On January 24, 2025, the Virginia House of Delegates Cities, Counties, and Towns Committee reviewed several critical bills advanced. A charter amendment for the Town of Dumfries was unanimous, while a proposal to protect unhoused individuals seeking shelter in vehicles was rejected.
Dumfries Charter Amendment Advances
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The Dumfries Town Council seeks to amend the town’s charter, which dates back to 1749, making Dumfries the oldest continuously chartered town in Virginia. The proposed changes were discussed during the council’s July 3 meeting.
According to a town spokeswoman, the amendments, which must be approved by the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, are primarily administrative and aimed at promoting greater clarity concerning the existing text. One substantive proposal would empower the Mayor to declare a local emergency if neither the director of emergency management nor the town council is available.
The council’s agenda packet for the July 2 meeting did not include supporting documentation to provide residents with more information about the proposed changes.
The proposed charter amendments came after recent criticism of Mayor Derrick Wood. Last month, a fallen tree onto a power line trapped residents of the Prince William Estates neighborhood for 14 hours. During this time, Wood visited the neighborhood before attending a gala at the White House.
“The Town Council, as part of its unwavering commitment to a well-managed government, has pledged to make periodic reviews of the Town’s Charter and ordinances,” the town spokeswoman said. “This ensures that these sources accurately reflect the powers given to the Town by the state and remain transparent and effective for Town residents. This is the Council’s first review of the Town Charter to further its strategic plan goals and provide a clear direction for the changes.”
The town’s state representatives, State Senator Jeremy McPike and Delegate Candi Mundon King were informed of the council’s intent to propose amendments during a legislative meeting on July 9. Each representative may sponsor duplicate bills in their respective legislative bodies.
Vice Mayor Nickerson commented on the proposed changes during the town council meeting, stating that the council had worked on them during a working session and continued to do so towards the end of the meeting. She emphasized the importance of the changes in reflecting the community’s needs and values.
The proposed changes also include:
- The Town Clerk will be supervised by the Town Manager while assisting the council with administrative tasks.
- A civil penalty of up to $5,000 for civil or criminal misdemeanors will be enforceable.
Nickerson raised the issue of recourse if a council member fails to attend meetings but continues to collect their stipend, which the Town Attorney suggested should be addressed in the Code of Conflict rather than the charter.
Sarah Romero contributed to this report.
Delegate Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William, Stafford) introduced two bills in the General Assembly Session that deal with transportation.
The first would cap the total amount of tolls drivers pay on the E-ZPass Express Lanes in the state to $200 per month. The bill would also allow disabled military veterans to use the lanes at no charge.
HB811 has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation. Delegates Nadarius E. Clark (D-Suffolk) and Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) are co-patrons.
King’s second bill, HB812, would bar the DMV from issuing any license plates that reference the “Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, or any other prominent Confederate leader.”
Virignia offers license plates commemorating Confederate General Robert E. Lee, a native Virginian, and a plate for the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The House Transportation Committee meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. during the session through March 10, 2024.
Locally, Delegates Brianna Sewell (D-Prince William) and Paul Milde (R-Stafford) sit on the committee.
King also chairs the House Committee on Counties, Cities, and Towns in the 2024 General Assembly Session.
Delegate Candi Mondon King (D-23, Stafford, Woodbridge) says she will again push legislation that requires a study of the cost of using the region's E-ZPass Express Lanes.
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A subcommittee of the House Rules Committee killed a resolution proposed by Delegate Candi Mundon King (D-Woodbridge, Stafford) resolution called the STARR Alert, which aims to notify auto repair shops of hit-and-run crashes, prompting the owners to be on the lookout for drivers that fled the scene of crashes might seek vehicle repairs.
In August 2022, 25-year-old Alexis Hicks was struck outside a Norfolk hospital and later succumbed to her injuries. The driver fled the scene, and the case remains unsolved.
Her parents, Kayla Hicks and Jason Hicks, a police officer, plead with the Republican-led subcommittee to advance the resolution. Hicks said he considered his daughter’s death a murder and called it a traumatizing experience for his family.
“I hope this bill will help solve crimes like this in the future. Someone who hits a pedestrian and drives off it’s no longer considered a ‘fatality.’ It’s a murder,” said Hicks, adding police have no new leads in the 5-month-old case.
“We couldn’t help ourselves, so we turned to you all,” Kayla Hicks said to members of the subcommittee.
However, the Hicks would not get the relief they sought through a state government order this year. “This is a really good idea. We need to accelerate this,” said Delegate Chris Head (R-Botetourt), who abstained from voting.
However, the Head said a requirement in the resolution giving VDOT until November 30, 2023, to compile a comprehensive list of auto body shops would not be enough time for the agency to complete its work.
“VDOT says that time frame is ambitious for it to talk to every repair shop across the state and work with law enforcement,” said Head, who suggested postponing the deadline to 2024.
“We’re very supportive of what you’re trying to do here, but we’re not sure it’s the best way forward,” said subcommittee chairman Delegate Bobby Orrock (R-Spotsylvania).
The subcommittee voted down the party to lines 3-2 to table the resolution. Delegates Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria) and House Minority Leader Don L. Scott (D-Portsmouth) voted in the minority favor of the resolution.
Although Republicans killed the resolution, they hinted to Mundon King that there were other ways to proceed with the STARR Alert resolution. Still, they stopped short of providing details during the meeting.
Mundon King did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Delegate Candi Mundon King (D-Woodbridge, Stafford) filed a bill to ban the names and faces of anyone who took up arms against the federal government, committed acts of treason, or could be considered an insurrectionist from state license plates.
Virginia offers more specialized places than most other states in the union. The bill is awaiting action in the House of Delegates Committee on Transportation.
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Over the last few years, many Virginia officials have made it clear they don’t want the state to officially venerate Robert E. Lee anymore…After a Northern Virginia constituent asked about the issue, Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, says it’s time for the license plates to go too. And she’s filed a bill to get rid of them.
