Setback for Disabled Veterans Exemption Reimbursements
Senator Jeremy McPike’s SB 1312, which sought supplemental payments for localities heavily impacted by real estate tax exemptions for disabled veterans, has died in committee. On January 23, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 7-6 to pass the bill indefinitely, effectively halting its progress this session.
The bill aimed to support communities like Stafford in maintaining essential services while accommodating a growing veteran population.
Fair Education Funding
Delegate Josh Cole’s HB 2164 proposes adjustments to the Local Composite Index (LCI) to account for tax-exempt property values. The measure would ensure education funding better reflects a locality’s true financial capacity. The bill was effectively defeated when the House Appropriations Subcommittee recommended laying it on the table on January 20, 2025, with an 8-0 vote. Alternative approaches, including budget amendments by Delegate Paul Milde and Senator Tara Durant, remain under consideration.
1% Sales Tax Referendum for School Construction
The county also supports SB 1307, which would allow localities to hold voter referendums to enact a 1% sales tax increase dedicated to school construction. The full Senate has passed the measure with a substantial majority. It now moves to the House, where it faces further scrutiny.
A similar bill passed both chambers last year but was vetoed by Governor Glenn Youngkin. Advocates are cautiously optimistic about its prospects this session.
As Stafford pushes for these legislative measures, the General Assembly approaches crossover, the session’s midpoint when each chamber must finalize and send its bills to the other chamber for review. This year, crossover falls on February 4, adding urgency for Stafford’s legislative team to gain traction on key bills.
The county also addressed concerns about panhandling regulations and roadway safety. A proposal from Delegate Milde would impose fines on exchanges between motorists and pedestrians in medians. While the majority of board members supported the measure as a public safety tool, Aquia Distirct Supervisor Monica Gary raised concerns about its potential impact on vulnerable populations.
A bill to protect individuals experiencing homelessness by prohibiting criminal penalties for seeking temporary shelter in legally parked vehicles failed to advance in the Virginia House of Delegates Subcommittee of the Cities, Counties, and Towns Committee. HB2602, introduced by Delegate Joshua Cole (D-65, Fredericksburg), sought to address homelessness by ensuring humane treatment and temporary shelter solutions.
The bill would have prohibited localities from enforcing ordinances penalizing individuals for sleeping or seeking refuge in legally parked cars. Additionally, it required localities to make reasonable efforts to provide temporary shelter, including using government-owned property and stipulated that no individual could be detained solely for public camping unless they posed an immediate public threat or were offered alternative shelter.
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On Tuesday, November 13, 2024, the Virginia House Privileges and Elections Committee engaged in a debate over a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to glorify reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion, into the state’s constitution.
House Joint Resolution 1 (HJ1), dubbed the "Reproductive Freedom Amendment," aims to safeguard access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare. The amendment would codify the right to make decisions about pregnancy, contraception, and childbirth free from undue government interference.
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On Tuesday, the House Privileges and Elections Committee in Virginia voted to advance House Joint Resolution 2 (HJ2), a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to restore voting rights for individuals with felony convictions upon release from incarceration and strengthen voting protections for individuals with disabilities. The resolution, introduced by Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), was passed by the committee in a narrow vote of 12 to 9.
Under this amendment, individuals who have completed incarceration for felony convictions would automatically regain their voting rights, eliminating the current requirement for rights restoration by the governor.
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In a rare move, following Donald Trump’s re-election to the presidency, the Virginia House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee has scheduled a surprise meeting to review three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution.
The meeting, set for 11 a.m. tomorrow, November 13, 2024, will take place in House Committee Room C—206. It will catch the public’s attention ahead of the General Assembly’s regular session in January 2025.
The proposed amendments aim to codify rights around convicted felons voting, abortion, and gay marriage. Notable committee members include bipartisan voices such as Paul Milde (R-Stafford), Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), Rozia Henson (D-Woodbridge), and Michelle Maldonado (D-Manassas).
Proposed Amendments on the Agenda:
Voting Rights
One proposed amendment, co-patroned by Prince William and Stafford County Senator Jeremy McPike (D), seeks to expand and clarify voting rights in Virginia. Under this amendment, individuals who have completed incarceration for felony convictions would automatically regain their voting rights, eliminating the current requirement for rights restoration by the governor.
Additionally, this proposal clarifies that mental incompetency can only disqualify an individual from voting if a court has determined the person cannot understand the act of voting. The amendment also includes provisions to allow advanced registration for young citizens nearing voting age, helping to ease their entry into the electoral process.
