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In One Vote, Lawmakers Strike More Than 20 Constitutional Amendments

Steve Helber
/
AP

 

Should Virginia’s gerrymandered districts be redrawn by a nonpartisan commission? Should former felons be able to vote? These are questions that some lawmakers want to put on the ballot for voters to decide, but it looks unlikely they'll get the chance. 

 

It’s not every day that two dozen constitutional amendments are killed in one swift vote. But that’s what happened here at the Capitol earlier this week, a move that still has Democrats buzzing about how Republicans are operating a government without accountability or transparency.

Democratic House Leader David Toscano:

“Virginians want a vote. They want a vote on the House floor, and we are going to keep pressing until we get one.”

Republican Delegate Randy Minchew is chairman of the panel that killed all those amendments in a block vote, despite objects from lawmakers on his subcommittee.

Watch what happened here: discussion on block vote begins at minute 27

But, he says, any of those bills can be raised again when the full Privileges and Elections Committee meets next.

One Minchew says he actually likes is Republican Delegate Greg Habeeb’s amendment that would move some powers from the governor to the General Assembly.

“It appeared to be a good balance between allowing those people who paid their debts to society to have an opportunity to have an opportunity to come back into society,” said Minchew. 

And yet Minchew voted against that amendment this week. He says that's because Republican leadership had asked his subcommittee to limit the number of proposals they passed.

The full list of constitutional amendments no the subcomittee's agenda can be seen here.

 

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