Today was a good day at the legislature.
I’m happy to report that SB1220, Senator Reeve’s Following Too Closely, reported from Senate Transportation unanimously, 15-0.
Senator Reeves did a great job presenting the bill.
There were a few questions regarding the ability to enforce the law The State Police testified that if this were enacted, they would investigate an incident the same way they would a car on car accident. In the case of a blatant tailgating situation, the police could use their judgement and charge if appropriate.
The VBF, of course, spoke in favor of the bill as did Drive Smart Virginia’s, Janet Brooking. No one spoke in opposition.
The bill passed on a voice vote, with no opposition. A number of Senators were out of the room at the time. Checking back, it appears those absent cast proxy votes and the bill has reported from the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously, 15-0. This is very good news for us and is a testimony to everyones’ hard work. Well done!
In other news, Senator Dance presented her Maintenance Funding bills, SB952 and SB953 which were identical to the House Bills offered by Betsy Carr and acted upon last week.
As expected, both bills were tabled but the Committee recommended they be referred to the Commission on Transportation Accountability. Recommending that they be reviewed by the Commission will allow the legislature to investigate a new policy area which is a positive outcome.
Finally, Senator Jennifer Wexton presented SB1279, her anti-texting bill. It was was tabled, 8-7.
Wexton’s bill was amended to be identical to Delegate Anderson’s HB1926.
There were a number of people speaking in favor of the bill including the VBF, DriveSmart, AAA and a gentleman who had been involved in a distracted driving accident several years ago.
The only people speaking against it were HAM radio operators who felt this might interfere with their ability to assist in times of crisis.
Voting AGAINST the bill: Newman, Watkins, Wagner, McDougle, Smith, Carrico, Alexander, Cosgrove–8.
Voting in FAVOR: Deeds, Marsden, McWaters, Colgan, Favola, Edwards, Wexton–7.
Finally, I’m happy to report that I had a cordial discussion with Delegate Riley Ingram, Patron of the Mandatory Sidepath Bill, HB1746. Delegate Ingram is open to considering a much more limited scope which is a move in the right direction.
We will continue to explore options with him.
In the meantime, I encourage interested advocates to stay tuned until we have further developments.
Champe
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