The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee moved a package of House bills forward during its hearing. Several measures were reported with little debate and sent to the next stage; others required technical amendments or were re-referred to finance.
Highlights from the committee record:
- House Bill 17 03 (patron: Delegate Boulevard) — reported: roll call recorded "Ayes 12, No 0." (motion to report the bill).
- House Bill 2,647 (patron: Keys Gamara) — initial motion recorded "Ayes 9, No 2;" committee later amended and recorded a subsequent vote "Ayes 8, No 5" when the motion was changed to report and re-refer to finance.
- House Bill 2,485 (patron: Delegate Krizak) — recorded vote: "Ayes 8, No 5." Committee noted the bill was identical to a senate measure on cannabis retail market.
- House Bill 17 59 (patron: Delegate Gardner) — committee adopted a line amendment to conform the House bill to Senate language and re-referred the bill to finance; roll call recorded "Ayes 14, No 0."
- House Bill 2,058 (patron: Delegate Krizak) — reported: "Ayes 14, No 0." Committee noted ABC technical corrections.
- House Bill 2,597 (patron: Delegate Rasul) — committee accepted line amendments to conform to Senate substitute; recorded as "Ayes 15, No 0."
- House Bill 15 89 — committee voted to re-refer incorrectly-assigned bill back to courts: vote recorded "Ayes 15, No 0."
- House Bill 17 23 (Virginia Commission to End Hunger) — recorded vote: "Ayes 15, No 0." (section 1 bill; committee noted a required report).
- House Bill 2,033 (human trafficking recognition training for ABC licensees) — recorded vote: "Ayes 15, No 0." Committee noted training would be posted by ABC and remain permissive, not mandatory.
- House Bill 19 94 (free potable tap water requirement for ABC on-premise licensees) — reported: recorded "Ayes 14, No 0, 1 abstention." Committee adopted a substitute that clarifies penalty steps and scope.
- House Bill 18 94 (extreme temperature bill for prisons) — reported with recorded vote "Ayes 9, No 6." (See separate article on facility temperatures.)
- House Bill 2,467 (expand authority of State Board of Local and Regional Jails) — committee considered fiscal estimates and stakeholder concerns; the maker moved to pass by indefinitely and the roll call recorded "Ayes 15, No 0." Committee chair agreed to send a letter to the board requesting further review.
The committee also heard public comment on many of these items. Where the transcript recorded only the roll call without a named mover, the record shows the clerk's votes as read aloud. Several items that required additional fiscal analysis were re-referred to the finance committee.