Updated with vote tallies that became available Wednesday morning.
Three proposed amendments to the state constitution that would enshrine abortion rights, restore civil rights to convicted felons after they’ve served their time and guarantee a right to same-sex marriage advanced in the General Assembly on Tuesday.
All three amendments passed the House of Delegates and also passed out of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. They are expected to pass the state Senate as well but must pass both chambers again next year before going to voters for a referendum.
The abortion rights amendment, HJ 1, passed the House on a party-line vote of 51 yes, 48 against, with all Democrats voting yes and all Republicans voting no. The Senate version, SJ 247, passed out of committee on a party line vote of 8-6.
The other two amendments picked up some Republican votes, but the lists of who had voted which way weren’t available Tuesday night.
The civil rights restoration amendment, HJ 2, passed 55-44, picking up four Republican votes. The Republicans who voted yes were Mike Cherry of Colonial Heights, A.C. Cordoza of Hampton, Carrie Coyner of Chesterfield County and Kim Taylor of Dinwiddie County. Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, did not vote. The Senate version, SJ 248, passed committee on an 8-6 party line vote.
The same-sex marriage amendment, HJ 9, passed 58-35, with two abstentions, picking up seven Republican votes. The Republicans who voted yes were Robert Bloxom of Accomack County, Carrie Coyner of Chesterfield County, Tom Garrett of Louisa County, Chad Green of York County, Joe McNamara of Roanoke County, Chris Obenshain of Montgomery County and Otto Wachsmann of Sussex County,
Two Republicans abstained: Amanda Batten of James City County and Bobby Orrock of Caroline County. Five did not vote: Mike Cherry of Colonial Heights, A.C. Cordoza of Hampton, Ian Lovejoy of Prince William County, Danny Marshall of Danville, and David Owen of Goochland County.
The Senate version, SJ 249, passed the committee vote 10-4.
For that vote, Sen. Danny Diggs, R-York County, and Sen. Tara Durant, R-Fredericksburg, joined with Democrats and voted yes. The two Republican members from Southwest and Southside, Sens. Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell County, and Tammy Mulchi, R-Mecklenburg County, voted no on all three amendments.
The only Democrat from the western part of the state on the Senate committee is Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, who voted yes.
In 2006, Virginia passed an amendment to the state constitution that banned recognition of same-sex marriage. Sponsored by then-Del. Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, and then-state Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, the measure was known as the Marshall-Newman amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriage in 2015, but the Marshall-Newman language remains in the Virginia constitution. If the U.S. Supreme Court decision were ever reversed, that provision would come back into force, so the purpose of HJ 9 is to repeal that amendment and add one that guarantees a right to same-sex marriage, no matter what a future U.S. Supreme Court might do.
Senate Republicans plan to introduce a bill to enshrine ‘right-to-work’ into Virginia constitution
Senate Republicans announced on Tuesday another effort to codify Virginia’s so-called “right-to-work” law in the state constitution through an amendment.
The law, which means workers aren’t required to pay union dues just because there’s a union at their workplace, was enacted in Virginia in 1947.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who joined Republicans during their press conference, pushed back against the characterization of the law as anti-union but said that it is against “forced unionization.” Earle-Sears is running for governor this year against former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger declined to seek reelection to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District in 2024 to run for the governor’s seat.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham County, said there have been numerous attempts to repeal the law in the nearly 78 years since its enactment. However, a Republican-sponsored constitutional amendment to enshrine the law in the state constitution was defeated by voters in 2016 by a vote of 54% to 46%.
— Elizabeth Beyer
Pillion co-sponsors bill for Fairfax County casino
Fairfax County is making another push to get a casino. An effort in 2024 failed, but on Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, introduced another measure to add Fairfax to the list of localities authorized to host casinos.
All the others — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Petersburg and Portsmouth — are in the southern part of the state, located in communities that have been deemed economically distressed in some way.
Proponents of a Fairfax casino say they’re losing potential revenue to Maryland. Surovell’s bill — SB 982 — is co-sponsored by state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax County, and two notable co-sponsors from downstate: Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, and Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, whose district includes the Hard Rock Casino in Bristol.
“Virginia can not continue to lose hundreds of millions in tax revenue to Maryland,” Pillion said in a statement. “The positive impacts of this bill will reach far and wide across the Commonwealth, helping to fund our important priorities and keeping our taxes low.”