02/05/16
Update:
I have
been forwarded an email that someone received from House Legislative Services
today regarding HB628.
It says:
So HB628
is coming back to life after being “tabled” Wednesday night by Delegate Rob Bell.
Since
it was “tabled” most Virginians would stop tracking it believing it was done
for 2016.
It seems
the “games” continue with House Courts of Justice Criminal-Sub Committee.
It could
be on Next Monday or next Wednesday’s docket which ever one it’s on I’ll be
there ready to oppose it, again!
Thank you
all for sending those email’s to the Speaker of the House and for those of you
who contacted Legislative Services on your own about this Bill, thank you! At
least it’s not being “slipped” into a different bill that wouldn’t have been
public information until after it made its way through Sub-Committee.
Mary
Original
Post:
It
appears the Virginia House Courts of Justice Criminal-Sub’s shenanigans
continue in 2016.
On Monday
I waited for HB628 to be heard in Criminal
Sub-Committee from 11:30AM to 6:20PM.
I always
sit in the front row they all knew which bill I was there to oppose but at
6:20PM with 3 Bills left on the docket (including HB628) Delegate Bell asked
the Committee members do we finish these or call it a night and they all said
call it a night and the meeting ended.
So I
returned yesterday and waited for HB628 to be heard in Criminal Sub-Committee
which finally began at 4:55PM after Courts Full Committee finished again
sitting in the front row the whole time so all the members know I’m there for
this one Bill. We get to the last 2 Bills on yesterdays docket (the last 3 were
Delegate Bell’s) at about 8PM
and
Delegate Bell said:
We're in the home
stretch
Mr. Chair (Delegate Cline), my House Bill 628, I need to sorta…its
ummmm… I’m gonna table it but everyone needs to under stand why…-he takes a
long sigh- so Delegate Albo is going to remove a Bill (HB177) from the ice-box… which is… what’s your Registry Bill Dave? What
number? -Delegate Albo doesn’t know
Mr. Chairman, the
Uber-Chair has decided all the Sex Registry Bills will be considered under his
Bill, is that fair Delegate Albo?
So, for ice-box
issues.
There’s one from
Delegate Peace (HB672), this one from me… the issues here in will be decide to be in that Bill
or not, is that fair?
Delegate
Albo then speaks:
The reason is if we
send 4 Registry Bills up to Appropriations and they charged us $200,000, if we
send one they charge us $50,000… so putting them all in one, a four for one
deal.
Delegate
Cline said:
Good idea. Do they
take coupons up there?
Either
Delegate Albo or Delegate Bell said:
Yes
And then HB628
was tabled.
Courts
Criminal Sub-Committee members have played games with Sex Offender Bills for
years when they know I’m in the room. If I dare to go to the ladies room they’ve
tried to hear a Bill while I’m out of the room hoping they can get the vote in
before I return. Back in 2013 or 2014 prior to a meeting beginning a Legislative
attendant announced to the entire room that a particular Sex Offender Bill
would not be heard, so I left and then when the Committee members saw I wasn’t
there they decided to hear the Bill even though an announcement was made hours
prior telling attendees it would not be heard and supposedly the Legislative attendant
told them I was there but left because of the announcement and they proceeded
anyway.
So even
if a Bill on a docket is announced that it won’t be heard at any point during a
meeting, I stay through the entire meeting now just in case.
To
combine Del. Bell’s Bill which is Employer and College information being
displayed online, Albo’s Bill which is mandating Crimes Against Nature become a
register able offense (retroactive) and Peace’s Bill making Malicious wounding
to a 13 year old or younger by an adult a register able offense (not
retroactive) all into one Bill 3 weeks after session has begun isn’t being
“creative” it’s being sneaky.
These 3
Bills are not germane.
This is
similar to last years (2015) issue with
Delegate Ramadan submitting “decoy text” for his Robby’s Rule Bill to only show
up at the Committee hearing with the text he planned to submit for months but
no one was aware of or could prepare for.
For years
it’s been obvious that certain House Criminal-Sub Committee members do not
enjoy seeing or hearing from me, my attendance annoys them. But attending these
meetings has taught me a lot about our system, the expected processes and their
character which has become extremely beneficial.
If
Delegates Bell, Albo and Peace are truly considering combining their three
Bills into one then anyone who is tracking one Bill will have no idea that when
another Bill is on a docket that a substitute is planned that will include the
issues they were planning to oppose or support. This planned “Frankenstein” Bill would make it
impossible for the citizens of Virginia to know what is going on in the
Virginia Legislature and to have their voice heard because there is no way to
prepare a statement ahead of time or to know to attend a hearing for a Bill
number that you weren’t even tracking.
Are House
Committee Hearing “by ambush” approved by the Speaker of the House?
This year
the Virginia House was supposed to be more transparent, not less.
If the
conversation that occurred last night in Criminal-Sub is factual and not just
intended to tick me off then this is not Open Government but Cloak-and -Dagger
Politics which is unacceptable.
Decoy-Bills and Frankstein-Bills by Virginia Delegates are an intentional underhanded
maneuver to sneak proposals past the citizens of Virginia
If you
are as upset with this plan to combine Bills so that citizens who are tracking
one but not the other may miss their one opportunity to oppose it because it’s
be slid into another Bill please contact the Virginia Speaker of the House
William Howell DelWHowell@house.virginia.gov OR 804-698-1028
TODAY!
Be polite,
be brief, stick to this particular issue and always be factual.
Thank you
for your support.
Mary
Davye Devoy