Gov. Youngkin has signed legislation patroned by a local delegate, updating Virginia’s law against using a telecommunications device to harass or hinder emergency-services personnel.
The measure from Del. Rip Sullivan (D-McLean-Arlington) expands the types of communication devices covered under the existing statute to incorporate modern technology. The current statue specifies only telephones and pagers.
The initial statute (referencing telephones) dates back to 1950; the last update was in 2015. It is Code of Virginia §18.2-429.
The measure had little trouble landing on Gov. Youngkin’s desk, winning passage on votes of 98-0 in the House of Delegates and 40-0 in the state Senate. A companion bill, patroned by Del. Jeremy McPike (D-Woodbridge), also won passage and was signed into law.
The changes go into effect July 1. The penalty remains the same: As a Class 1 misdemeanor, anyone found guilty of attempting to “annoy, harass, hinder or delay emergency personnel in the performances of their duties” by using a communications device could result in sentences of up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.
Ebbin Again Feels Sting of Veto Pen: A year ago, Gov. Youngkin set what may have been a modern-day record by vetoing nine pieces of legislation patroned by state Sen. Adam Ebbin.
This year, there was just a single veto of an Ebbin bill – but that still represented a third of the total number of vetoes to date issued by the governor coming out of the 2023 session.
His Excellency (fun fact: that’s how Virginia’s governors are known) wielded his veto pen on SB1085, a bill patroned by Ebbin to convene a work group to examine the issue of vehicle noise in Virginia.
Color Youngkin unimpressed.
“The commonwealth made a significant bipartisan step by enforcing a primary offense for exhaust systems that are not in good working order last year,” he said. “The proposed legislation is unnecessary.”
Ebbin’s initial measure received several amendments in both houses of the legislature before being sent to the governor on votes of 77-21 in the House of Delegates and 37-3 in the state Senate. It is unlikely legislative Republicans will provide the extra votes needed to override it during the upcoming veto session.
According to the Virginia Legislative Information System, Youngkin vetoed just three bills emanating from the 2023 session. In addition to SB1085, they were:
• HB1536, a measure from Del. Clinton Jenkins (D-Suffolk) requiring the Department of Human Resource Management to update the state government’s grievance-procedure manual in a specific way.
While the measure passed 98-0 in the House of Delegates and 40-0 in the state Senate, Youngkin in his veto message said it “does not achieve its intended goals and will have unintended consequences.”
• SB1051, a bill from state Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Woodbridge) that allows public-utility company or broadband-provider service vehicles to be left for up to 72 hours on private property without the consent of the property owner, provided that service or maintenance is being conducted by an employee of the company or provider on the property and such vehicle does not block the entry or exit of the property.
The bill passed on votes of 31-9 and 69-30, but Youngkin’s veto message said it “violates the fundamental rights of property owners.”
“As a cornerstone of our society, property rights must not be eroded for convenience or expediency,” he wrote. “Furthermore, this bill may result in disputes between property owners and service providers, leading to unnecessary conflict and animosity.”
While the number of 2023 vetoes has been small to date, the governor has issued recommendations on a large number of bills. Should the General Assembly not accede to those recommendations, the ranks of vetoed bills could grow.
Youngkin’s record number of vetoes of Ebbin bills last year was attributed by some to pique by the governor that the senator had led the charge in opposing some of the governor’s appointments. In certain instances, Youngkin vetoed Ebbin’s Senate version of a bill while signing identical counterpart measures patroned by legislators in the House of Delegates.
