From the desk of Delegate Danny Marshall:
The past week required many long hours in Committees and Legislative Session, as we finished work on all the House bills that would move on to the Senate by Crossover, which was Tuesday, February 13th. During this very busy schedule, at times there were quick, nice breaks to receive visits from folks from home who had traveled to Richmond.
At the request of our office, Reverend Tim Lee, the pastor of Kentuck Baptist Church in Ringgold was invited to offer the invocation on Monday morning for the House of Delegates. His wife, Denise, who is worship leader and music minister, joined us as well. After the prayer, many members of the House personally expressed appreciation to Pastor Lee for the blessing of his prayer.
During the week we had visits from economic developers, broadband representatives, and other business groups from our area. The ARC of Southside, the Civil Air Patrol, and Jewish Community Relations Council constituents all came by with helpful information.
On Wednesday our office hosted a group of students and administrators from Danville Community College, including the President, Dr. Jerry Wallace. They visited the House gallery during the Legislative Session, were introduced, and received a warm welcome from the House of Delegates.
Regarding our legislative work, in previous newsletters I have shared the challenges of legislating as a member of the minority party in Richmond. With Democrats in the majority (51-49) in the House of Delegates, they have all of the Committee Chairs and a majority on each committee. In short, they can pass whatever they want without a single vote from Republicans.
Often that leads to bad legislation. But as we are seeing in the 2024 General Assembly session, it also sometimes leads to *silly* legislation.
HB 644 - Gas-powered leaf blowers; local prohibition or regulation, civil penalty.
As the bill summary suggests, this bill would allow localities to ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Not only would this reduce consumer choice, it would hurt countless yard maintenance businesses. The measure was introduced by a Democrat from Arlington. This is a typical Northern Virginia bill that ignores the reality of why gas-powered machines are preferred by many consumers and businesses.
I am sad to report that this bill cleared subcommittee and full committee by identical party-line votes. But I am relieved to report that it was “passed by” on what would have been the third and final reading on the House floor, and sent back to committee. So for the moment, your gas-powered leaf blowers remain legal.
HB 776 - Law-enforcement officers; minimum qualifications, citizenship, waiver.
This bill, introduced by one of the Democrat’s House Leaders, allows non-citizens to qualify to be Chiefs of Police or any other law enforcement positions in the Commonwealth. Although the bill reads that a non-citizen must have been "lawfully admitted" into the United States to qualify, we all know that the definition of "lawfully admitted" has drastically loosened over the past several years. The responsibility placed upon our law enforcement to uphold our laws is extraordinary, and we should ensure that those in who we place our trust are, at the very least, current citizens of this country.
I am sad to report that this bill has cleared the House and has been sent to the State Senate.
The best that other Republicans and I can do this session is to continue to be a consistent voice for common sense policies and to oppose unnecessary government intrusion into our personal and professional lives.
If you want to track legislation during the session, the General Assembly has several ways you can do it. Go to https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/. You can view committee hearings and floor sessions live. You can also view them in the website’s archive.
As always we love to hear from constituents! If you have any questions or need more information, please contact me at
