[NFBV-Announce] 2021 Legislative Priorities from the Blind of Virginia

Sat Jan 16 04:15:05 UTC 2021

Please find the 2021 Legislative Priorities from the Blind of Virginia
pasted below and attached in a PDF document.

2021 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FROM THE BLIND OF VIRGINIA

Priority #1: Enable blind people to vote independently and accessibly

Action: Co-patron HB1888 (Patron Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg) and SB
1331 (Patron Senator Bryce Reeves) 

Issue: The right to cast a private and secure ballot is a fundamental pillar
of American democracy that is currently denied to blind and print disabled
Virginian voters, as absentee ballots are not made available in electronic
format such that a blind or print disabled voter can use screen-reading or
other technology to complete and submit the ballot. Instead, these voters
must rely on sighted assistance to complete a paper ballot, compromising
privacy and increasing the risk of errors.

Solution:  HB1888 includes a provision that will allow blind and print
disabled voters to receive a ballot electronically, use a computer to
indicate how they wish to vote, and print out the ballot to be mailed to
their local election official.  SB1331 is a stand-alone bill containing just
these provisions. This process is largely already in use by uniformed and
oversees citizens (UOCAVA voters).  

Priority #2: Streamline the hiring process for Virginians with disabilities
seeking employment with the Commonwealth of Virginia 

Action: Co-patron HB 2140 (Patron Delegate Guzman) 

Issue: One in ten Virginians have a disability as defined by the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990. On October 27, 2020, the Virginia Department
of Human Resource Management (DHRM) released its Progress Report on
Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities. Though DHRM
implemented a disability self-identification form, according to the report,
individuals with disabilities represent just 1% of Executive Branch
employees-well below the 5% benchmark set in 2017. 

Solution: This action will support the increased hiring of people with
disabilities into Virginia's government jobs and will enable data to be
gathered regarding progress toward the 2017 hiring benchmark of 5%. Through
this legislation, the General Assembly establishes hiring of people with
disabilities as a priority of Virginia government. 

Additional Priorities:

Priority #3:  Enable blind Virginians to live independently

Action: Support the Governor's budget proposal for DBVI

The Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) provides employment
and independent living training to assist Virginians who are blind,
deaf/blind, or vision impaired to live productive lives. In 2020, the
General Assembly approved $1.9 million to support employment and independent
living services. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Assembly
unallotted the $1.9 million for the DBVI. This year's Governor's budget
request restores funding for independent living teaching ($57,000 in 2021
and $357,000 in 2022).

Priority #4:  Add Disability to the Virginia Human Rights Act (HB 1848
Patron Mark Sickles) 

Action: Co-patron HB 1848 

This bill adds discrimination on the basis of disability as an unlawful
employment practice under the Virginia Human Rights Act. These changes help
to reduce unemployment for blind people and provide protections from
discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, thus modernizing
the Virginians with Disabilities Act.

Priority #5: Make new crosswalks safer for drivers and blind pedestrians
(HB1841 Patron Mark Keam)

Action: Co-patron HB1841

This bill standardizes new crosswalks to use the Virginia Department of
Transportation (VDOT) approved zebra markings for crosswalks and tactile
markings at end points. Tactile markings enable blind pedestrians to
identify and safely navigate street crossings. Standardizing these features
comports with VDOT's 2014 pedestrian policy. 

*****

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

The National Federation of the Blind is America's largest and most active
organization of the blind. With more than 50,000 members, we are not an
"agency" claiming to speak for the blind; we are blind people speaking for
ourselves. In Virginia, we are organized into 14 local chapters throughout
the Commonwealth, and into various special interest divisions.

Tracy Soforenko

President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

202 285-4595

 <mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com

 <http://www.nfb.org> www.nfb.org

 <http://www.nfbv.org> www.nfbv.org

National Federation of the Blind. Live the Life You Want

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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