Abortion
In response to ongoing debates around abortion, the second proposed amendment would establish a constitutional right to abortion. This amendment, also co-patroned by McPike, states that individuals have an intrinsic right to make decisions about all matters related to pregnancy without government interference unless justified by a compelling state interest, such as protecting health per accepted medical standards.
The amendment also protects individuals from prosecution or penalties for seeking an abortion.
Gay Marriage
If adopted, the third amendment, co-patroned by Cole, would enshrine gay marriage in Virginia’s Constitution. It removes the current language defining marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman, instead recognizing marriage as a fundamental right.
The amendment prohibits discrimination in marriage licensing based on sex, gender, or race, ensuring equal treatment under state law for all marriages. Religious organizations and clergy would still retain the right to refuse to perform marriages that conflict with their beliefs. This amendment seeks to solidify Virginia’s commitment to marriage equality, further supporting recent shifts in national and state attitudes.
As the General Assembly prepares to meet in full session in January, the Privileges and Elections Committee’s preliminary discussions on these amendments could set the tone for Virginia’s legislative agenda in 2025.
Citizens interested in speaking or submitting comments to tomorrow’s committee meeting may do so online here.
“Virginia’s colleges are not preschools where petulant children need to learn basic rules and manners. Campus officials and law enforcement officers told these young adults the rules. They broke the rules, and now they’ll face the consequences,” said Delegate Todd Gilbert.
“I applaud Governor Youngkin, the Attorney General, and our law enforcement community for the even-handed way they have handled this difficult situation. Some members of the House of Delegates – including Dels. Rozia Henson (Woodbridge), Adele McClure, Joshua Cole (Fredericksburg), and Nadarius Clark – fail to recognize the unlawful nature of some of these protests. They have also associated themselves with the worst of the bigoted messages blaring from speakers on campuses.”
Gilber’s comments come after Democrats issued a statement condemning police action to reign in violent protests on campuses.
Stafford County Supervisor Deuntay Diggs will hold his first town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Stafford High School.
Diggs represents the George Washington District, said he’ll be joined by elected School Board member, Susan Randall, also of George Washington, as well as residents whom Diggs appointed to several county boards and commissions.
“I am delighted to introduce to you the esteemed team representing the George Washington District! Our inaugural town hall meeting is scheduled for March 27th at 6:00pm, hosted at Stafford High School in the auditorium. Your presence and participation are highly valued as we embark on this journey together. Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege to serve,” Diggs posted to Facebook.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with opening remarks from Diggs, State Senator Tara Durant (R-27, Stafford, Fredericksburg), Delegate Joshua Cole (D-65, Stafford, Fredericksburg), Randall, and Dr. Brad Hatch from the Patowomeck Tribe.
After introducing the various board and commission appointees, Diggs will take questions from the audience until 8 p.m.
Diggs is a Stafford sheriff’s deputy, and the town hall meeting comes as five people who police said work for a Charlottesville towing company assaulted two cops at a south Stafford McDonalds and were set free hours later by a county magistrate.
Other types of crime in the county are up, too. Diggs’ boss, Sheriff David Decatur, said the number of police chases his deputies respond to in the county has increased, as local police agencies in Northern Virginia chose not to pursue suspects who are eventually stopped in Stafford.
Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors is working to finalize its FY2025 budget, with final adoption expected next month. Supervisors have advertised a lower Real Estate tax rate used to fund county government operations, but tax bills are expected to rise due to higher home assessments, up at least 13% over the past two years.
School officials said the county’s budget is about $2 million short of what it needs to fund schools for the coming year fully.
Diggs was elected to replace Tom Coen, who served on the Board of Supervisors since 2018.
"The Superintendent and School Board provided tangible ways to improve student outcomes, urging legislators to provide Stafford County with increased funding necessary to support high expectations for student performance, provide a safe, positive learning environment, and provide better conditions to recruit, retain and develop staff. Additional discussion focused on the need for a reduction in the burden of unfunded mandates and inefficient government practices."
"Stafford Schools urged legislators to consider Virginia’s K-12 funding formula to provide a more accurate cost of education in the local area, and to provide for additional local sales and use taxes for school construction or renovation. The School Board encouraged elimination of support position caps to allow an increase in Basic Aid funding. To support the advocation of increased funding, school administrators laid out changes to Standards of Quality caps that would provide for an increase in counselors. psychologists, social workers, assistant principals, English Language Learner teachers, and Work Based Learning coordinators.
