[Nfbv-announce] Legislative Update

[Mark W. Roane]

Good afternoon all,

I wanted to let you all know where we stand in the General Assembly on HB1291 and SB678.

Senate Bill SB678 "crossed over" to the House of Delegates and was heard by the House committee on General Laws on Thursday afternoon.  I, along with several others from VRCBVI, was in the committee room to hear the proceedings.  Our presence in the room was acknowledged by the committee and we were allowed to address the committee before they took action on the bill.  As expected, the committee moved to conform SB678 to HB1291 and the measure passed on an 18 to 4 vote.

After the measure passed but before the committee adjourned, the chair of the committee, Delegate Chris Jones, informed us that these bills still had items to resolve and that they would be  heading to a Conference Committee on which he will be serving as a conferee.  He said that he knew that we had concerns about the bill and he extended an invitation for us to meet with him to discuss them.

On Friday morning, I met with Delegate Jones and had what I believe was a very positive meeting.  I was able to share with him several points that he was unaware of and he thanked me for being there to bring them to his attention.  I did not get any assurance from him that this matter would turn out favorably for us but I did leave with the feeling that he is a good man looking for all the information he needs to make an informed decision.  I think that is all that we could have expected.

I now would encourage all of you to call Delegate Chris Jones at (804) 698-1076 and thank him for taking the time to meet with us and become more informed about our concerns.  Also tell him that you hope now that he has this information that he will stand on the side of what is best for all blind Virginians.

There are still several more steps in this process and I will keep all of you informed as things develop.  Thanks for the great job all of you did making phone calls this week.  I know that it is making a difference.

Mark