2023 General Assembly Session

That includes the governor’s 15-week abortion ban, or any other legislation that seeks to restrict access to reproductive healthcare. The decision to have or not have children should be in the hands of people, not politicians. We are also exploring options to permanently guarantee a right to reproductive freedom in our Commonwealth and will continue to work with our partners to determine the best path forward. 

Bills we're watching:

• HB1395 (total abortion ban): HB1395 is a “life at conception” bill that outright bans abortion, regardless of circumstances, and may also prohibit some forms of contraception. We oppose it.
• HB2278 (15-week abortion ban): HB2278 bans abortion after 15 weeks, giving the government control of Virginians’ private reproductive decisions. We emphatically oppose it.
   

We will fight to block any bill that will result in harm or discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in our communities and in our schools.

Bills we're watching:

• SB791 (trans healthcare ban): SB791 would prohibit healthcare professionals from providing or even referring transgender teenagers for medically necessary health care. It also erodes current protections prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity in health insurance and requiring coverage of gender affirming care for adults by making that coverage optional. We oppose it.
• HB1387, HB1399, SB911, SB962, and SB1186 (trans sports ban): These bills would ban transgender students from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity and discriminate against them based on harmful myths about trans athletes. We oppose them.
• HB1707 equates being trans with the risk of being suicidal to justify the forced outing of trans youth. It would lead to further stigmatization and harm of trans youth.
• HB2432 seeks to narrow the legal definition of “abuse and neglect” when it is applied to trans kids.
• HB1434 would require a court order to change a student's name on any school record. Such a requirement is unnecessary and risks creating a hostile learning environment.
• HJ532/SJ242 is a procedural step to amend the Virginia Constitution to remove the outdated, defunct ban on same-sex marriage.
• HB2170 would require parental consent and notification whenever a student participates in a school club, such as a Gender-Sexuality Alliance or Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club. In effect, it would deter youth from joining certain school clubs out of fear of being outed.

We will bring the full weight of our efforts to kill legislation that seeks to further censor books or ban the teaching of inclusive history in our schools. Such legislation is not good for students, for families, or for Virginia.

We will oppose any and all efforts to roll back that progress. And we have not lost sight of the need for an equitable Amendment that guarantees the right to vote for every Virginian over the age of 18. 

Bills we're watching:

• HB 1444 reduces the in-person absentee voting time period from 45 days to 7 days, repeals provisions for voters without photo ID, and repeals the permanent absentee voter registration list.
• HB 1467 shortens the early voting period, reduces the in-person absentee voting time period from 45 days to 4 days, eliminates ballot drop-off locations, and voids any ballot without a voter’s lasrt 4 digits of their social security numbera and a witness signature.
• SB 794 replaces any ballot cast without a photo ID with a provisional ballot, which could hinder voters or disqualify otherwise-valid votes.

Second Look allows people who’ve taken steps to rehabilitate themselves to go back before a judge to show they’ve done the work to merit a reduced sentence. Data shows that extremely long sentences don’t increase public safety. Everyone deserves a second chance.

Bills we're watching:

• SB842 (Second Look legislation): SB842 seeks to give people who have rehabilitated and are no longer a threat to public safety a second chance at resentencing and coming home to their families. We strongly support it.

Incarcerated people and their families are deeply burdened by price-gouging for commissary goods and services like phone calls and emails. Families with incarcerated loved ones should not be funding prisons and jails, and they shouldn’t have to go into debt just to stay in touch with their loved ones.

Bills we're watching:

• HB2039 & SB889 would eliminate or cap certain fees charged to people incarcerated in local jails and deter exploitative practices that impact them & their families.
• SB1274 seeks to make prison phone calls free of charge to people who are incarcerated and their families. Family connection helps a person rehabilitate & reduce recidivism.

VDOC has a $1.6 billion dollar budget, houses almost 25,000 people in 43 facilities, and employs 11,000 staff members. Yet it is allowed to operate in secret with no accountability for what happens behind bars. With no meaningful oversight, serious grievances from people who are incarcerated or from staff go unaddressed, while VDOC can take whatever actions it pleases without consequences. An agency of its size that impacts as many people as it does needs independent oversight to ensure that people are treated humanely.  

Bills we're watching:

• SB994 (state prison oversight): SB994 seeks to establish independent oversight over the Virginia Department of Corrections and bring more transparency & accountability to the agency.

That resulted in hundreds of people who had done the work to rehabilitate – and were scheduled to come home – being told their hard-earned releases would be delayed. That was just wrong. We anticipate there will be bills this legislative session aimed at making the governor’s budget amendments permanent, further rolling back the progress on Earned Sentence Credits. We will fight hard to stop those bills and to ensure opportunities for incarcerated people to earn their release.   

Bills we're watching:

• HB1603 (earned sentence credit repeal): HB1603 seeks to roll back the progress made in 2020 on the earned sentence credit program, which provides incentives for people to rehabilitate & earn their early release.

Code failures have allowed the process to become politicized and resulted in incarcerated people becoming political pawns. We seek reforms to the parole board including but not limited to repealing Virginia’s Parole Board FOIA exception, transparency in decision-making about parole, and a more representative board structure. 

We’ll also continue our support of the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement to debunk the myths that VDOC perpetuates about its use of the barbaric practice. 

Bills we're watching:

• SB887 (end solitary confinement): SB887 is a step in the right direction to end solitary confinement — a barbaric & cruel practice — in Virginia's state prisons.
• HB1380, HB1445, SB875, and SB1010 (bring back pretextual policing): These bills would allow police officers to use minor traffic infractions like a broken tail light as pretexts to stop & search your vehicles.