‘Tis the holiday season and members of the General Assembly have been as busy as elves crafting legislation for the 2013 session. But among the new red tape are some of the most unique bills designed to address the rarest of issues to be filed for January’s session.
Here’s a look at some of Virginia’s wackiest new bills of the 2013 General Session:
HB 1320 Peanuts excise tax to pay for promoting peanuts
Delegate Rick Morris, R-Isle of Wight, has proposed to extend the excise tax on all peanuts grown and sold in Virginia. Its purpose: the promoting and marketing of said peanuts.
HB 1323 Scrap metal processors must report purchases
Morris is a busy man. His next bill would require scrap-metal processors to produce reports that outline every purchase of scrap metal made, excluding aluminum and household items, and submit them to local law enforcement the next business day. The goal: to stop sales of stolen metals. Currently, processors prepare the report only if requested by law enforcement.
Few would have thought you’d need a law to enforce such an obvious tenet as “don’t pay interest on someone else’s mistake.” So, bravo to Delegate Christopher Head, R-Botetourt, for ensuring that no misdeed gets paid interest.
HB 1350 Calculators prohibited on seventh- and eighth-grade math assessment tests
Take two Standards of Learning math assessment tests, subtract the calculator and you have the new bill by Delegate David Albo’s, R-Fairfax. It’s as simple as that, but be sure to check your work.
HB 1362 Making Election Day a state holiday
Delegate James Scott, D-Falls Church, proposes to make Election Day an annual holiday in the state. The goal: to increase voter turnout.
HB 1366 Smoking in a car unlawful when in the presence of a child younger than 13
Delegate Joe Morrissey, D-Charles City, wants to fine anyone who lights up in a car with a child younger than 13. The charge is $100 civil penalty but, hey, it goes to the Literary Fund. We’re waiting for the law that punishes 13-year-old smokers who are driving themselves. For that outrageous crime, the Literary Fund should literally throw a book at them — perhaps the pipe-smoking youth in “Huckleberry Finn.”
Morrissey’s next bill would implement a 5-cent tax on plastic bags used at grocery, convenience and drug stores. Failure to collect the taxes could result in stores being fined $250, $500 or $1,000, according to the bill, but there are exemptions for ice cream, meat, chicken, fish, restaurant take-out, newspapers, dry cleaning and prescription drugs.
State Sen. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson, wants to end the menace of mopeds. This bill will prohibit the use of the zippy scooters where the posted speed limit is in excess of 35 mph.
SB 736 Opening car doors near traffic
An idea so obvious they had to make it a law: State Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, puts forth a measure that requires motorists and their passengers to wait for a “reasonable opportunity” before opening a door in traffic. The bill also asks that the door be left ajar only for “as long as necessary.” Violation of the measure would result in a $100 fine. We await the next law in which “as long as necessary” is rigorously defined.
SB 687, 689, 695, 696, 697, 714 and 726 The Gambling Bills
State Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, has issued a fusillade of bills with the goal of setting up casino gaming in Virginia. The bills aim to create the Virginia Gaming Commission; define legal and illegal gambling; and regulate where casinos may be placed within the state, which is mostly near her constituency in Portsmouth.
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