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Greetings once again from Richmond! We had visitors from the Sixth District in the office throughout the week, and we are always glad to see familiar faces. The Commissioners of Revenue had a Legislative Day on Tuesday and we were happy to welcome Giles County Commissioner Anne Chambers and Bland County Commissioner Cindy Wright. That same day, County Treasurers were in Richmond and Wythe County Treasurer Sam Crockett paid us a visit.
Dan Level of Pearisburg, Curtis Graham of Dublin, and Ira Wertz of Pulaski came to the Capitol representing AARP and Radford University brought a delegation of students and faculty on Thursday. Jeff Bourne, a Wytheville native who worked for Mark Warner and is now an attorney in Richmond came by. He is looking forward to fatherhood later this year. It was a busy week for legislation on firearms, and the House passed several bills concerning concealed weapon permit holders. HB 873 passed, stating that veterans do not have to prove their own competence to carry a concealed weapon. The rationale is that they were well-trained in the use of firearms during their military service. HB 529 gives more continuity to permit holders; when a permit holder applies for, and is granted, a new five-year permit, that new permit will become valid upon the expiration of the first. Also, HB 1220 grants law enforcement officers the right to continue carrying a concealed weapon without a permit while they are on leave for a service-related injury. There were also health care bills that came to the floor this week. HB 1447 adds representatives from housing and transportation organizations to local long-term care coordination committees. One interesting development this week was HB 502. This bill would have given preference to one health provider group over another, taking away equal opportunity for hospitals and ignoring COPN regulations. It has been stricken and re-entered, amending out the “preference” language, which satisfies hospital concerns. Pulaski County will be glad to know that a bill I entered on their request is having its concerns taken care of non-legislatively. The bill, HB 568, would give counties the authority to label certain roads unsafe for tractor-trailers and restrict them from using these roads. We have been working closely with VDOT on this matter, and VDOT has worked quickly and smoothly to see that the county’s needs are met. All the bills that pass the House of Delegates will shortly be communicated to the Senate, where they will be read and voted upon. Please feel free to contact us here in Richmond with legislative concerns: Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark, Sixth District
General Assembly Building – Room 819
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 698-1006
Fax: (804) 698-6706
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