The
Virginia General Assembly is nearing the conclusion of its work for 2020, so
this past week saw long hours spent debating bills in committee and on the
floor. The 2020 session is scheduled to end next Saturday, March 7. We
appreciate your taking action on the many alerts we’ve sent over these past two
months. And we’re not done yet! Be on the lookout for a few more alerts next week
as we reach critical points on a few final issues.
Attend
Virginia Vespers March 5! Please register
now. Bishop Knestout, Bishop Burbidge and the Virginia Catholic Conference
will host the fifth annual Virginia Vespers: Evening
Prayer for the Commonwealth on Thursday, March 5
at the beautiful historic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond. The
liturgy begins at 5 p.m. A reception follows, and all are invited.
Registration closes on March 2, so don’t wait: register
now!
Attend a Pro-Life
Rally on the Steps of the U.S. Supreme Court! The
U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments next week in the case of June Medical
Services v. Gee. The Louisiana law in question requires abortion
clinics to have admitting privileges at local hospitals – a common sense
protection for women. On Wednesday, March 4 there will be a rally on
the steps of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC 8:00am – noon.
As Virginians, many of us live close enough to participate locally!
Extreme abortion bills pass both chambers: We are
deeply disappointed to report that HB 980 and SB 733 both made it through the rest of the legislative
process this week and are on their way to the Governor’s desk. If Governor Northam
signs them into law, it would mean that Virginian women will be able to obtain
first trimester abortions from nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, with no
ultrasound or 24-hour waiting period, and without obtaining informed written
consent information like the risks involved, the gestational age and written
materials/ alternatives. These bills would also repeal health and safety
protections at abortion facilities. On Monday the Senate passed HB 980 on
a 20-20 tie vote broken by the Lieutenant Governor. The House
passed SB 733 Thursday night on a vote of 53-45.
Religious Liberty: Activity continued this week on
three bills (SB 868, HB 1049 and HB 1663) to make “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”
protected classes in various areas of state law including housing, employment,
public accommodations and public contracts. On Monday, Delegate LaRock (R –
Hamilton) offered a floor amendment to SB 868 that attempted to make clear that religious
employers can follow their religious tenets in their employment practices. The
language he offered would have conformed the bill’s language to a religious
exemption found in federal law. His amendment, however, was rejected 54-46. The bill then passed the House 54-46. HB 1663 (identical to SB 868) passed a Senate committee
last night and will be debated on the Senate floor sometime next week. Be on
the lookout for another alert from us on Monday, as we continue to seek
amendments to enable religious employers and ministries to follow their beliefs
regarding marriage and sexuality. Meanwhile, we are pleased to report that, on HB 1049, the Senate committee added language to protect the
ability of Catholic Charities and other faith-based organizations to partner
with the state to provide refugee resettlement and other services. We
appreciate the extensive time the committee spent discussing this concern and
especially thank Senator Siobhan Dunnavant (R – Henrico) for offering the
amendment and for her persuasive and effective presentation of it in the
committee meeting.
Protecting Consumers from Predatory Lending: Last
week, SB 421, a bill to extend a 36 percent interest rate cap to
“short term” (payday) loans, passed the House 61-36. SB 421 would also apply the laws regulating consumer
finance companies to loans contracted over the Internet. The House companion
version (HB 789) passed the Senate Wednesday 28-12 (with an amendment) and the amended legislation was
approved by the House (62-30).
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In prayer and in public, your voices are urgently needed to bring Gospel values
to bear on vital decisions being made by those who represent you.
