Rep Karen A. Keys-Gamarra (HD-007)
Virginia Housesince 10 months
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SPONSORED LEGISLATION
HJR2 - Constitutional amendment; qualifications of voters, right to vote, persons not entitled to vote.
Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated about 1 year ago
40 Co-Sponsors
Constitutional amendment (first reference); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution of Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
STATUS
Introduced
HB33 - Public drinking water; Commissioner of Health's work group to study occurrence of microplastics.
Nadarius E. Clark, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated 11 months ago
25 Co-Sponsors
Commissioner of Health; work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water; report. Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.
STATUS
Introduced
HB1490 - Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices, days and hours of operation.
Atoosa R. Reaser, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated 10 months ago
19 Co-Sponsors
Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; days and hours of operation. Authorizes the governing body of any county or city establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in person to prescribe, by ordinance, the dates and hours of operation for such offices. The bill prohibits any reduction in the dates or hours of operation of such offices to be enacted within 60 days of any general election. Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; days and hours of operation. Authorizes the governing body of any county or city establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in person to prescribe, by ordinance, the dates and hours of operation for such offices. The bill prohibits any reduction in the dates or hours of operation of such offices to be enacted within 60 days of any general election.
STATUS
Engrossed
HJR21 - Higher educational institutions, public; SCHEV to study guaranteed first-year admission policy.
Holly M. Seibold, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae C. Cousins
Last updated 11 months ago
10 Co-Sponsors
Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; guaranteed first-year admission; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study the feasibility of implementing a guaranteed first-year admission policy at each public institution of higher education for certain high school graduates in the Commonwealth and report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Study; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; guaranteed first-year admission; report. Requests the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study the feasibility of implementing a guaranteed first-year admission policy at each public institution of higher education for certain high school graduates in the Commonwealth and report its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
STATUS
Introduced
HB386 - Public schools; increase staffing ratios for specialized student support positions.
Phil M. Hernandez, Bonita Grace Anthony, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 11 months ago
19 Co-Sponsors
Public school staffing ratios; specialized student support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local school board from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000 students in the local school division. Such specialized student support positions include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.
STATUS
Introduced
HB158 - Firearm locking device; required for sale or transfer of firearm.
Adele Y. McClure, Michael J. Jones, Alfonso H. Lopez
Last updated 10 months ago
24 Co-Sponsors
Firearm locking device required for sale or transfer of firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer unless the transferee is provided with a locking device for that firearm and the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so. The bill provides exceptions for law-enforcement and governmental agencies.
STATUS
Engrossed
HJR9 - Constitutional amendment; marriage between two individuals.
Mark D. Sickles, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, David L. Bulova
Last updated 11 months ago
28 Co-Sponsors
Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage. Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.
STATUS
Introduced
HB406 - Clean Water Act; cooling water intakes at power plants.
Nadarius E. Clark, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Rozia A. Henson
Last updated 11 months ago
9 Co-Sponsors
Department of Environmental Quality; enforcement Department of Environmental Quality; enforcement of regulations; Clean Water Act; cooling water intakes at power plants. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to promptly enforce federal regulations implementing a provision of the federal Clean Water Act for cooling water intakes at power plants to reduce negative impacts on fish populations in the waters of the Commonwealth.
STATUS
Introduced
HB1013 - Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act; permits electronic nontestamentary estate docs.
Amy J. Laufer, Nadarius E. Clark, Karen A. Keys-Gamarra
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act. Permits electronic nontestamentary estate planning documents, defined in the bill as certain enumerated records relating to estate planning that are readable as text at the time of signing and are not wills or contained in wills, to be signed and notarized, as appropriate, by electronic means. The bill provides that such electronic nontestamentary estate planning documents shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability or excluded as evidence in a proceeding solely because such documents are in electronic form. The bill also allows for the electronic presence, as that term is defined in the bill, of any witness who is otherwise required by law to be in the physical presence of the person signing the nontestamentary estate planning document.
STATUS
Introduced
BIOGRAPHY
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Representative from Virginia district HD-007
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Virginia House
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