Legislative Coalition of Virginia Nurses

•   To provide legislative information to nursing specialty organizations
•   To incorporate the different organizations goals into a unified legislative agenda  

General Assembly 2009 Summary

Note: Information on the budget’s impact on nursing practice and education as well as bills related to nursing practice and education are found at www.virginianurses.com. If you do not receive the weekly VNA updates, email VNA and ask to be put on the list: admin@virginianurses.com.

This update summarizes the action taken on bills related to public health and safety. I’ve separated out the bills that passed from those that failed. They are included in separate lists below.

Public health and safety bills that will become law

Only four initiatives passed. HB 1876 (Cosgrove) will prohibit the use of texting or reading text messages on cell phones while driving for everyone except those drivers who are operating emergency vehicles or reporting an emergency by texting. Similar to our current seat belt laws, this law will not be a primary offense. In other words, a law enforcement official cannot issue a citation for texting unless he stops the vehicle operator for another reason.

Del. David Toscano’s bill (HB 1836) passed. It will require school divisions to receive communication about pesticide management programs with the intent of increasing the numbers of divisions that employ these programs instead of aerosol pesticide distribution. These programs help reduce the health consequences of inhalation of pesticides. The bill was actively promoted by Barbara Cruickshank, RN, a VNA District 7 member (Charlottesville), and LCVN members contacted members of the General Assembly to support this bill. Many thanks to all who worked to get this bill passed.

SB 1035 (Hanger) passed. This bill will permit a person with a concealed weapon permit to carry his handgun into restaurants and bars so long as the individual does not consume alcoholic beverages. A person who carries a concealed weapon and drinks alcoholic beverages will be charged with a misdemeanor. This provision does not apply to federal, state, or local law-enforcement officials. The Governor has threatened to veto this bill, as he has done in the past, citing safety concerns. If he does, the General Assembly may vote to override the Governor’s veto by a 2/3 margin. The veto session is set for April 8^th.

Finally, SJ 358 (Stolle) was passed. It will require the Crime Commission to research the public safety issues that exist in hospital emergency rooms, compile strategies that hospitals can use to prevent or deal with violent incidents, and identify the most effective methods to prevent emergency room violence. The report will be completed by November 30, 2009. LCVN members worked with the Virginia Emergency Nurses to support this resolution. Resolutions do not need to be signed by the Governor, so this resolution will be sent to the Crime Commission to begin its work.

Public health and safety bills that failed

More public health and safety bills failed than passed. This fact may be due to the nature of the bills that were considered. However, in many cases, bills fail because the majority of legislators believe in the least restrictive laws as possible to permit individual citizens freedom so long as others’ lives are not affected. This ideology drives the reason that Virginia still permits open containers of alcohol in vehicles, non-use of seat belts as a primary offense, and the use of cell phones while driving (except texting).

A review of the bill list for failed bills demonstrates the bills that failed to report out of committees, primarily because of the beliefs in individual freedom. There are certainly some exceptions. We would point to SB 1367 (Barker), a bill that would have required school divisions to establish policies for managing and treating food allergies. This bill actually did report out of the Senate and the House Committee on Courts of Justice, but it failed on a close vote in the House of Delegates. The reasons for its failure remain elusive and may have been politically oriented.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact Becky Bowers-Lanier at becky@macbur.com.