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Surovell’s hands-free cell phone bill fails while electronic text books bill moves forward

This past weekend, we saw about 150 people turn out at my three Town Hall Meetings in Occoquan, Montclair and Stafford County with Senator Jeremy McPike, Delegates Jennifer Carroll Foy, Hala Ayala, and Elizabeth Guzman.  You can watch videos of all six of my town hall meetings on my Facebook page or on my blog – The Dixie Pig – at scottsurovell.blogspot.com.  Thank you to everyone who turned out!

On Wednesday, the Senate Transportation Committee killed my legislation to authorize temporary driving permits for Virginians who cannot show legal immigration status but can pass a driving test and are paying Virginia taxes.  Numerous studies in the fifteen states who have done this have shown that it reduces collisions, hit and run incidents, increases reporting other crimes to law enforcement, and results in significantly increased tax collections.  The bill died on a party-line vote 7-8 after over three hundred people jammed the room and testified about how a lack of driving privileges affected them on a daily basis.

Second, my legislation that would prohibit operation of a vehicle with a phone in the driver’s hand also failed.  Road deaths are up in the United States for the first time in fifty years and most studies attribute it to drivers distracted by digital devices.  My legislation passed the Transportation Committee after failing for the last three years, but was referred to the Courts of Justice Committee after the attorneys in the chamber wanted to review it where it died.  I will try again next year.

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