Legislation in VA Senate/General Assembly

WAB Members:  We have received a request from the Virginia Bicycling Federation asking that you consider contacting your State Delegate and Senator regarding several pieces of biking-related legislation moving through the Virginia Senate and General Assembly, which will be considered in Committee Thursday Jan 23.  Please see the specific information below, and contact your State Delegate and Senator to urge their support. For those generally in the Williamsburg area, Amanda Batten is the State Delegate and Danny Diggs the Senator.  Thank you for your consideration.The following information is provided by the Virginia Bicycling Federation (VBF), who ask that you contact senators, especially if you live in their district. They are most interested in Senator Ebbin’s  SB1416 that would update language in Virginia’s careless driving statute to protect “Vulnerable Road Users”. VBF wrote the following:

• I ask that you support  SB1416  (Ebbin) when it is heard in the Senate Transportation Committee this Thursday (January 23).  The bill would clarify Virginia's existing careless driving statute (§  46.2-816.1 ) to convict more effectively careless motorists who injure or kill "vulnerable road users". As someone who often walks and rides a bicycle in your district, this bill would encourage drivers to be more cautious when they see cyclists and provide more opportunity to punish them when their carelessness harms me or another bicyclist or pedestrian.

VBF also provided the following information.Four important bills will be voted on in the  House Transportation Innovations subcommittee  on Wednesday afternoon that would enable localities to make our streets safer, particularly for people who walk and bike. Please  use this link to provide comments  or to sign up to speak in support of these bills:

• Delegate Jones’  HB1666 and Delegate Seibold’s  HB2041  – Allows localities to expand use of speed safety cameras to high-risk corridors (currently only allowed in school and work zones).  
• Delegate Jones’  HB1673  – Allows localities to use photo enforcement for crosswalk and stop sign violations (not just speed violations) at school crossing zones, highway work zones, and high-risk intersections. 
• Delegate Jones’  HB1664  - Allows localities without a law-enforcement agency to operate speed safety cameras  provided the locality authorizes the  law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction to fulfill duties required for use of these systems.  

Please also contact your delegate directly if they are a member of the  House Transportation Innovations subcommittee , namely; Delegates  Glass  (Chair),  Carr ,  Sewell ,  McClure ,  Feggans ,  Wiley ,  O'Quinn ,  Griffin , and  Delaney . If you are unsure of who your legislators are, enter your address  here .Four additional bills will be voted on in the  Senate Transportation Committee  on Thursday afternoon. Please send comments supporting the bills below to your Senator if they serve on this committee, namely: Senators  Boysko  (Chair),   Marsden ,  DeSteph ,  Suetterlein ,  Hashmi ,  Hackworth ,  Bagby ,  Sturtevant ,  Aird ,  Roem ,  Williams Graves ,  Diggs ,  Pekarsky ,  Mulchi ,  Srinivasan ,  and Cifers

• Senator Surovell’s SB1007  will provide new, dedicated revenue for active mobility and safety infrastructure in Northern Virginia. This initiative would impose an annual $0.50 tax on each parking space in any private off-street parking facility with revenue to be allocated to a new Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Safety Improvements Infrastructure Fund. 
• Senator Williams Graves’  SB1233  will allow use of photo enforcement for crosswalk and stop sign violations (not just speed violations) at school crossing zones, highway work zones, and high-risk intersections. 
• Senator Surovell’s  SB776 will allow state and local police to enforce federal traffic violations in Northern Virginia.
• Senator Ebbin’s  SB1416 will update language in Virginia’s careless driving statute to protect “Vulnerable Road Users”  ( Section §46.2-816.1 ) to make it more effective at holding offenders accountable. See this  recent Washington Post article . 

Check out this Virginia Bicycling Federation (VBF)  Blog Post  for more information, and Please consider acting today to contact your legislators!!!Edward Millner RABA  Bicycling Advocacy Director