

Cox said he expects a lot of debate over raising employee contributions, but he sees the increase as necessary.

Besides the budget, the Republican majority leader is pursuing bills that would help the Virginia Department of Veterans Services assist injured service personnel returning home to Virginia.

“More and more folks come back with some sort of disability. They have to file a claim and be evaluated and have that claim rated,” Cox said. “Sometimes it can take up to a year in order to get help.”

Cox has introduced House Bill 1121, which increase the number of claims representatives serving Virginia’s veterans. “I feel like once they get home, they’ve earned it, so we need to try to expedite the process,” Cox said.

On Tuesday, HB 1121 won unanimous approval from the House General Laws Committee.

Dance: Boost Employment, Education

Like many legislators this session, Dance is championing jobs in Virginia. This was the primary concern voiced by her constituents during a telephone town hall meeting she held in December.

“They are the bosses. That’s who I listen to,” Dance said.

More jobs require better infrastructure. Dance said improvements in the transportation system will be vital to help get goods to market and workers to work sites.

Education is another of Dance’s concerns. She is a proponent of dual enrollment programs, which allow high school students to take a class and receive both high school and community college credit for it. Dance believes these programs help young people get the education they need to succeed in the workplace.

Dance also said she will work to bolster programs in science, technology, education, mathematics and health care because of their importance in the current job market.

In the December town hall meeting, Dance’s constituents raised concerns about Medicaid. Dance plans to “hold the line on Medicaid” and ensure its availability to people who need it.

Dance also hopes to make the roads safer. She is sponsoring HB 497, which would prohibit using a cellphone or any other handheld communication device while driving. Current law bars only texting and emailing while driving.

Ingram: Help Fund Water Treatment Upgrade

The Hopewell water treatment facility needs an upgrade, and Ingram wants to lessen the financial blow to area residents.

“We need additional money. So far, Hopewell has had to bite the bullet. But in order to do all that needs to be done, it will be up to localities and us [the state] to get this upgrade done,” Ingram said.

So Ingram and Dance have introduced HB 1180. It would authorize the Virginia Public Building Authority to “issue an additional $300 million in bonds to continue installing nutrient removal technology in eligible wastewater treatment facilities.”

These facilities require upgrades mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. If the state does not help pay for the work, it could hit Hopewell residents hard in their water bills.

Ingram also opposes bills to remove the requirement that local governments publish official notices in local newspapers. For example, HB 234 says that for the sale of foreclosed timeshare properties, local governments could simply publish in the newspaper a link to a website with the pertinent details.

Ingram views such proposals as a threat to government transparency.

“I feel we need to keep the government as open as possible, to as many citizens as possible,” said Ingram, noting that not all citizens have access to a computer or the Internet