City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 24, 2016
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of an Update on the 2016 General Assembly Session.
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ISSUE: Update on the 2016 General Assembly Session.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve the legislative positions included in Attachment 2 (Recommended Positions on Bills of Importance to the City), as recommended by Council's Legislative Subcommittee.
DISCUSSION: The 2016 General Assembly Session began on January 13 and is scheduled to adjourn on March 12. The deadline for the introduction of legislation was Friday, January 22.1 As of that date, 2,553 bills and resolutions had been introduced. Many of them deal with perennial issues, such as absentee voting, restoration of civil rights to felons who have completed their prison time, guns, minimum wage, and domestic violence.
City Package. The following bills seek the enactment of proposals addressed in the City's legislative package. Attachment 1 is a more detailed status report on City Package bills.
* A number of constitutional amendments have been proposed in both the House and the Senate to provide for the restoration of civil rights for persons who have been convicted of nonviolent felonies, but completed their sentence, probation, and parole. All are likely to be defeated or carried over for consideration by the 2017 Session.
* Many bills have been introduced to allow for more liberal absentee or early voting. Several would let anyone 65 or older vote absentee; others would allow anyone to vote absentee without providing a reason (the Virginia Code currently allows absentee voting for 11 different reasons, such as being out of town on Election Day, or being ill or disabled); and still others would allow anyone to vote prior to El...
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